North Dam Park is in trouble as funding hasn't been secured from the USBR

North Dam Park, which hosts numerous events in the area, including Colorama, markets, softball tournaments, and more, is in danger of no longer being maintained, but funding could still be secured for 2023.  

A special meeting is scheduled for the local park district in charge on June 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the former middle school in Grand Coulee in the former teachers’ lounge there, which the public is welcome to attend.

Years ago, the city of Grand Coulee had responsibility for the park, but relinquished control to the US Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the land, in 2009. 

The bureau didn’t maintain the park.

The Coulee Area Parks and Recreation District contracted with the USBR in 2011 to take charge of the maintenance of the park including watering and mowing the property.

“The weeds were already three feet high and it took the better part of the summer to get the park looking like a park,” The Star reported then about CAPRD taking over. 

CAPRD’s latest five-year contract with the bureau expired at the end of 2020. After a one-year extension ended last September, the park is in danger of looking shoddy again by not getting mowed, watered, or having garbage services.

The nearly $150,000 USBR contract ended up giving CAPRD just $100,000 from the bureau over six years, for an average of under $17,000 a year. Additional funds came from the cities of Electric City and Grand Coulee and the local credit union, with CAPRD having to find those additional sources to match against the maximum grant from the bureau.

Grand Coulee gave CAPRD $5,000 in 2021 and 2022, while Electric City gave $8,000 in 2021 and $12,500 in 2022. Both cities drew the funds from their hotel/motel tax funds.

USBR Public Affairs Specialist Erika Lopez wrote in an email Tuesday that the agreement included “a cost share requirement of 48% Reclamation funding [of $149,703], 48% district funding, and 4% user fees funding.”

CAPRD didn’t collect that total from the bureau because the district couldn’t meet those matching requirements. The agreement expired on Sept. 30, 2021. 

In the end, the bureau had paid out a total of $100,000. The district put in $102,480, and $6,000 came from user fees, for a total of about $208,000. That’s about $49,000 less from the bureau than was possible, and $102,000 less than the maximum amount of the original plan, which would have seen $310,024 spent on the park from all those sources over the six years.

“The funding in the final agreement is less than the anticipated full agreement funding because cooperative agreements are not awarded at a firm price,” Lopez wrote, “they are based upon the partner’s ability to cost share on the project. Reclamation and the district worked together to establish yearly obligations supporting anticipated cost share ability.”

CAPRD anticipated getting $42,000 in revenue in 2021, but fell short of that goal, Treasurer Kevin Portch said.

He said that in the past, the group has had $30,000 a year designated for maintenance of the park. That included powering a pump to water the area, power to light the area, garbage service, and landscape maintenance. But lately that maintenance is at a “shoestring budget” level at $18,000 a year. 

“We’ve had to use tourist dollars to maintain that,” Portch said.

It’s been difficult to secure a new contract with the bureau due to “a multitude of things,” Portch said.

A facilities manager position locally at the USBR has been vacant for two years, which made it difficult for CAPRD to engage the federal agency in contract negotiations.

“They are bending over backwards to help us, but their hands are tied,” Portch said, adding that further difficulty is added by the fact that the USBR regional headquarters is in Boise, Idaho.

Portch said CAPRD, itself, could have done more to secure future funding, as well. 

Complicating matters for CAPRD, former commissioner Ben Hughes moved from the area last year, and Portch didn’t file for reelection. Tristan Goss was elected to Portch’s seat  but never showed up to a meeting or communicated with the commission, Portch said.

This led to some difficulty for the commission to establish a quorum in recent months in order to hold their meetings. 

But Portch, who also serves as treasurer for the group, was reinstated last month as a commissioner after Goss was removed due to his absence, in accordance with the district’s bylaws.

Eric Wiitanen was approved as a commissioner to replace Hughes.

Tim Rasmussen is moving from the area and resigned his commission seat. That position is currently vacant. The remaining commissioners can appoint someone to take that seat.

Portch said someone with grant-writing knowledge would be ideal to fill it.

Commission President Brian Warnecke and longtime Commissioner Carla Marconi hold the other two seats.

Portch said funding for 2022 is anticipated to run out in August, but that it is possible for the group to secure funding for 2023. They have already applied for some 2023 funding but are still in the application process with USBR.

“Reclamation is currently in negotiations with the district to establish a new agreement,” the bureau said in the email to The Star.