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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Future Rv Park Submerged Under More Than Litigation Site Of Blackwell Island Development Underwater And Under Attack

Blackwell Island is submerged for the second time in the five months since developers received approval to turn much of the 40-acre island into a recreational vehicle park.

These days, it is difficult to tell where the island ends and the Spokane River begins. Tall trees that once lined the bank look more like small floating bushes.

City Councilman Ron Edinger is tempted to snap a photograph to “give to some of the engineers who made comments about the flooding and to give the council members who voted for (the development).”

The island is at least as far underwater as it was during the flood of 1974, Edinger said. Spring runoff always has been a problem; it caused flooding when the area was used as a city garbage dump in the 1950s and early 1960s.

“They used to change, in the springtime, from having a landfill there because of the flooding,” Edinger said. “I hate to remind some of these council members ‘I told you so,”’ Edinger said. “But I did.”

Last fall, the council voted 4-2 to approve a 220-space RV park on the west half of the island. Edinger and Councilman Dan English were the lone dissenters.

Opponents of the development cited the island’s location below the flood plain and the fact that it once was a city landfill as two of the main reasons not to allow the RV park. They also feared that extending city water and sewer service south of the Spokane River would lead to an explosion of development.

Councilwoman Nancy Sue Wallace supported the development. But because of telephone calls from concerned citizens over the last couple of days, she is trying to make sure any annexation agreement with the Hall family, developers of the project, totally protects the city from liability if flooding breaks utility lines or causes other problems, she said.

Flooding or not, proponents and their supporters still think an RV park is the perfect choice for the site. “What better use for the area than a mobile park?” said Councilman Chris Copstead, who voted for the project when he was on the City Planning Commission.

The campground and RV park at Wolf Lodge are flooded every year and that doesn’t seem to be a big deal, Copstead said.

Because RVs are easily moved under their own power, there isn’t much of a disaster in the making, said Mark Hall. His family has operated the Yacht Club - a boat sales business - on the island since 1959.

“If it flooded every year, that would be fine. Right now you could walk anywhere across the property in hip waders,” Hall said. “The flooding occurs at such a slow pace that there’s plenty of time to walk around and make sure everything is going right.” The permanent buildings that go with the park will be built on columns. The sewer hookups for the RVs will have water-tight caps. The new paving and fill will act as a cap, further protecting the landfill from intrusion from the water, Hall said.

“It all boils down to more inconvenience,” Hall said.

Opponents are not mollified. “What if people had left their RVs and taken their cars and driven off to Canada and the hot springs?” asks Gertie Hanson, of the Rural Kootenai Organization.

The group is suing the City Council and the Halls over the development. And they may try to make the flooding part of that litigation.

“With that landfill, every time it floods, we get another flushing,” said Chuck Sheroke, the attorney representing the Rural Kootenai Organization. The frequency of that flooding “makes one wonder whether it’s going to become a permanent wetland.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Flood counseling The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare stepped up its crisis counseling services in the wake of disastrous flooding in North Idaho. Counseling is available at mental health offices in St. Maries, Kellogg, Lewiston, Moscow and Orofino from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The phone numbers are 245-2541 in St. Maries, 784-1351 in Kellogg, 799-4440 in Lewiston, 882-0562 in Moscow and 476-7703 in Orofino. A 24-hour counseling hotline is available in Coeur d’Alene at 769-1406. Counseling services also are available at the Kootenai County Red Cross, 664-5414 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In Grangeville, counseling is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 983-2300 or after hours at 1-800-400-8836.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Flood counseling The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare stepped up its crisis counseling services in the wake of disastrous flooding in North Idaho. Counseling is available at mental health offices in St. Maries, Kellogg, Lewiston, Moscow and Orofino from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The phone numbers are 245-2541 in St. Maries, 784-1351 in Kellogg, 799-4440 in Lewiston, 882-0562 in Moscow and 476-7703 in Orofino. A 24-hour counseling hotline is available in Coeur d’Alene at 769-1406. Counseling services also are available at the Kootenai County Red Cross, 664-5414 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In Grangeville, counseling is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 983-2300 or after hours at 1-800-400-8836.