Riverpoint Expansion Not A Priority Lawmakers Say Don’t Expect Money For Higher Ed Park

A $1.25 million request to expand a higher education park in Spokane may not survive this legislative session, lawmakers said Wednesday.

State legislators said the request for the Riverpoint Higher Education Park may be turned down because it isn’t an emergency.

“I don’t think they’ll do it this term,” said Sen. John Moyer, R-Spokane. “The likelihood is very small.”

Rep. Barry Sehlin, R-Oak Harbor, chairman of the House Capital Budget Committee, said that while emergency needs will be met, other projects may have to wait until next year.

“If it’s something like broken water pipes, yeah, we’ll take care of it,” Sehlin said. “But we will really hesitate before doing anything else.”

The center wants $850,000 to acquire eight adjacent parcels of land, and $400,000 to plan a new electronic library, which also would house state archives.

The land purchase is part of a long-term plan to turn the Riverpoint site into a college campus housing programs from Eastern Washington University, Washington State University, Gonzaga University and Whitworth College.

Only two buildings are there now, one for the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute and the other for classes offered by EWU and WSU.

William Gray, campus dean of WSU at Spokane, said the library is needed to free up space in the university’s Spokane quarters.

“The library project is critical for us,” he said. “If the library isn’t moved it will take away academic space.”

The library would have some books, but it would use computers to retrieve articles and make other materials available through an inter-library loan program. That would avoid duplicating materials at other state university libraries, Gray said.

Terry Novak, executive director of the Joint Center for Higher Education, which oversees the Riverpoint campus, said the expansion money is needed now.

“The price of the land will probably rise and, in the case of design money, we would have to delay the building of the library for two years, causing more crowding problems for WSU-Spokane,” Novak said.

Rep. Steve Fuhrman, R-Kettle Falls, said he doesn’t want to spend any new money on capital projects this session. “I’m definitely not against the project, but I think that it’s not the right approach,” he said.

“They should take those big buildings planned at WSU in Pullman and put them where the population center is, in Spokane,” Fuhrman said.

Rep. Jean Silver, R-Spokane, said the center faces a tough fight this year, but should be given careful consideration.

, DataTimes