Cost of picnic shelter raises questions

Plans to replace an aging picnic shelter at Edgecliff Park are running into a potential obstacle.

The revised cost estimate has climbed 78 percent to $116,000, prompting Spokane Valley officials to put construction of the planned 20-by-40 foot shelter on hold. The delay will give City Council members time to decide whether to scrap the project or pencil in an additional $51,000 so it can be completed early next year.

“I’m just staggered at the cost of a shelter,” said Deputy Mayor Arne Woodard, a real estate broker and developer who noted that he supports the parks but was having difficulty understanding how an 800-square-foot free-standing roof could be so expensive.

“Does this have a kitchen and bathroom and closed-in sides on it?” he asked, adding, “You could build a house… and we’ve got insulation, we have windows, we have doors we have sidewalls, we have basements.”

Parks Director Mike Stone said the shelter would include electrical service but no kitchen, bathrooms or enclosed walls.

“I understand it seems like a tremendous amount of money,” said Stone, noting that park shelters have to be built sturdier than the typical residential home because they tend to endure much heavier public use. “If council decides not to move forward with this, I understand that.”

The picnic shelter was among a series of planned parks projects from this year that the Valley is considering pushing into next year.

Others include construction of additional sand volleyball courts at Browns Park because of unexpected extra costs, including development of a new master plan for the park and topographical maps. A planned shade structure at Discovery Park and paving at the Old Mission trailhead also are on hold.

Contributing to the problems, officials say, was the addition of two unbudgeted and unplanned major projects that were added to the parks department this year, including the decision to push forward with completion of a stretch of the Appleway Trail between University and Pines roads.

The council will decide in the months ahead while building the 2015 budget which of the projects will be pushed to next year.

The picnic shelter at Edgecliff Park originally was expected to be done this year at an estimated cost of about $65,000.

But a consultant hired by the city to help plan the project put the total cost much higher. Stone said the original estimate failed to take into account added costs from demolition of the existing structure, site preparation and installation of a walkway that meets the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and upgraded electrical service.

The plan is to purchase a pre-engineered kit, which will cost about $30,000, and hire a conctractor to build a custom concrete pad, then complete the structure atop it.

The city built a smaller picnic shelter at Terrace View Park a couple years ago for about $80,000 but that project didn’t have demolition costs, Stone said.