Mike Prager

An experiment to use class-A treated wastewater on Spokane city golf courses is moving this season to the Creek at Qualchan Golf Course. The experiment began last year at Downriver Golf Course, where portions of the sixth and seventh holes were irrigated with treated and filtered wastewater.

Plans to erect high-rise structures along the shore of the Spokane River could be halted if the city moves to tighten regulations on shoreline development in coming months. The city is in the midst of a multiyear effort to update its shoreline master plan, and there is currently talk at City Hall about implementing design standards that would protect views of the river from high-rise development.

The city of Spokane is extending its water service westward to the vicinity of Fairchild Air Force Base in a bid to serve the air base and other potential customers on the West Plains. The City Council on March 31 approved a $2.6 million contract with Eller Corp. of Newman Lake to install an extension of a 36-inch water main from Thomas Mallen Road at Hallett Road three miles west to Craig Road.

Several dozen residents from the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood turned out before the Spokane Plan Commission last week to argue against a land-use change that would allow an apartment complex near 35th Avenue and Cook Street. Property owner Konstantin Vasilenko is seeking to change the land-use designation from single-family to apartment use. The 2.3-acre property borders Southeast Boulevard, but does not have driveway access to the arterial.

A decision on where to build a new swimming pool in Northwest Spokane will ultimately be made by the Park Board, city officials have said. At a meeting last week, residents of Northwest Spokane argued in favor of putting the new pool in Shadle Park near an existing branch library and water tower.

Spokane City Council members on Monday postponed a decision on an appeal of a proposed retail tower near the county Courthouse. West Central LLC has been seeking city approval for a 100-foot office and retail tower west of the Courthouse, but the project was rejected by the city hearing examiner last December.

Spokane parks officials are giving up on a proposal to complete a splash pad water play feature at Manito Park this year, but hope to get the project built in 2009. A problem with subsurface rock has slowed a consultant effort to find a good location is at Manito for the play feature being financed through a $42.9 million bond issue approved by voters last year.

A new swimming pool in the northwest Spokane probably should be placed on the west side of Shadle Park, residents said Tuesday. Those who attended a pool planning meeting Tuesday showed a preference for Shadle Park over Albi Stadium or Loma Vista Park, said Rob Crow, a member of a citizen advisory committee on new pools.

A garden writer with expertise in urban horticulture is going to be the featured speaker at an April 22 lecture sponsored by the Friends of Manito organization. Marty Wingate, a Seattle-based Master Gardener, will speak on garden design ideas that come from various travels. She reviews top garden travel destinations for World Reviewer, a Web publication.

Spokane City Council members have decided to go along with the recommendation of their advisory committee and not a proposal from the Greater Hillyard Business Association for potential conversion of the Mann Army Reserve Center for civilian use. In a 6-1 vote Monday, the council endorsed a recommendation by their citizen committee to convert the existing office and shop areas to educational uses; turn a vacant piece of land into a gateway for the Hillyard business district; and to allow undeveloped parking areas to be sold for private development.

Six neighborhood meetings are scheduled for next week to plan the future development of new swimming pools across Spokane. The projects will replace five existing outdoor pools and install a new outdoor pool in the northwest part of the city. The new outdoor pool will replace the former pools at Shadle Park. All six projects are being funded by a $42.9 million ballot measure approved by voters last year.

An experiment to use class-A treated wastewater on Spokane city golf courses is moving this season to the Creek at Qualchan Golf Course. The experiment began last year at Downriver Golf Course, where portions of the sixth and seventh holes were irrigated with treated and filtered wastewater.

Parking on Wall Street between Wellesley and Francis avenues is going to be prohibited on both sides of the street following reconstruction work beginning later this month. Currently, parking is prohibited on one side, but the ban will be extended to both sides between Broad and Decatur avenues, in part to allow for wider lanes and safe passage for bicycle riders, city officials said.

Efforts to save the historic Huetter House, part of the Bishop White Seminary, took a step forward earlier this month when Gonzaga University filed notices to move the historic house and redevelop its existing site with a new seminary. In a letter on March 10, a Gonzaga official told neighbors that it is moving ahead with plans for relocating the Huetter House by obtaining a conditional-use permit from the city to reuse it at a new location one lot to the east.

The Spokane City Council this week postponed action on a recommendation for reuse of the Pfc. Joe E. Mann Army Reserve Center after members of the Greater Hillyard Business Association and others appealed to the council to consider an alternative for a manufacturing business development center. A citizen advisory committee studied reuse ideas over the past year and came up with a proposal that would convert the existing office and shop areas to educational uses; turn a vacant piece of land into a gateway for the Hillyard business district; and allow undeveloped parking areas to be sold for private development.

Three homes in different sections of the city have been placed on the Spokane Register of Historic Places by the City Council. The oldest among them is a Tudor Revival home built in 1888 at 2321 W. Boone Ave. for Fred J. and Alice Flint.