City Won’t Release Bond For Upscale Development

The developer of the upscale Riverside Harbor subdivision isn’t getting much cooperation these days.

Not only did residents vote Thursday to usurp his power over their homeowners’ association, but the City Council this week denied his request to release a performance bond on the 8th Addition of the subdivision.

Developer Dennis Swartout of Spokane asked the City Council to release the $48,000 performance bond. City staff suggested retaining $4,000 for unfinished work.

Some of the problems with the subdivision include improperly installed water valves, missing sidewalks, a lack of backfill behind curbs and sidewalks, and grassy swales that don’t efficiently drain stormwater.

“Cumulatively, it’s not a minor matter, but otherwise it would be considered minor,” said City Administrator John Hendrickson. “We don’t want to fix it.”

The council unanimously voted to retain the entire bond. In addition, city officials said Swartout should complete work in previous additions and repair work that was not up to city standards.

“We want to get the improvements done in Riverside Harbor and we want to get them done right,” said City Councilman Scott Grant.

“When Mr. Swartout asked for council approval of the development, he portrayed it to the council as a classy subdivision,” Grant added.

The city accidentally released a performance bond last year for the first seven additions of the development. Swartout replaced it with a property bond, but the city wanted it in cash.

A few residents attended the council meeting Tuesday to encourage the city to retain the bond. They fear some of the problems may become the responsibility of their homeowners’ association if the developer does not fix them.

, DataTimes