Dance Group’s Use Of County Hall Out Of Step Group Built It And Maintains It, But County Covering Some Costs
A square-dancing club has paid nothing to use a dance hall at a Spokane County park since 1993 - and collects money from other groups that use it.
The arrangement with the Western Dance Association of Spokane may violate state laws against giving away county assets, even though the association uses all its money to maintain the hall, said a county parks official who reviewed the club’s contract.
The county is left to pay some expenses for the Western Dance Center at Sullivan Park.
County Commissioners John Roskelley and Kate McCaslin agreed Tuesday to renegotiate the contract to assure that dance groups pay the full cost of using the hall. Terminating the existing contract requires one year’s notice, which county officials plan to mail soon.
County parks manager Wyn Birkenthal said the county also may require that the hall be opened to all groups. Under the association’s management, it is used only for square, round and folk dancing. Disco dances, sock hops, wedding receptions and other uses are not allowed on the hardwood floor.
Western Dance Association members say this is no sweetheart deal. Among other expenses, the club pays about $250 a month to maintain the building, $400 for a caretaker and nearly $300 for insurance, said Treasurer Ed Perrigo.
Added Bill Taylor, the association’s vice president: “When things go to heck - the toilets plug up or the lights don’t work - then you have to call (association members) and get them out to fix things up. We just replaced the linoleum in the kitchen.”
The association uses the hall at least once a month. Otherwise, it’s used by other clubs that pay from $30 to $80 a night to host dances or dance classes. The cost of rent depends on the type of function and whether it’s held on a weekend or weeknight.
The Western Dance Association built the hall in 1958. Its original contract gave the association free rent at the park until 1993. In exchange, the county became the owner of the hall that year.
When that contract expired, the county should have started collecting rent on the building, said Francine Boxer, the assistant county administrator and head of the parks department. Instead, then-parks Director Sam Angove issued a new contract essentially letting the dance association treat the building as its own.
The association “has been a marvelous tenant … They’ve been great about maintenance, particularly of the interior of the building,” said Birkenthal.
But the association doesn’t pay all expenses, he said. It was the county, for instance, that paid thousands of dollars to connect the hall’s plumbing to public sewers. Taxpayer money maintains the well that serves the hall. And taxpayer money pays to treat water from that well when it periodically fails tests for purity.
“The taxpayers deserve some return on that investment,” said Birkenthal.
State law prohibits local governments from giving away any thing or service that taxpayers fund. That’s why, for instance, the county has started charging 4-H and other youth groups for using the county fairgrounds.
In recent months, commissioners have reviewed a number of contracts to assure the county is getting the best return possible.
Among those contracts was one leasing the courthouse cafeteria to a longtime tenant for $650 a month. Based on rates charged in private buildings, commissioners plan to raise the rent to at least $1,600 a month starting next month. That increase is forcing out the longtime operator, and the county is accepting proposals from other restaurants that might want to lease the space.
Perrigo predicted other members of the Western Dance Association won’t be surprised by the county’s intended review. The most active members have long suspected the lease conditions eventually would change, he said.
“It’s a shame because the building serves the dancing community well,” he said. “It’s really the only nice, large hall around.
“Good things just never last.”
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