Post Falls seeks safer swim spot

Kiwanis Park along the Spokane River may get an official swim area that’s protected by buoys and markers.

Post Falls is asking the Idaho Department of Lands for a permit to enclose the popular swim area off Ross Point Road on Weatherby Avenue.

“It would give us a defined area that separates the boats from the swimmers,” Post Falls Parks Director Dave Fair said. “It would make it a little safer.”

Post Falls residents have swum at the hole for years, even before it became an official park in 2002.

The Kootenai County Parks and Waterways Committee voted Tuesday to write a letter to the state in support of the permit.

“We didn’t see anything that would interfere with the general public’s boating, navigation or safety,” County Waterways Director Kurtis Robinson said.

The public has until June 29 to comment on the city’s application.

Fair said he doesn’t expect any opposition because the buoys will only make the area safer.

Carl Washburn of the Department of Land’s Coeur d’Alene office said Wednesday he has yet to review the application and will make a decision after the comment period closes.

The 40-acre park opened the summer of 2002 after the Kiwanis Club agreed to lease the land to the city for 50 years.

The riverfront wooded park includes picnic areas and a picnic shelter, restrooms and trails.

Fair said this would be Post Falls’ second park with an officially designated swim area. Q’emiln Park also has a roped off and buoyed swim area.

Also during the county Parks and Waterways meeting, the committee recommended state approval of a permit requested by the Foxfire Marina in Harrison to reconfigure its docks.

Robinson said the new layout would be better than the current configuration and won’t interfere with the boat launch or county docks in the area.

To comment on either permit application, contact the Idaho Department of Lands at 769-1525.