Post Falls shopping for parks

POST FALLS – The city of Post Falls is searching for more parkland to keep up with its rapidly expanding population, city officials said this week.

The city wants to offer more recreational opportunities, preserve open space and purchase property while it’s available – and affordable, City Administrator Eric Keck said.

The City Council discussed Tuesday in executive session a potential deal for more park space. Council members, though, decided to forgo pursuing the undisclosed site at this time, city officials said.

The city still is looking for other possibilities, Keck said.

“It’s an ongoing search,” he said. “Land is evaporating quickly.”

And it’s also going up in price, he said.

“That’s our problem,” Keck said. “We’ve seen land shoot up quite a bit.”

The city now has about 125 acres of developed parkland, such as Q’emiln and Black Bay park, and about 294 acres in undeveloped parks, such as the Centennial Trail and Treaty Rock, according to the city.

The city tries to provide roughly six acres of developed parks and 10 acres of undeveloped parkland per 1,000 residents, city officials said. That works out to about one neighborhood park per square mile, Parks and Recreation Director Dave Fair said.

The city typically looks for five- to 10-acre parcels for neighborhood parks, Fair said.

The ratio of parkland to residents is acceptable now, but with Post Falls growing at nearly 4 percent a year, the city needs to continue adding to its collection, Keck said.

“We need to keep that as we grow over time,” Keck said. “I’m sure as the tally of the number of residents comes in this year, we’re going to slip a bit.”

Two years ago, the community also lost Quad Park, a popular softball complex near Wal-Mart, which sent softball players to neighboring towns, Keck said.

The city tried twice to purchase the privately owned park, but struck out. The four-field park now is being developed into commercial property and assisted-living and senior facilities, city officials said.

The city acquired some of the softball equipment, such as the electric scoreboards and field lighting that city officials hope to use at a future recreational park.

City officials also are trying creative ways to pitch more parks to the community, such as residents establishing living trusts for their property.

The city collects parkland through park impact fees and agreements with subdivisions. Post Falls now has about $1.4 million available from impact fees for land acquisition or park development, according to the city.

“We’re always looking for property to find more parkland,” Fair said. “The challenge is people want a lot for their land.”