PF to buy former car dealership
POST FALLS – Post Falls will buy the former Post Falls Mazda dealership to use as its new fleet hub and to expand its wastewater treatment plant, Mayor Clay Larkin announced Tuesday at his annual state of the city address to the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce.
Larkin told the group that the property is part of a plan for 2008 that will also include a new riverfront Fourth of July fireworks show, progress toward a new Beck Road and Greensferry Road freeway interchange and the grand opening of the new City Hall this spring.
The purchase of the 6.5-acre Post Falls Mazda site is still being finalized, but will not require any additional money from taxpayers, Larkin said. That’s because it will be paid for with money from a $9.5 million bond issue passed by Post Falls voters in 2004 to buy property.
City Administrator Eric Keck said $3.4 million of those bonds are still available and will be enough to cover the $2.9 million asking price for the dealership property.
The dealership closed in early December. The site offers a unique opportunity for the city of Post Falls because it not only has buildings and repair bays for the city’s fleet, but also sits adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant, facilitating its future expansion.
“It’s tailor-made for what we’re trying to do,” Keck said. “I think it’s just a heck of a deal for the city.”
The existing wastewater treatment plant site’s 2.5 acres aren’t enough to expand to the 20 million gallons of treatment capacity the city will need per day in the coming years, he explained. The current plant can treat 4.1 million gallons of sewage each day.
The city shop is currently located on Third Street and there wasn’t a very good way to consolidate all the fleet operations there, Keck said. Equipment will be moved to the Post Falls Mazda site this summer if the sale is finalized, he said.
The city’s other big project – its new City Hall – is progressing well, Larkin said. Construction is expected to be complete by late April.
Larkin said that a terrace on the south side of the rotunda will be named “Tiffany’s Terrace” for city engineer Tiffany Reindel, who was killed with her father last Labor Day in a motorcycle crash near Hope, Idaho.
Larkin said he hopes the new City Hall will be a catalyst for other development in the neighborhood.
“As a mayor I can’t tell you where downtown is, but I will be able to as of May,” he said of the area.
Larkin also told the group that he believes Post Falls can continue to expand its economy, building on development from 2007.
He pointed to the openings of several new businesses and groundbreakings on others as examples of what could come. Cabela’s, Life Care Centers, Findlay Hyundai and Hansen’s River City were among the 159 new business issued licenses in Post Falls last year.
Larkin said a key issue the city needs to address to continue attracting business investment is housing.
“We hope the inventory will finally show some affordable workforce housing opportunities for the workers we desperately need for the job creations that are occurring,” he said.
Another challenge for Post Falls development is transportation. The Beck Road I-90 interchange should be complete within three years, and Larkin said he believes it will facilitate development on both sides of the freeway, including rejuvenation of the Post Falls Factory Outlets.
Larkin said that he also hopes that by continuing planning work for the Greensferry interchange, Post Falls can position itself for state funding if another project falls through elsewhere in the state.
Larkin said that a fitting celebration for all the progress in the city will be this year’s Fourth of July picnic at the Pavilion, where Post Falls’ sister city Herborn, Germany, will bring its band and the city will launch its first fireworks show.