Trailhead GC won’t get 10th hole; part of land belongs to sewer district

The city of Liberty Lake has hit a sand trap in its plans to add a 10th hole to the Trailhead Golf Course after discovering that part of the land it was leveling belongs to the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District.

The project was approved by Doug Smith, Liberty Lake’s community development director. “It was not the city’s intent to encroach on the district’s property,” he said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “The assumption was always that it was well within city property.”

Sewer and water district director Lee Mellish alerted the city to the problem after noticing the site work being done. About 20,000 square feet was leveled and native vegetation was removed. The city asked the district for an easement on the property at the district’s last board meeting and was turned down. “There was quite a bit of concern on the board’s part,” Smith said.

Councilwoman Judi Owens asked LLSWD commissioner Tom Agnew, who was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting, if the incident has damaged the relationship between the city and the district.

In the past the two entities have had a tense relationship, stemming in part from the city’s attempt to take over the district several years ago. At one point Smith ran for a position on the district’s board and lost.

Agnew said his personal relationship with the city council hasn’t been harmed, but laid the blame for the incident squarely on Smith. “He’s caused much more grief and aggravation,” Agnew said. “This is the least of his transgressions.”

Smith said the property lines were not checked prior to work beginning because the work didn’t meet the threshold that would have required a permit. “It’s that minor of an improvement,” Smith said. “There was really no review.”

Councilman David Crump was one of several on the council who expressed concern about the error and the need for new procedures, but also took Agnew to task for singling out Smith for blame. “I fail to see how that is related to the topic at hand,” Crump said. “Your comments are based in actions in the past. We need to move past that.”

The city is willing to restore the site. “This was a mistake,” Crump said. “I think there are lessons to be learned.”

There are plans to plant native seed at the site, Smith said. And now that the city knows that the land isn’t theirs, the 10th hole will stay on the drawing board. “We’re not going to move forward with the project,” Smith said.

In other actions, the city council voted to award Meridian Construction Inc. a contract worth $648,900 to remodel the new library/police station building on Mission. The work is expected to be complete by the end of the year.