Private funds could augment bond to upgrade Riverfront Park, study says

Up to $5 million in private donations should be raised to augment $64.3 million voters approved in 2014 to upgrade Riverfront Park, and donors should be offered naming rights in the park, according to a study commissioned by the Spokane Park Board.

Potential donors could give as much as “six or seven figures” to supplement the money raised in taxes assessed on property owners within the city, according to Aggie Sweeney, president and CEO of the Collins Group, which did the study.

The study for the potential fundraising effort follows criticism that construction related to the park bond has yet to begin 19 months after its approval, and the projected doubling in cost of a key design contract for the park. Park Board members expressed frustration at the criticism this week, arguing that people did not appreciate how complicated the project is, and blamed critical news coverage for the confusion.

“I find it a bit disconcerting that everybody thought somehow the park would magically turn dirt the minute the bond got approved,” said Susan Traver, the board’s vice president. “Certain articles didn’t help a lot in that area.”

The redevelopment project will revive the Pavilion as a year-round event center, construct a new home for the historic Looff Carrousel, and build an outdoor ice-skating feature, among other things.

The Collins Group surveyed 45 people, including potential donors – both individuals and organizations – as well as members of the Park Board and Spokane Parks Foundation. The study found that many potential donors greatly valued the park but did not rank it as the best use of their philanthropy. Those surveyed were also critical of perceptions surrounding the rollout of the park project.

Besides the goal of raising between $3 and $5 million, the study recommended completing the capital campaign by the end of 2018, as well as clearly delineating bond projects from any done with private dollars while demonstrating success in both. The study also said to highlight the “broadly appealing, non-financial benefits” a renovated park would bring to the community. Furthermore, it recommended hiring a fund-drive director to oversee the campaign, which it said should be housed by the parks foundation as its “fiscal agent.”

At a meeting discussing the Collins Group findings, Park Board members were appreciative of the work but unsure what to do next.

The study recommended focusing the fundraising effort on one or two projects outside the scope of the bond. Leroy Eadie, the city’s parks director, suggested a project related to the Clocktower. Nick Sumner, the manager of clinical engineering at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, echoed Eadie, calling it “realistically the most high profile thing in the park.”

“It’s got to be something like the Clocktower and it’s got to be something that we can get behind as a group and we can all support,” Sumner said. “It’s got to be something we can all get behind very easily, the public can get behind very easily. That clocktower is on every video, every picture.”

Ted McGregor, publisher of the Inlander and the leader of the group that laid the groundwork for the bond measure, disagreed, saying there was no support for a Clocktower project.

“We went through an entire public process and there wasn’t that much excitement about putting stairs in the Clocktower,” McGregor said. “So is that really what we need right now? I would say no. I would say the things that we need are going to be things that are on top of what we’re already asking for. And that’s going to be an uncomfortable conversation to have with the public, but we should be transparent.”

Trish McFarland, who helped with the study, said some of those surveyed agreed with McGregor.

“‘Spend the money and come back and tell us what else you need.’ That we heard more than once,” she said. “‘Go spend the bond. Spend the money and then tell us where you’re short.’”

No decisions were made following the study’s discussion. Any proposals that stem from the study will be made by the board’s Riverfront Park committee, chaired by McGregor, before it heads to the full board for a decision.