West Plains to get new $5 million county park

The West Plains is getting a new park.

Spokane County has a roughly $5 million budget to build a new park on Melville Road, a couple miles south of the Amazon warehouse along Interstate 90 and 6 miles north of Cheney. The $5 million will come out of the $101 million the county received through the American Rescue Plan, a federal stimulus bill aimed at helping the country recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The park site is 10 acres of agricultural land. Spokane County bought it in March for $532,000.

The Spokane County Commission last month selected Michael Terrell Landscape Architecture to design the project. Doug Chase, the county’s parks director, said the county will solicit community feedback to determine what amenities the site should include.

Spokane County Commissioner Al French, a Republican who represents the West Plains district, said he’s extremely pleased the county will construct the park.

“I’m a big supporter of a park and have been pushing for a park on the West Plains for several years,” French said.

Chase said the West Plains is in need of a new park due to significant population growth in recent decades.

This new park will allow the county to meet its parkland goals for the area, Chase said. Per the county’s parks master plan, urban areas should have at least 1.4 acres of developed community parkland for every 1,000 residents.

Chase said the county plans to begin construction on the new park in 2024.