Spokane Valley to expand Greenacres Park amenities

Spokane Valley’s first park since the city’s incorporation in 2003 is set to get an upgrade this summer.

The Spokane Valley City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to award a construction project to Valley-based contractors Cameron Reilly that will bring additional sports facilities, an expanded splash pad and a community garden to Greenacres Park. Councilman Al Merkel was the lone dissenting vote.

The project will be the first major work to occur on the park’s 8.3 acres since it was constructed in 2012. Construction is expected to start in mid-March and stretch into midsummer, city spokeswoman Jill Smith said.

The majority of the project’s $2 million cost will be covered by a pair of state and federal grants totaling $1.5 million. The remainder will be covered by the city’s capital reserve fund as part of the grants’ matching funds requirements, City Manager John Hohman said.

“A lot of that state and federal grant money is collected from our citizens through taxes,” Hohman said. “This is bringing that back into our community.”

John Bottelli, Spokane Valley parks and recreation director, told the council the outside funding allows the city to move forward with long-awaited plans to expand the park’s offerings.

“It’s an exciting night for Green Acres Park and our community,” Bottelli said.

The planned work will include adding a new backstop to the multiuse sports fields, a half-dozen pickleball courts, two basketball courts, multiple shade structures and a community garden, according to city records.

The parks department also plans to expand the park’s splash pad, playground and parking lot, bringing the total of available spaces to 52.

The contract approved Tuesday includes a provision to add a mini artificial soccer pitch identical to the one in the Valley’s Balfour Park, should the Seattle Sounders FC, the club’s charitable organization the RAVE Foundation and team sponsor Delta Airlines agree to partner with the city again.

The Sounders coalition set out to build 26 free soccer fields as part of a campaign to do so by the time the World Cup comes to North America in 2026. It achieved that goal last September.

It has announced plans to build another 26 in the years to come. Bottelli and Glenn Ritter, the city’s project manager for the Greenacres renovation, said the group has shown interest in placing another in Spokane Valley.

In voicing his dissent, Merkel said he believes the city’s match funding needed to secure the grants would be better spent on the council’s ongoing goals to bolster the city’s police force. He said he sees the value in investments like parks, but believes soon no one will be able to enjoy them if the council does not hire more deputies.

“I still think that there are some needs in this community that should be respected before we do some wants,” Merkel said.

Councilman Ben Wick responded by saying the city’s reserve funds were set aside for the project years ago and are “one-time funds” that should not be used for recurring costs like law enforcement.

“I’m happy that we’re here today, that we can vote on executing this contract and bring some of the money together, because these are, again, one-time costs that we can do with one-time dollars,” Wick said. “And it makes a lot of sense and returns a lot of money to our community.”

While public safety is the council’s priority, it is not the only effort to improve Spokane Valley, Deputy Mayor Tim Hattenburg added.

“People want a return on their taxes for a multitude of projects and for services, not just one or two things,” Hattenburg said. “That’s what makes a rounded city.”