Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Federal agency questions Balfour Park grant process; city seeks congressional help to restore $2 million LWCF award
Summary
The National Park Service has placed a $2 million LWCF federal grant for Spokane Valley’s Balfour Park under reconsideration after questioning whether earlier ground‑disturbing work required federal tribal consultation and Endangered Species Act review, city staff said May 13.
Spokane Valley city staff said May 13 that the National Park Service has placed a $2 million Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant for the city’s Balfour Park project under reconsideration, citing concerns about whether earlier ground‑disturbing activities required federal tribal consultation and Endangered Species Act review.
City staff and the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) told the council that phase 1 of the Balfour Park project had been constructed with local and state funding and that local and state environmental reviews, including a SEPA checklist and cultural‑resource probes, had been completed. Staff said 17 subsurface probes were performed and no artifacts were found, an inadvertent discovery plan was prepared and at least one tribe and the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation were notified during the state grant process.
RCO informed the city that the National Park Service (which administers LWCF funds) concluded it could not fund the project because it believed federal consultation and ESA review had not been completed before ground disturbance for the earlier phase. RCO and city staff said NPS has agreed to reconsider after receiving documentation from the city showing the prior state and local reviews and historical evidence (including a 1950 photograph showing historic agricultural disturbance at the site). City staff said they had engaged a federal lobbyist and planned to request a letter of support from U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ office (Representative Baumgartner was also mentioned in staff remarks) to help resolve the federal review.
City staff said the RCO had not before encountered this situation at the LWCF stage for local park projects and that the federal agency’s initial determination raises questions for other local park grant applicants. The city will continue to provide documentation and ask the federal delegation for assistance as the reconsideration proceeds.
Why this matters: the LWCF grant is a major source of federal funding for local park projects. A reversal or delay on federal eligibility could affect the timeline and funding for construction of Balfour Park improvements and create precedent questions for other local projects seeking federal LWCF funding.
