Commission approves Steptoe Butte easement for DNR and delegates Saint Edward lease amendment to director

At its April 16 meeting in Spokane, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission approved two separate real estate actions: a perpetual road easement across Steptoe Butte State Park to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and a delegated authorization that allows the director to sign a third amendment giving The Lodge at Saint Edward Park LLC an option to extend its lease to 80 years.

Steptoe Butte easement (approved)

Michelle Burke, a real estate specialist, asked the commission to authorize the director to enter into a perpetual road easement that DNR requires to meet Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant conditions for its adjacent Palouse Prairie acquisition and conservation. Burke said the requested easement would be about 3.85 miles and that DNRprojected roughly 125 visits a year to the parcel, a very small share of the parkroad use (staff averaged about 51,228 public visits per year across 2022–2024). To proportionally share the pavement cost tied to a recent repaving project (about $3.9 million), staff proposed a road‑use annual fee of $1,500 with a 3% escalation clause.

Burke explained the easement was required by RCO for the grant compliance and that DNRwill manage the property for long‑term prairie conservation. During questions, commissioners asked whether a perpetual easement would limit future changes to park access. Staff said the easement includes language that allows State Parks and DNR to jointly amend access arrangements if, for example, communication sites no longer require vehicular service, but that DNRmust retain practical access while communications infrastructure remains.

The commission approved the staff recommendation.

Saint Edward lease amendment (delegation approved)

Nikki Fields, the planning and real estate program manager, described a requested exception and delegation related to the Lodge at Saint Edward Park. The lodge operator (Daniels Real Estate) invested about $60 million to rehabilitate the historic seminary building and currently holds a 62‑year lease approved under prior statutory exceptions. The operator is pursuing a feasibility study and may seek to add a Nordic spa (capital cost estimated up to $30 million). Because lenders often require longer ground‑lease terms to provide construction financing, staff asked the commission to (1) approve an exception to a local policy that limits commission action windows and (2) delegate authority to the director to approve a third amendment granting the lessee an option to extend the lease term from 62 to 80 years in the future. Under that option the rent for years 63–80 would be set by appraisal at the time the option is exercised.

Fields said the amendment would not itself approve a spa; that would come as a later requested action with final designs, permits and a financing package. Commissioners pressed staff about financial reporting and oversight; one commissioner asked whether the lease could require the lessee to file periodic financial information (for example, filings made to the Department of Revenue) so the agency can monitor the lesseefinancial health. Staff agreed that reporting requirements could be included when appropriate.

The commission voted in favor of the requested delegation; one commissioner recorded an abstention during the vote and staff will proceed with a follow‑up requested action if the lodge advances a spa proposal.

What happens next: staff will finalize the perpetual easement paperwork with DNR, include the road‑use fee terms, and record the easement as required by the RCO grant. For Saint Edward, staff will prepare the third amendment in the form approved for the director's signature and will present any future spa proposal, design review, and required environmental and permitting documentation to the commission for approval before any construction begins.