rick tousley

“I’m looking at this … number, and I’m staggered,” said Councilor Rick Tousley, who emphasized the city is seeking money from sources such as Idaho State Parks and Recreation grants, foundations, private donations and group sponsors.

“We are going to have to be quite creative in how we are able to come up with possible funding sources,” he said.

A step-by-step plan about how to find the revenue would be helpful, said Council President Hannah Liekie, who noted she believes the public sees the improvements as a want, not a need.

“I’m not exactly shocked by the price, but I’m also not ready to go out and sell to the public in the sense of ‘we’ve got it figured out,’ ” she said.

The $95 million includes $10 million in contingencies. The price was broken into seven categories that were listed in order of priority — site grading ($10.3 million), heart of the park ($29.6 million), Little League complex ($19.5 million), softball complex ($24.6 million), amphitheater ($4.1 million), recreational vehicle park ($6.05 million), and other amenities such as a bike park, multiuse field, sand volleyball and disc golf ($800,000).

The heart of the park is a section that would include a destination playground, community gathering area, small stage and splash pad.

Two smaller playgrounds are part of the plan that also adds pavilions, restrooms, concession areas and more features in different parts of the park.

One of the reasons grading is projected to cost so much is because of a 200-foot elevation drop on the site.

More details about how the projects will be paid for are anticipated in June.

In other business, the council heard a presentation from Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport Authority Board Chairman Gary Peters about putting a proposed new city fire station on airport land.

The council is expected to decide if it will move forward with constructing the station on the northwest corner of Fifth Street and Bryden Avenue at its Monday meeting. That decision will follow a report last month, where councilors learned the estimated costs of the station had risen from $4 million to $6.9 million for a variety of reasons like increases in labor and material costs.

The city would save money if it constructed the station on airport land between Bryden Avenue and the transportation hub, Peters said.

The city could sell its 1-acre lot at Fifth and Bryden for about $1 million. It could earn about $30,000 a year from property tax revenue, which would equal $1.5 million over 50 years that would be generated by private development of the lot, he said.

That projection of property tax revenue is based on what the dental clinic across the street generates, he said.

The city would pay the airport $10,000 a year to lease the land, which would result in a net savings of $2 million over 50 years, Peters said.

The airport site also has the advantage of having less congestion than the city’s land, which is at an intersection that is getting busier every day, he said.

Even with the fire station on the airport land, there would still be room for a hotel and restaurant development the airport is pursuing, he said.

The council also voted to negotiate with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union that represents technicians in the water, waste water, street, traffic, sanitation, parks, fleet and facilities departments.

That decision followed a lengthy discussion, some of which focused on how the union has 31 dues-paying members even though it represents 77 employees.

Pat Wilson, a street maintenance technician and executive board member of the union, answered questions at the request of Lewiston Mayor Dan Johnson.

One of the reasons that fewer than half of those eligible for the union belong is because of a high number of retirements, including four in his department in less than a year, Wilson said.

There’s a six-month probationary period before new employees can join, he said.

Some newer employees have “been riding on what the previous contract is and they think that’s just the way it is all the time,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s bargaining unit is one of three for city employees. The others represent police officers and firefighters.