The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, which for 21 years has distributed grants to state and local parks based on a competitive application process, was ready to give nearly $65,000 to the city of Washougal to help defray the cost of replacing the popular — and aging — boat launch at Hathaway Park.
That was early December, before Gov. Chris Gregoire submitted her proposed 2011-13 budget.
The budget, which must be approved by lawmakers, does not include any funding for the coalition.
The coalition had a $70 million budget for 2008-10, and in previous bienniums the budget was high as $100 million, said Pete Mayer, director of Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation.
In Gregoire’s capital budget, she included $20 million for parks and habitats, but only for projects that benefit the Puget Sound.
Mayer said it’s good that there’s at least $20 million in the budget for deserving Puget Sound projects, but it means the rest of the state will lose out on parks grants.
Washougal Mayor Sean Guard said the city council, knowing the city now won’t likely get any grant money to replace the boat launch, voted to use park impact fees.
The city has $500,000 to $600,000 in park impact fees, which are collected through new residential construction and are typically used to buy and develop park land.
It will cost approximately $150,000 to replace the boat launch, and construction will be done in August, when the Washougal River is at its lowest level, said Suzanne Bachelder of Washougal’s public works department.
The launch, which is for non-motorized boats, is popular with swimmers and floaters in the summer and with fishermen in the winter.
It has also gone 30 years without any significant repairs, is considered dangerous by city officials, and its planks are falling into the river.
While the city likely won’t get the grant money to help pay for the replacement, Guard said receiving a high ranking from the coalition validated the need.
The boat launch also exemplifies what some members of the public don’t seem to understand about the availability of grants, said Jilayne Jordan, spokeswoman for the Greater Clark Parks District.
Jordan said one of the main suggestions she hears from the public is that the county should apply for more grants.
“Grants aren’t a magic bullet,” she said. “If the money isn’t there, it doesn’t really matter. That’s something we would love to do, but it’s not a guarantee.”
The Parks Foundation of Clark County encourages donations, which can be made for a specific project.
For information on the foundation or how to donate to a project, go to http://parksfoundation.us.
Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.
