What's Happening in Spokane Valley, WA…

Spokane Valley would like to find land it can turn into city parks before such open space is all gone.

According to an article in the Spokesman-Review, Mike Stone, the director of Spokane Valley’s Parks and Recreation Department, is hunting for available land for this purpose. He said he is concerned that if the city does not start looking for suitable options right now, there will be none left and instead, Spokane Valley will be “covered in asphalt and concrete.”

Stone and other city officials are progressing in their effort to acquire one of the city’s few vacant parcels: a space that covers almost 14 acres and is mostly empty, except for places where it is covered in gravel, vegetation, or is contaminated by aluminum dross. The Washington State Department of Transportation currently owns the land.

The contamination comes from the period during which the land was used by the Union Pacific Railroad, and Spokane Valley will not pay full price until the Department of Ecology confirms the parcel has been cleaned up. Once cleaned up, the acreage will be added to Sullivan Park, which it adjoins. Adding the 14 acres of land to Sullivan Park would make the latter the second-largest park in Spokane Valley. The park is a welcome addition to an area that is largely commercial and industrial.

When projects like this are finished, banner printing can be used to create decorations to celebrate the opening.