It was a night for “game changers” at City Hall as the Yakima City Council moved forward on two multimillion-dollar projects members believe will spur economic growth.

The council approved a $1.1 million engineering-design contract with Gustafson Guthrie Nichol of Seattle for the downtown plaza and $4.1 million for an expansive new soccer complex southwest of the Yakima Air Terminal.

The firm engineering the plaza, which is headed by Yakima native Kathryn Gustafson, was contracted by the city last year to develop concept plaza designs for $145,000.

The engineering contract is funded with $500,000 from a private donation, with the rest from city funds. The private funds are part of a $2 million contribution from the owners of Washington Fruit and Produce Co., a donation the council formally voted to accept Tuesday.

Councilmen Rick Ensey and Bill Lover, two longtime critics of the proposed plaza, were the only members to vote against the engineering contract as well as the donation. Ensey said the $14 million plaza project doesn’t guarantee economic development and could be ruinous for downtown businesses if supporters are wrong.

“That’s a heck of a gamble,” Ensey said.

The contract also includes language that would pay Gustafson’s firm an additional $370,000 for construction oversight if the council votes to proceed with that phase. The engineering design plans won’t be ready until November, City Manager Tony O’Rourke said.

With elections looming potentially for all seven Yakima City Council positions this year under a judge’s order in a federal voting rights case, it could mean a mostly new council would have the final vote on the plaza project after two years of debate and progress by the current council.

O’Rourke said it’s likely a council vote on whether to construct the plaza won’t come until early next year.

“A future council will have to make this decision,” O’Rourke said in an interview prior to the meeting.

The city’s agreement with a local sports nonprofit to put $4.1 million toward a new soccer complex was approved unanimously. About 40 youth soccer players involved with the Central Washington Soccer Academy flooded the council chambers to thank city officials for their support.

The nonprofit that will operate and maintain the facility, Sozo Sports, will foot the rest of the $11.8 million bill for development of the 58-acre site. Sozo organizers and city officials said at the meeting they believe the project could be up and running in one year.

The proposed facility would have 19 soccer fields, two of which would be indoors. The facility would also have three basketball courts, baseball batting cages, locker rooms and training rooms, a concession stand and a sports apparel shop on site.

The site would have parking for 1,100 vehicles. Sozo and city officials are discussing charging $2 for parking on weekends and for special events or providing an annual parking pass that could be purchased for $75.

The site is on 38th Avenue, north of Ahtanum Road and just outside of city limits. The city will have to annex the property before it can spend much of the money allocated, Yakima Community Development Director Joan Davenport said in an interview.

Davenport said the sale of the land to Sozo Sports from a private owner is pending. Sozo or the current owner can file a petition for annexation, which would then have to be approved by the City Council and go into effect after review by the Yakima County Boundary Review Board.

Under the agreement, Sozo would sell 42 acres to the city, which would then lease it back to the nonprofit for a “nominal amount” under a 40-year agreement, O’Rourke said. Sozo is purchasing the 58-acre site for $2.5 million, and Yakima’s 42-acre purchase agreement would be for $1.8 million.

O’Rourke said the city’s only maintenance obligation would be upkeep for the site’s parking lot, curbs and sidewalks.

In other business, the council voted 4-3 to extend a moratorium on homeless shelter applications in districts zoned as small convenience centers. The moratorium, first approved in October, will now last until August.

The moratorium was sparked by the nonprofit Yakima Neighborhood Health Services’ application to turn Roy’s Market at Sixth and Walnut streets into a community service center that would also house homeless residents. However, the moratorium does not apply to their application because it was filed prior to the moratorium.

That proposal is before the city hearing examiner. A final ruling is expected from the hearing examiner by May 8.

Council members Kathy Coffey, Micah Cawley and Ensey voted against lengthening the moratorium.

“The emergency moratorium was unnecessary to begin with and I think continuation of it is unnecessary,” Coffey said.

The council unanimously approved a four-year contract with the Yakima Police Patrolman’s Association that includes a 2.5 percent annual wage increase. The contract was approved March 31 by members of the union on a vote of 86-3, according to a council memo.

O’Rourke said the pay increase is consistent with other contracts approved in the last year with other unions representing the city’s public safety workers. The 2.5 percent increase is below the previous 15-year average of 3.5 percent wage increases for members of the association, O’Rourke said.

The council also approved a $20,000 contract with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Yakima County largely for the purpose of promoting city news and services to its members.

The chamber will receive $5,000 to promote this year’s Cinco de Mayo festival, $5,000 to promote the city’s FLY YKM program encouraging members to use the Yakima Air Terminal, and $10,000 for general outreach by the chamber to promote city news and services.

Yakima Economic Development Manager Sean Hawkins said the city has a similar contract with the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce.

Hawkins said the contract was a result of meetings between the chamber and city officials. The city’s other Hispanic chamber, the Central Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, does not have any such contracts with the city.

 

yakimaherald.com

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