Saturday, March 15, 2025
PATEROS – Amid the ongoing construction on Commercial Avenue improvements from Lakeshore Drive on the west end to Dawson Street on the east, the city council met on Oct. 21 to hear the latest developments on the tennis court resurface grant and the Rock Garden Holdings project.
City Administrator Jord Wilson reported that the city did not receive its grant request made to the state Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) last Feb. 20 for $621,419 to replace the tennis court on Riverside Avenue.
“It was a highly competitive process with $92 million in grant requests across the state with only $12 million funded,” said Wilson. The Northeast Region had 19 applications, and ours ranked 16th.”
Wilson said one project for $1.2 million was the only one funded in our region.
“This is the third RCO application where we have come up short, the previous two were within one point of award,” explained Wilson. “Although the application process has gotten easier, it is still time consuming for such a small chance of being funded. Grant funding for this type of project is very limited.”
Wilson patching and resurfacing the court is just a band aid and costs about $30,000.
“These patches last only about three to five years,” said Wilson. “The underlying asphalt surface is over 50 years old. As it ages it loses flexibility, becomes brittle and cracks. Those cracks show up quickly when we resurface. A conservative estimate on replacing the asphalt alone is over $500,000.”
Rock Garden extension request
Chris Anderson, owner of Rock Garden Holdings, a development project involving eight lots in downtown Pateros, requested a fourth amendment to his agreement with the city that dates to 2017.
The original agreement dated Nov. 8, 2017, called for the project to be completed within two years. An amendment to that original agreement expired on June 1, 2022.
A second amendment expired Dec. 20, 2023, and the city granted a third which will expire on Nov. 22 this year.
A problem securing tenant commitments for the new building proved to be an obstacle to securing construction financing.
“Unless we get a tenant for one of those buildings, we’re going to have a hard time getting construction loans for the first building,” Anderson told the council in 2023.
Anderson did commit to site improvements and underground work in the interim.
Wilson will consult with city attorney Scott DeTro and report back to the council at its November meeting.
Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media
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