Allow wakeboard park or not?

Published 12:01 am Saturday, October 15, 2011

MONROE — People will have a chance next week to give their opinion about a proposed wakeboarding park on Lake Tye.

Supporters claim it would bring visitors and open the sport to more fans. Still, others have concerns about the terms of the lease, how much revenue the city would get and whether the facility would limit public access to the lake.

On Tuesday night, the Sammamish-based H3O Development is scheduled to give a presentation addressing these issues. People will have an opportunity to speak afterward. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the council chambers, 806 W. Main St.

A decision from the council whether to go forward with the project is expected at the Nov. 1 meeting.

Wakeboarding, which combines skateboarding and snowboarding elements in the water, is becoming a frequent activity on the lake. Several wakeboarding competitions have been held on the lake in the past few years.

H3O Development wants to build a wakeboarding course on the south end of the lake with cables connected to eight lattice towers that would pull the wakeboarders through the water without the need of a boat. The boat is the most expensive and loudest part of the sport.

The park would take less than half of the 42 acres of the lake. A 2,500-square-feet building for a retail shop and lockers are also planned between the lake and the skateboard park.

Monroe resident Trish Lautensleger left a study session by the council this past week with some concerns, mostly about a private enterprise being in a public park.

“I consider the parks to be sacrosanct,” Lautensleger said. “Lake Tye is our gem and a big part of our neighborhood.”

Lautensleger is concerned the city could end up with abandoned towers if the venture fails.

The council must make sure the facility follows all environmental laws. The council should also consider alternatives in case the public opposes the wakeboarding park, Lautensleger said.

The wakeboarding facility would provided funding for the parks department, said Brad Smith, one of H3O managers. The city is cutting the parks staff in half under the proposed 2012 budget.

H3O will also take down the facility if it fails, he said.

People will continue to have access to most of the lake, except some parts that will be closed off when the wakeboarding park is running. That’s for security purposes, Smith said. The facility would also expand the boat launch to benefit boaters and kayakers, Smith said.

“There’s plenty of room for all activities,” Smith said. “We are not taking too much away.”

With more people using the park, people will have to share the trails with wakeboarders, Monroe’s economic development manager Jeff Sax said.

H3O proposed to give 10 percent of the net profit to the city as payment to use the lake. This means the city could get between $15,000 and $30,000 in its first year in revenues, Smith said. The amount increases the second year between $50,000 and $108,000, according to the H30 application.

Some at the council suggested H3O pay a fixed amount for the lease instead.

No amount has been determined.

“We need to figure how much the land costs to determine the value of the lease,” Sax said.

Other issues are which side will pay the $100,000 in installing utilities and how much parking is needed.

If approved, construction would last six months. If all things go according to H3O’s plan, the facility would open by next summer.

Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.