County-CWU park pact gets ‘conditional’ OK

Ellensburg Daily Record - December 9, 2006 - Mike Johnston

Gladmar Park will be surveyed

Kittitas County commissioners earlier this week gave conditional approval to Central Washington University to develop county land at Thorp into a natural science research and teaching laboratory for CWU students and staff and for all local public and private school students.

The condition calls for CWU to complete a land survey by April 2007 to confirm that planned improvements to the 40-acre Gladmar Park along the Yakima River will, indeed, be done on county lands.

Improvements also will reopen the area to those interested in using the park for general recreation.

The site is about a mile southeast of Thorp’s Exit 101 along Interstate 90 and next to the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

Commission Chairman David Bowen said commissioners on Tuesday gave their preliminary approval to an agreement that has Central — with the help of the Cascade Land Conservancy — making scheduled improvements to the site through 2010.

“Everybody is supportive of this proposal,” Bowen said after the Tuesday session. “It’s shaping up to be a great example of intergovernmental cooperation.”

Bowen said when the survey is completed and given to the county, commissioners will take formal action to approve the agreement, which has Central leasing the 40 acres for 50 years.

Wayne Quirk, CWU’s associate vice president for graduate studies, research and continuing education, developed the idea to use the riverside park that was washed out by flooding in 1996.

The flood action created a new river channel through the park and took out picnic tables, bathrooms and a parking lot. The new channel created a large island and pond not accessible from the new shoreline.

Jill Arango, Kittitas County conservation director for the conservancy group, said it was apparent the park land could be used as a teaching site showing how biological processes change with changing conditions.

“We’ll be looking for grants to help pay for the improvements and significant support from local groups and the community,” Arango said. “This area will be a real gem for the community, for local school students and CWU.”

That help may come from the Kittitas Environmental Education Network, Kittitas Audubon and others who have shown interest.

Central, in exchange for nearly no lease payments, will undertake improvements including cleanup and installing footbridges, interpretive walking trails, a parking lot, signs, restrooms and other recreational amenities.

The park plan involves work with state parks to develop expanded parking and restroom facilities in coordination with the John Wayne trail, which is part of state park’s Iron Horse Park trail system.

The agreement calls for a board of advisors to oversee the carrying out of the agreement as well as development of the park, which will be named the Gladmar Research & Education Area, or GREAT.