*** Park's New Owners Keep Same Hours, Fees ***

UNION GAP-YAKIMA, WASHINGTON — 03/29/2006
To mark its first day of owning the Youth Activities Park,
the Union Gap City Council discussed rental fees, parking
charges and hours of operation at its Monday night meeting.

The City Council decided to keep its hours and rental fees
the same as in past years, when the land was owned by the
county. The park will open at 9 a.m. and close at dusk. The
base deposit for renting buildings will remain at $200, and
reservations for picnic areas will range from an average of
$11 to $44, depending on the number of people using the
space.

Implementing parking fees, though, remains an issue of debate.
Councilman Jim Lemon and Mayor Aubrey Reeves support a
$3 charge per vehicle, while Councilman Dan Olson believes
that amount is too high.

"If you want a park to be maintained well and improve it,
I recommend $3," Reeves said. "People can go to one of
our three other parks and pay no money to use it."

Options will be discussed April 10. Also at that meeting,
the City Council will discuss hiring a working foreman to
manage and maintain Union Gap's four parks — Cahalan,
Louden,

Fullbright and the Youth Activities Park. The proposed
starting pay for the employee varies from $35,328 to
$43,380 per year, depending on experience.

The Youth Activities Park at 1000 W. Ahtanum Road was
previously owned by the county. Due to financial constraints
and the park's location inside the city limits, county commissioners
approved transferring the 74-acre complex to Union Gap last week.

The city received the title to the property and more than
$27,000 to help offset initial operating costs. The money
is what remained in the county's 2006 parks budget for
Ahtanum park.

As mandated by the transfer agreement, the city will honor all
existing contracts with user groups. This includes the Yakima
Youth Soccer Association and the Yakima Valley BMX Association,
which developed a bike motocross track at the park.

The Union Gap City Council spent more than six months
considering whether to accept the park, ultimately voting
5-2 in favor of taking ownership in February. Councilmen
Dan Olson and Glenn Bateman cast the two no votes.

Union Gap is now responsible for taking reservations for
parks facilities, such as rentals for picnic areas and buildings.
The City Council set aside about $235,000 in its 2006 budget
to fund the park, an amount that will cover basic operations
and repairs for one year.

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