School Board puts off any decision on Beaver Valley property until June

After two highly contentious school board meetings, the Cascade School Board has decided to put off any decision on the excess Beaver Valley School property until the June 26 meeting. Residents of Hill Street came to two meetings expressing their deep concerns about the next door Fire District 9 from acquiring the property for future expansion.
On Dec. 20, Cascade School Superintendent Bill Motsenbocker wrote an email to both parties informing them of the delay in making a decision.
“This delay will allow for thorough communication between Plain residents, Fire District 9, and the Cascade School District. In the meantime the District encourages dialog between the Hill St. community and LWFR (Lake Wenatchee Fire and Rescue) to seek common ground and agreement on design planning and proposed activities on the site,” Motsenbocker wrote.
Motsenbocker also encouraged respectful behavior between the parties, something that was an issue at the two school board meetings.
“I would also like to encourage rational and respectful communication among all parties with interest in a potential sale of the Beaver Valley property. Personal attacks and the distribution of outdated or inaccurate information has no place in this matter,” Motsenbocker wrote.  
Hill Street resident Don Bottoms said the school board asked for the “cooling off” period so the Hill Street issue would not be a distraction at every board meeting in the coming months.
“If there was any thought on the part of CSD that we Hill Street Neighbors would lose interest in standing against the LWFR plans over the intervening time, this is not the case,” Bottoms wrote, in Jan. 31 email.
He wrote the Hill Street neighbors would be very active in trying to prevent a sale to the fire district.
“We Hill Street Neighbors are continuing to pursue every avenue we can to prevent this land parcel in the midst of our neighborhood from being used in ways that would detract from the rural residential nature of our neighborhood, and we expect to offer the residents of Plain some ideas on positive alternative uses for this property in the near future,” Bottoms wrote.
LWFR Chief Mick Lamar said this is a complex issue.
“We’re trying to plan for the future. I understand the neighbors had some concerns. We’ve met with them and have addressed four of their concerns. I don’t know if we’re every going to be able to address all their concerns, but we’ll do the best we can,” Lamar said.
It’s really up to the school district, Lamar said. If they decide to surplus the property, the fire district would be interested.
“It would be for some future expansion. I see no harm in them delaying their decision to take some of the heat out and give us an opportunity to talk, see if we can come to some agreements on what it might look like or how it can be used up until the time that it was expanded on by the fire district,” Lamar said.
Lamar said they met with Hill Street neighbors recently and agreed to address some of their concerns.
“We’re going to relocate our training props. We’re going to paint and put some coverage on the containers that we have to have for storage. We’re going to dress up our sign out front,” Lamar said. “With these kinds of issues, it seems like if you address three, there might be three more, so we’re just going to continue to meet and talk and try to be good neighbors. I think we’ve always been good neighbors to the community. It’s unfortunate it got to this point, but it often happens with public works projects.”
Certainly, the fire district is going to a lot of effort for some property they may not even be able to purchase. Lamar said it’s their commitment to the neighbors to be good stewards of the property.
The job of the fire district is to not only respond to calls today or tomorrow, but planning for the next 10 years, he said.  
“I think most parties recognize that land is not going to be readily available in the future. We’re kind of land restricted up here with the amount of property owned by the Forest Service or private property,” Lamar said. “That parcel is perfect for development, but who develops it will have to be determined by the school district when they decide if and when and who they want to sell it to.”
Lamar said they have been able to address some of the concerns of some of the residents.
“There’s some of them I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to resolve all their concerns, but as a public safety agency, and it’s harsh to put it in this terms, we have to think for the greater good and not just a few people right around there,” Lamar said. “It’s a tough deal because we’ve always been good neighbors and good friends, trying to do the right thing. We’re just a little taken back by the acrimony this brought up, but we’re trying to work our way through it.”
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.