Soap Lake dreams of better downtown

Meeting informs citizenry of plan to give area a facelift, and possibly a giant lava lamp

SOAP LAKE — With the aid of consultants hired by the city, Basin leaders alongside private citizens saw and expressed their support for the revitalization project planned for Soap Lake, which includes a stronger connection to the town's renowned mineral water, a rejuvenated waterfront, cleaner streets, green areas and, yes, maybe even the giant lava lamp.

Consultant Michelle Whitfield said there are pros and cons to becoming the home of the world's biggest lava lamp. Its visibility and uniqueness are among the positives. The negatives include the lamp becoming an eyesore as well as the city being given the label of "home of the lava lamp," which would brand Soap Lake as a "tacky town," Whitfield said.

This, in turn is inconsistent with the message of healing and heritage that the city has carried so far, thanks to its mineral waters and cultural richness. The result might be turning off target market segments the city seeks to attract.

These include people attracted to the outdoors, families seeking a quick getaway, as well as the city's current residents, demographically and ethnically varied. Most of these groups were at the meeting and voiced their opinion.

One of them is Anna Kozlov. Kozlov, a resident of Soap Lake for less than two years, said the town "feels like there is nothing for young people to do, like a bowling alley or something."

Boring or not, a large group of citizens are on board with the effort to revitalize the town, and so far, that is enough to make people feel optimistic. "It looks like we are getting somewhere," said Cela Reeves, a 15-year resident of Soap Lake.

The citizenry's outlook pleased Soap Lake authorities.

"It shows the community is being understanding of the situation," said Soap Lake Mayor Wayne Hovde, who emphasized the fact that this is just a plan to put something in motion that may result in constructions, and not a preview of things to immediately come.

"This will not happen all at once," he said. "This will come in stages."

The need for a piecemeal approach goes along with the desire to keep looking for financial sources such as grants, Hovde said. Citizens and experts agreed that the next big step for the revitalization is to fund it.

The concern is to put money on the table to keep the project rolling. Consultant Lorraine Roach from the Hingston Roach Group in Grangeville, Idaho said she has seen many projects start out strong but as the money peters out, so does the interest, the effort and then the project itself.

For now, however, the turnout and the enthusiasm fuel the optimism that that will not be the case this time.

"It was a great coming together of the minds," said Terry Brewer, executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council. "It's evident that people care."

Brewer said that as much as there is left to do, this is not a beginning but a continuation of something that started nearly two years ago.

"This has been building up for 16 months," he said.

Enthusiasm nonetheless, Roach advised keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground, adding that that is the approach the consultants will take.

"People want to dream a bit," she said, "but we focus on things that are realistic and implementable.

Any other approach is a recipe for sparser crowds at future meetings, Roach said. A slower, more realistic approach is the key to keep the energy up.

"We want to hit base hits instead of home runs," she said.