Soap Lake spa funding examined

Proposed $3 million project must be public-private venture

SOAP LAKE — Thirty Soap Lake business owners, city officials and residents on Monday examined funding options for an envisioned 11,400-square-foot upscale spa and wellness center built alongside the historical lake.

Funding specialists from the state and federal government presented alternatives for the approximately $3 million project, designed to blend with a desert landscape, provide multiple relaxation pools and emphasize panoramic views of the lake.

In June, Olympia-based Barney & Worth, Inc., presented the results of a feasibility study they led, concluding the community should continue project planning efforts and begin the search for funding.

George Sharp, a marketing manager for business and project development with the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, recommended during Monday's funding workshop the city apply for the recently established Job Development Fund Program.

The Community Economic Revitalization Board administers the JDF program, which the Washington State Legislature created last session to assist public projects in the creation and retention of jobs.

CERB will make about $49.5 million available for grants by September 2007. Sharp said he expects up to 112 applicants to seek funding for their various projects through the program.

The JDF program's grant assistance will not fund more than 33 percent of any public sector project, he said.

If Soap Lake was awarded the maximum grant, they would receive roughly $1 million toward their project, leaving other funding sources to support 67 percent of the total project.

Soap Lake Mayor Wayne Hovde said additional grants, loans or private funding may be available and the city plans to continue exploring those options.

"I definitely feel it's important to the city as far as job production and having it as a nucleus for other businesses to come to town related to the spa or to tourism," Hovde said. "I believe the spa is very valuable and I think we should run with it."

The next step is for city council to approve and complete a three-page pre-application for the CERB grant, which they will discuss at tonight's regular meeting, he said. Soap Lake Revitalization Team member Burr Beckwith said a partnership between public and private interests will be required to complete the project.

"It's encouraging to know there are some public funding sources available," Beckwith said. "But private money will have to come forward to make the whole thing happen."

Public funding, such as the potential CERB grant, would provide an incentive to private investors who may seek involvement in the project, he said.

"Right now, nationwide, there is a very positive strong trend in the spa industry," said LeRoy J. Debes, a business program specialist with the U. S. Department of Agriculture's rural development program.

"If Soap Lake maybe had been able to move forward on this five years ago they would have been on the front of that curve of that trend," said Debes.

He shared his experience in the loan and grant application process at the workshop and presented several loan options available through the federal government.

With only a small number of jobs being directly created by the project, Debes said the proposed spa and wellness center is not a traditional economic development program.

"It's not like a hospital or a health clinic that we would define within our USDA rural development programs as an essential community facility," he said.

Grant County Economic Development Council Executive Director Terry Brewer said the spa project would have a positive effect on the local economy and believes Soap Lake needs a strong application to receive funding, because the loan and grant programs are very competitive.

Soap Lake must acquire recommendations from political representatives to be competitive in the process, Brewer said.

The city will need to complete the pre-application for the CERB grant by Jan. 6 and a second and more comprehensive application by April.

City Councilman Barney Berg said he endorses the spa and wellness center being built and attended Monday's workshop, but believes the city must first focus on revitalizing city streets and focus on the Soap Lake Downtown Master Plan.

"There's a lot of hurdles to overcome before the spa could be realized," Berg said. "I don't think you could build that (spa) before you complete the downtown revitalization."