Soap Lake approves $25,000 for Lava Lite

Money for report to determine cost

SOAP LAKE - The Soap Lake City Council approved $25,000 for a design report for its lava lamp sign structure at their meeting Wednesday.

Soap Lake Mayor Wayne Hovde said the city is putting out a request for quotations to the architect community and selecting a firm to produce the report.

"The design report will give us a solid number of the cost estimate on that," he said. "It will also give us true and honest facts of the ability to erect it, in the manner of which has been designed and styled so we have something firm that we know what we're doing."

A design report was never provided in writing from any of the people working on the project previously, Hovde said.

"We've lost some time, now we're getting back on track again," he said.

The $25,000 is a portion of the funds allocated from the city's hotel-motel tax, which is a

budgeted item, for development of the Lava Lite project.

"There is no impact to taxpayers at all," Hovde said. "The funds are used in the tax that comes from hotel-motel, which is the tax visitors or guests would pay at a hotel in Soap Lake. There is not an impact of using general funds money."

The request for quotes needs to be written and sent, and Hovde said it could be 60 days before reaching the point of selection of an architecture firm to work on the project.

The selected architect would work with the project's lead engineers. A firm commitment has not been made for the lead engineers, Hovde said, but staff at Seattle-based firm Gray & Osborne's Yakima office is directing the city. The project began looking for new engineers in October.

"This information will give us a solid foundation of knowledge to just what we are looking at, how we proceed," Hovde said. The report will also include an estimate of total costs of the Lava Lite project.

After the design report, Hovde said the next step would be final drawings and permits for construction. The report gives the city the ability to approach potential fund providers and petition grants available for this sort of work, he said.

"Once we have a solid product in hand that we know will work," Hovde added.