Soap Lake debates Lava Lite

Project parts to remain in Ephrata

SOAP LAKE - The Soap Lake Lava Lite arrival is delayed.

At a previous meeting the Soap Lake City Council approved to move the Lava Lite to the city by Aug. 17 to avoid additional storage fees.

The city is paying the Port of Ephrata $600 per month for storage.

Mayor Wayne Hovde said there is no way to move the Lava Lite and no place to put it.

At a previous meeting he said some parts would be placed at the Lava Lite site and other more delicate pieces would be placed in storage somewhere on city property.

Hovde said there is one person who might help move the parts to the city.

"We don't want to pay the $600 to store it anymore," Councilmember DeVaun Black said.

"We can't attempt to move it and stick it someplace … it could be destroyed," Hovde said.

He explained the previous decision to move the Lava Lite from storage may not have been in the best interest of the project.

The cost to move it might outweigh the cost to store it in Ephrata, Hovde said.

"I want it moved and I don't care what happens to it," Black said. "The last I heard, it wasn't even viable."

He said the design of the project changed. Previously the Lava Lite was to feature moving parts to simulate lava, now it will be stage lighting, he said.

"It's going to drag on forever, that's what bothers me," Black said. "Time to quit."

"It just takes two phone calls to end the whole thing," Hovde said. "It goes to the landfill if it isn't used."

According the contract, the Lava Lite must be thrown away if not on display and can't be scrapped.

He said an estimate from the engineers to build the Lava Lite has not been given. He often hears the city will get an estimate, but never does. A cost to take the Lava Lite to the landfill is unknown.

"Sooner or later, you're going to have to say it's not going to work," Black said.

The mayor said the engineers told him the estimate would be available soon.

"This is what I have been told but I've also been told this before," Hovde said. "Does the city want to continue with their efforts to erect it?"

Councilmember John Hillman said he would like to see the Lava Lite erected but the city has a fiduciary responsibility to citizens.

He said it would be a waste of money to move the Lava Lite to the city only to find out it will cost too much to build later. Then a second move to the landfill could follow, he said.