Doolittle park needs more funding

Lender could seek lien, civil action

MOSES LAKE - Gen. James H. Doolittle Park is complete, but debt for its construction remains unpaid.

Park organizer Tara Childs said the biggest debt is about $13,400 owed to Denney Lumber. An additional $3,800 is owed to J & M Electric.

"My commercial lender here in St. Louis is becoming increasingly impatient with my efforts to retire the debt still due on materials supplied by Denney Lumber for the Moses Lake playground project, which (were) delivered in March of 2008," owner Scott Denney wrote in an e-mail to Childs.

Denney said there is no specific timeline for when his commercial lender could take additional action to collect the funds. He said Childs asked what options are available if the debt is not paid. Denney called his banker, who provided two options for actions the company took in the past, he said.

The lender could seek a mechanic's lien on the playground and could file civil action against the project's committee, according to Denney.

A mechanic's lien is a lien common in the construction industry, Denney said.

"I know you are doing all possible to retire this debt, and the last thing I wish is the playground project to have a dark cloud hanging over it," Denney stated in the e-mail. "I'm sure countless children have enjoyed playing on the structure, and it stands as a monument to residents in the community who wanted to do something positive."

He said the company's banker also does not want negativity dampening the park.

Moses Lake resident Scott Lang, who knows Childs from church and volunteered for the park's construction, said each person in the community donating a dollar would erase the debt.

Lang said the debt can be paid by giving up a small purchase, such as a candy bar or espresso for the day.

"If everybody in our community gave a dollar, problem solved," he said.

Approximately $117,000 was raised for the park so far, Lang said.

"(The remaining $13,400 is) not a lot of money owed to one particular person, in the scope of things," noted Denney.

Lang said he believes people don't take action because the debt looks insurmountable, and because people think someone else is going to solve the problem. When people feel paralyzed, no progress is made, he said.

"They're going to close the park down," he said. "They're going to take a single mom of three to court in a lawsuit."

Lang, who is a general foreman with IMCO General Construction based in Bellingham, said 33 co-workers helped with the park's construction.

The 12,000-square-foot park was built in four days.

"To me, it's an awesome playground," Lang said. "It was built by the community. It was built by people outside the community."

He noted the playground was designed based on children's ideas.

How to donate

Park organizer Tara Childs, a teacher at Larson Heights Elementary School, said the school is organizing an aluminum can drive for Oct. 24.

“Other than that, we have nothing up our sleeves,” Childs said.

Moses Lake resident Scott Lang, who attends church with Childs and helped build the park, said Cub Scouts Pack 67 is collecting money Saturdays and Sundays at Moses Lake Safeway, through the end of the month. The Cub Scouts are selling popcorn for their own organization, but they will accept park donations concurrently, Lang said. They will be at Safeway from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Checks can be mailed to Columbia Basin Foundation, 234 First Ave. N.W., Suite B, Ephrata, WA 98823.