For more information:

Liz Bryson

Bryson Media

Office: (509) 964-2368

Cell: (509) 910-1097

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kittitas County Commissioners Approve Upper County Sno-park Plat

Cle Elum, Wash. (Sept. 11, 2006) – Kittitas County residents, as well as out-of-town visitors, will have a new place to park, unload snowmobiles and access miles of groomed trails by winter of 2007 thanks to a collaborative effort that has involved several Upper County entities.

The platting for the park, known as the Evergreen Sno-park, was approved by Kittitas County Commissioners on Sept. 5.

It will be built on five acres just off Woods and Steele Road, a few miles southwest of Cle Elum. The land, part of a performance-based cluster plat, was donated by Cle Elum land investment firm Sapphire Skies. Dayna Kauzlarich, owner of Cle Elum's John L. Scott Real Estate, estimates the land's value to be between $220,000 to $225,000 in the current market.

Once finalized, the Northern Kittitas County Parks and Recreation District will maintain the park by grooming trails and keeping the parking lot free of snow.

Many snowmobilers have used the area to access trails for years, but as development has continued in the area, Sapphire Skies, along with members of the Washington State Snowmobiling Association (WSSA), saw a need to create a permanent access point.

Also, those who have used the area in the past have been forced to park along the side of the county roadway. The Evergreen Sno-park will create a space where visitors can safely park and unload their snowmobiles while still accessing public trails.

“It's exciting. We looked at the problem and found a solution to the access issue,” said Sapphire Skies co-owner Sean Northrop, who is also a WSSA member. “We've moved it to a superior location, in the best spot and now it will be adjacent to U.S. Forest Service property.”

The park's concept first originated about two years ago when active snowmobiler Howard Briggs approached Sapphire Skies with the idea of creating an official park.

Briggs, chairman of the Kittitas County Grooming Council and member of the WSSA, said the park is an outstanding opportunity to maintain outdoor recreation in the area.

“It's a great deal,” Briggs said. “Snowmobilers have been left to park on Woods and Steele Road. Now we've found another location where they won't have to do that.”

As part of the qualifications for creating a performance-based cluster plat, land companies and developers must meet open space requirements. Sapphire Skies saw that requirement as an opportunity to create a park that will not only benefit the immediate area's residents, but those from all over.

“This was the type of project that the Kittitas County Commissioners were hoping to achieve when they created the cluster development ordinance,” said Howard Carlin, an Upper County Parks and Recreation District commissioner. “I am sure they will be pleased, as we are, to see this project go forward. It will truly be serving the public as envisioned in the creation of the cluster development concept.”

Once the land is turned over to the parks and rec district, some construction, such as grading, will be required before the park can be used. Currently the district is waiting to hear on a Interagency Commission for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) grant it recently applied for that would provide up to $70,000 for park construction.

“That would be enough for the first phase,” said Louis Musso, the park district's secretary. “The commissioners had a lot of special meetings to get that done.”

Once the park is complete, parks commissioners hope it will not only service snowmobilers, but also cross-country skiers, hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

“It is our expectation that this will also be a summer-use trailhead,” Carlin said.

The snowmobiling industry is a key one throughout Kittitas County, but especially in the Cle Elum/Roslyn area. The popular outdoor winter sport brings in thousands of tourists each season, with many of them from the West Side of the state.

“The Stampede area is just overwhelmed,” said Terry Hill, WSSA's district No. 2 chairman, which covers Kittitas County. “We need more sno-parks. Twenty-seven percent of snowmobilers use this area, along the I-90 corridor. There are 35,0000 to 36,0000 regional snowmobilers. Thank you to Sapphire Skies for giving us that property. We needed it.”

Sapphire Skies understands how important it is to maintain recreational opportunities throughout the Upper County. It's interested in creating other projects that will provide public outdoor usage and asks anyone with an idea contact Sapphire Skies at (509) 674-6828.