SL council okays tourism funding; eyes planning pact

SOAP LAKE — Soap Lake city council members on Tuesday approved tourism promotional funding for multiple community events in 2026, and tentatively okayed a proposal for two contractors to begin providing city planning services.

The council’s actions during the March 24 special meeting helped advance a pair of unresolved agenda items discussed by city officials over the past two months.

In adopting Soap Lake’s budget for 2026, the council had earlier agreed to fund an in-house planner position to handle land-use, zoning, building, code enforcement, and comprehensive plan responsibilities.

Mayor Peter Sharp, in turn, had recommended hiring an outside contractor, Safebuilt LLC, a nationwide consultant which had submitted a service proposal.

Last month, councilman John Carlson asked for consideration of contracting with local architect Alex Kovach, who resigned as mayor in 2022 to become Soap Lake’s planning consultant. Kovach, whose contract was terminated by Sharp last May, recently said he was willing to resume providing professional services at rates that he claimed would significantly save money for the city.

Earlier this month, the city began advertising for a part-time planner working 20 to 25 hours per week with a salary range of $70,000 to $80,000 annually.

But during their discussions Tuesday, the council gave consensus agreement to a new proposal that calls for Safebuilt to work on updating Soap Lake’s comprehensive plan — which must be submitted for state review in coming months — while retaining Kovach on an interim basis to handle local planning and land-use matters.

Council member Susan Carson said both Kovach and a Safebuilt representative were agreeable to the proposal, which had been recommended by city attorney Julie Norton.

Sharp said Norton will be asked to draft language for a resolution that can be reviewed by the council at an upcoming meeting. 

Regarding Soap Lake’s tourism funding grants, Carlson and Carson voted with fellow council members Andrew Arnold, Kayleen Bryson, and Judith Gorman in unanimously approving proposals from sponsoring organizations for 15 community functions and events in 2026.

In Washington, counties and municipalities receive revenues collected through a state tax on motels, hotels, and campgrounds which can be allocated to applicants to promote tourism-related activities that attract both local residents and out-of-town visitors. The aim is to support local businesses and result in overnight stays — that is, “putting heads in beds.”

The monies must be utilized within provisions of state law, which include specific reporting requirements by recipients.

 Bryson said this year’s requests total $52,350, which is slightly more than what the city had budgeted for distribution. But she noted that a $5,000 allocation proposed for the local Masquers Theater is intended to make up for funding that was supposed to have been provided in years 2023-24, but did not occur for undetermined reasons.

Overall, the city’s tourism fund had over $138,000 in reserves as of this month, said Bryson.

The Soap Lake Chamber of Commerce requested up to $26,000 for sponsoring 11 events plus $8,000 to pay for summer-long operations at the Soap Lake Visitors Center at Smokiam/East Beach Park.

The chamber already held its Lantern Festival in February, for which it had requested $3,000.

Upcoming sponsored events, dates, and funding allocations are: Earthday, April 25 ($2,000); Lava Links Sandblast Open golf tournament, May 16 ($1,500); Fantasy Croquet, May 30 ($3,000); Suns-N-Sun Festival, July 4 ($3,000); 3-v-3 basketball tournament, July 4 ($2,500); Moonlight Paddle, Aug. 29 ($1,500); Full Moon Harvest Fest, Sept. 26 ($4,000); Shop About, Oct. 17 ($500); Shop Small Saturday, Nov. 28 ($500); and Winterfest, Dec. 5 ($2,000).

Bryson said the chamber may seek to add another feature to the Suds-N-Sun Festival in replacement of the popular Cossacks motorcycle precision drill team, which will not be participating this year. The Cossacks’ absence potentially frees up $2,500 for some other allocation, she said.

There were two other tourism grant applicants this year: the Soap Lake Prevention Coalition and the Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee. The prevention coalition requested $5,000 in funding for its involvement and promotion of the 3-v-3 basketball tournament on July 4. Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee asked for $2,600 for promotion of the Soap Lake Food & Festival event slated for July 19-20.

Carlson complimented the Masquers and Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee for the information provided in their tourism funding requests, but expressed disappointment in the other requests, saying he wanted to see “much greater detail” in their proposed spending.

 Carson said grant recipients are expected to provide information on the number of people attending their events, where they came from, their length of stay in the community, and whether they spent money patronizing local businesses. 

Carson also noted that receiving a tourism grant does not mean approval of the event itself. To use city properties, she said, sponsors must also apply for a special events permit authorized by the council with review approvals from police, fire, and public works officials.

Separately, Carson said she had been contacted by a representative from the Pacific Northwest Boat Racing Association about holding hydroplane races at Soap Lake on May 16-17. The representative said he had earlier talked to Mayor Sharp about the event, but had not heard back from the mayor despite subsequent attempts to contact him for confirmation.

While acknowledging being contacted initially, Sharp told the council, “I didn’t say yes” regarding the event.

Carson said the boat association could apply for a special event permit but it would be on short notice, and that another community event — the Sandblaster golf tournament — is also planned for the May 16-17 weekend.

Gorman said she believed it is too late for the city to consider the hydro races on that date.

Carlson, who said he personally “loves the hydros” — which have previously raced on Soap Lake and received local tourism funds — wondered if they might consider another date.

“We need to address the situation,” Carson told the mayor.

In a March 5 Facebook post, the PNBRA posted its tentative 2026 race schedule, which did not list the Soap Lake event. One commenter asked, “What happened to Soap Lake?” Another replied, “No communication from the city.”