WSU Regents Approve Sale of Camp to Coeur d’Alene Tribe

SEATTLE — The Board of Regents of Washington State University approved the sale of Camp Roger Larson near Worley, Idaho, to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe for $1.4 million, along with a $1 million pledge from the tribe over five years to support Native American education programs.

The regents took the action during their regularly scheduled meeting Friday (Sept. 10) in Seattle.

The 40.55-acre camp on Lake Coeur d’ Alene was closed at the end of the 2002 camping season because of the high cost of upgrading its facilities and liability concerns.

Meetings are being held between tribal and university officials to decide which programs will be supported by the tribe’s financial pledge.

In other action, the regents approved the purchase of four properties located within the boundaries of WSU Spokane’s campus. The properties were purchased in 2000 and 2001 by Cougar Property Holdings Inc., a non-profit supporting organization to the WSU Foundation. The purchase price of $5,233,741 will reimburse Cougar Property Holdings Inc. for its costs in the land purchase.

The parcels include land along Trent Avenue and a parking lot located between Riverpoint Boulevard and the Spokane River. University officials believed this would be an optimal time to purchase the properties, as the plans for development in connection with Spokane’s University District move forward.

WSU administrators also informed the board that Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded WSU’s housing and dining system revenue bonds from A1 to Aa3. In raising the university’s bond rating, Moody’s cited the university’s solid financial reserves, manageable debt levels and its strong market position as Washington’s land-grant university. A bond upgrade can lower a university’s cost of borrowing.

In other action items, the regents:

Approved the continued use of URS Corp., Seattle, for design services for the Rotunda Dining Center renovation in Pullman.
Approved schematic design documents and authorized bids to be taken on construction of a library retrieval system for remote storage of library materials in Pullman.
Approved the bidding process for the construction of a clean room in the Engineering Teaching/Research Laboratory building in Pullman.
Approved an increase in the costs of the installation of a central air conditioning system in Commons Hall in Pullman from $620,000 to $770,000 and an increase in the cost of installation of a fire suppression system and a fire alarm system in Cleveland Hall in Pullman from $510,000 to $660,000.
Approved the sale of Fife Farm #2 and Fife Farm #3 in Pierce County for a total of $10.9 million.