Resident has plan in works to make animals roam in wide-open spaces
Medical Lake resident Scott Christenson would like to see a former dairy farm south of the city turned into a zoological park, similar to the Olympic Game Farm.
That years-old issue with deer roaming the streets of Medical Lake may have been the switch that turned on the light for a solution of a different sort.
At least that's what resident Scott Christenson is envisioning.
Christenson made his first public presentation of the wild idea of having a zoo find a home in Medical Lake when he presented it at the Oct. 17 City Council meeting. While his presentation to council was the first official overture to local officials, Christenson had previously discussed the idea with ReImagine Medical Lake.
What he hopes to eventually see is the existing Cat Tales Zoological Park, located north of Spokane along U.S. Highway 2, have Medical Lake as its new home.
This is not just a wild pipe dream for Christenson, who has lived much of his life in Medical Lake. He's spoken with Cat Tales ownership, who told him they are cramped for space and could use some true wide open spaces somewhere in and around his hometown.
Cat Tales features exotic felines as its main attraction, but moving to more land would allow expansion of the population.
Having traveled to the Olympic Game Farm, a drive-through park near Sequim, Wash., gave Christenson the idea to connect with Cat Tales. It took a year or so for Christenson to hear back from them, but they were receptive he said. An attempt to contact Cat Tales for comment has not yet received a response.
Christenson has looked at the former Pine Lodge Correctional facility near Medical Lake - which closed following budget cuts several years ago - because it had fencing in place. It 's the same for the former University of Washington primate center, which went away over 20 years ago.
Right now, his preferred location is the abandoned former dairy farm located not far from Lakeland Village and just outside the city proper. The land falls inside city boundaries, which makes it ideal for many reasons.
Besides city officials, Christenson said he has also spoken with others from the state and county, some helpful, others not so much.
"I've been dealing with Sen. (Michael) Baumgartner and he's the only government official that's even responded," Christenson said. "He's been very positive." That led others from the county commissioner's office to look at the idea.
Christenson said he's been trying to narrow down the location. He had looked at a chunk of private property near Clear Lake, but Spokane County wants $10,000 just for a zoning change application and with no guarantee that it might be successful.
"That's not going to happen," he said.
So he keeps returning to the dairy. He sees reclaiming some of the existing barn structures at the farm property. He loves the old stonework of the foundation.
The project is too preliminary at this point to have any cost figure. "I really don't have a dollar figure," Christenson said.
Christenson is as close to a lifer in Medical Lake as there is, outside of a few years spent away as a child. His family lived in the Hallett House at one time and he graduated from Medical Lake High School in 1981.
He was a member of the 242 Combat Communication Squadron of the Washington Air National Guard. That's where Christenson learned air traffic control skills that he put to work at Spokane International Airport for 15 years. He moved to Honolulu, Hawaii for nine years before retiring and returning to Medical Lake three years ago.
The impetus for the project came from an incident a couple of years ago where deer got into Christenson's back yard, attacked his dogs, inflicting injuries on them.
"I love the scene of deer around town and everything, but after they attacked my dogs and just about killed them I realized how dangerous they really can be," Christenson explained.
He heard from other residents with similar tales and what can we do to solve this problem?
The Department of Fish and Game charges $400 per deer to catch and relocate them, Christenson said.
Christenson said he's certain people do not want to see the deer get hurt, but just don't want them causing problems. "We can round them up and put them to work at the zoo as an attraction," he said.
The project has Facebook presence under the title, Medical Lake Zoo. There, a very thorough plan and outline for the project can be found. It's also a place where Christenson encourages online dialog to get much needed input.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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