The Bonney Lake City Council’s Community Development Committee is recommending the city not waive a fire hydrant requirement attached to an expansion project at the Swiss Sportsmen’s Club.

“A council that approved sprinklers for residential houses can’t be one that lets (the park) off the hook for a hydrant,” Committee Chairman Jim Rackley said during an April 19 council workshop.

Swiss Sportsmen’s Club Treasurer David Henline called the recommendation “frustrating” and said the park would continue to look into the issue.

“We’re not giving up,” he said.

The Swiss Sportsmen’s Club is planning to build a 960-square-foot bathroom/shower facility on its property. Because of the construction, city code would have required the park to connect to the city sewer system as well as make improvements to the street, including curbs and sidewalks. But the city council in November passed a developer’s agreement labeling the building as a “public facility” and waiving those requirements, though all other city codes remain in place.

As the park continued through the permitting process, it was discovered that city fire code would require the park to install a fire hydrant. The code creates four classification of buildings, each with their own requirements for fire flow and hydrant proximity: Single- and two-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial and industrial.

Once the structure was classified “commercial,” city code dictates a hydrant within 300 feet of the structure. The club balked at the notion due to the cost involved.

Henline said the club has already spent about $10,000 in design and permitting. Installing a hydrant and the piping, he said, could be too much for them to continue.

“We’ve got a lot of money into it and now they’re throwing up the fire hydrant and we may not even go forward with the whole thing,” he said. “It’s getting prohibitively expensive.”

According to the city, a fire hydrant costs approximately $1,800 plus about $35 per foot for the extension of the water main. Club officials estimate the cost to be at least $20,000.

According to club president Lou Ulrich, the closest hydrant is across 198th Avenue from the club, approximately 356 feet from the structure.

But Community Development Committee member Donn Lewis said while the distance isn’t far “as the crow flies,” it is closer to 650 feet on the roads, which is where fire hoses would be strung.

“And 650 feet of hose is considerable,” he said.

Lewis also said along with the 960-square-foot restroom facility would be a covered area, bringing the total square-footage of the structure closer to 1,800-square feet, making moot any considerations based on the size of the facility.

Members of the city’s Public Safety Committee, including chairman Mark Hamilton, said last week they thought the hydrant requirement could be waived because the fire department agreed to it.

Rackley, however, said in his discussions with East Pierce Fire and Rescue, Deputy Chief John McDonald said the department would not provide a written waiver, but simply would not object to any policy decision the council made regarding a developer’s agreement that included the hydrant.

“His name is not going to be on anything,” Rackley said

The club is also claiming the city owes them a fire hydrant because of a letter dated “1949” in which then-Mayor Kenneth Simmons promises in a post-script to provide the club with one.

According to the city, a check of the minutes of council meetings from the era show the city agreed to provide water connections, but there is no mention of a hydrant.

Only Councilman Dan Decker insisted the city should pay for a new fire hydrant based on the letter.

Rackley said the administration should continue to negotiate with the club in order to potentially lower the cost of installing a hydrant, but was insistent that a hydrant be installed as required by the fire codes.

“It needs to be renegotiated,” he said of the developer’s agreement, adding “We need to get a fire hydrant in there.”