(The Center Square) – Spokane Valley officials are negotiating with a third party over a $44 million ice rink that an anonymous donor wants to build, with a promise to sell it to the city later on for $9.4 million. The Spokane Valley City Council authorized City Manager John Hohman to begin the deliberations after hearing from parents on Tuesday. “No,” Hohman said after Merkel asked who the donor was and how much they had already committed to the project. The Valley acquired the property in January and subsequently approved a $1.2 million project in April to install a waterline capable of supporting such a facility. Communications Manager Jill Smith told The Center Square that Hohman confirmed to her on Thursday that leasehold excise taxes would be a condition of this deal.