Longview Tracts: 'Challenges and bright spots'

Councilmen look back at their tour of Moses Lake neighborhood.

MOSES LAKE — Something needs to be done.

That is the consensus among city council members after their tour of Longview Tracts, a neighborhood north of the city.

During the tour, city council members Lee Blackwell, Dick Deane and Jon Lane, accompanied by city hall staff, had a first-hand look to the good, the bad and the ugly areas of Longview Tracts, which was annexed to the city from the county nearly a decade ago.

Gilbert Alvarado, Moses Lake's Community Development director, said the tour gave the councilmen a chance to compare the neighborhood to the areas they live in.

"The feeling I got was things aren't as bad as they might have believed," Alvarado said.

Councilmen had a different view.

"Nothing against (the residents), but it's appalling how some people live," Lane said. "Something needs to happen in some areas."

Blackwell echoed Lane's sentiments.

"There is a great deal of work that needs to be done," Blackwell said. "Both by property owners and by the city."

This work includes putting in sewers, streets and sidewalks, all highly expensive projects and all needing the cooperation of property owners, many of whom do not live in the city.

Both Blackwell and Alvarado agreed that the people of Longview Tracts need to get together and see what they can do as a group to improve their surroundings.

"We have been here for years and the only person we have heard from is (longtime Longview Tracts resident) Marietta Miller."

One of the ideas proposed to staff is streamlining the notification process for residents not complying with city codes.

Right now, the process consists of giving a verbal, then a written warning and then a ticket after a 10-day grace period. Councilmen suggested eliminating one of the warnings.

Councilmen proposed expediting the creation of a nuisance ordinance, as well.

"To me a nuisance is a property that looks like hell, but does not in itself create a dangerous condition," Blackwell said. "But it could potentially be a health problem."

Other ideas are creating a free dumping day for all the material littering front yards and back yards. Lane suggested a volunteer clean-up day like the ones held twice a year for downtown Moses Lake.

Another possibility is waiting for grants to come through. However, with a neighborhood like Longview Tracts competing for money with whole cities, that is a long shot, Alvarado said, and the city will probably have to come up with ways to pony up the money on its own.

These ideas underscore the need to do something about the area, regardless of the source.

"I deal (with it) in my job as a school teacher," said Lane, the assistant principal at Frontier Middle School. "I know how poverty affects kids."

The tour did not include any Longview Tracts residents such as Miller, a continued advocate for Longview Tracts improvements.

Miller, who at Tuesday's city council meeting, thanked the council members for their interest in her neighborhood, and said that she took her own tour of the area, "and made my own assessment.

"There are things I would like the city to consider," she added.

These include ridding the area of boarded up buildings, solving the dangerous buildings code and more serious consequences for repeat violators, including renters and owners.

Miller said that she feels like the councilmen are beginning to take action.

"I look forward to continued improvements in Moses Lake," she said.

Since three council members attended this tour, Mayor Ron Covey has asked that a second tour be scheduled for the upcoming weeks, allowing the remaining members of the council to visit the area.