Council offers reward for Japanese Garden vandalism

$2,500 approved for arrest and conviction of suspects

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake City Council says it won't stand for vandalism in its limits, and council members Tuesday approved a reward for the arrest and conviction of the vandals who trashed the city's newest park over the weekend.

The Moses Lake Japanese Garden closed earlier this week to repair damages from the vandalism, just two weeks after the park's opening. The gardens opened Memorial Day weekend but closed after suffering approximately $1,000 in damage from a vandalism incident Sunday night. Several plants in the park were damaged, and the garden's bamboo gazebo suffered minor damage as well.

With unanimous approval, the council Monday authorized a $2,500 reward for the arrest and conviction of garden's vandals.

"I know of no one that hasn't felt the hurt that the community has experienced from this," Mayor Ron Covey said at Tuesday's council meeting.

By proposing a reward, Covey told the council he wanted to let the community know that the city feels a responsibility to those who donated and worked on the project and to set a tone about vandalism in the community.

"We're not going to let vandalism occur in the city of Moses Lake," he said, "especially to community property."

Covey originally asked for a $1,500 reward for the arrest and conviction of the suspects, which was quickly raised to $2,500 by council members. Moses Lake city codes allow the police chief and city manager to assess rewards of up to $2,500, and council members have the right to alter those rewards.

The garden was closed following a vandalism incident Sunday night, and was scheduled to reopen Wednesday morning. The garden was built with installed hidden security cameras, and authorities are currently analyzing video of the incident.

In other council business, the council unanimously approved Jacie Daschel's appointment to the city's Parks and Recreation Commission.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, the commission approved a bid and awarded a contract to MRM Construction of Ellensburg for improvements to city plants that handle biosolid and wastewater treatment. The project includes improvements to the city's Sand Dunes Treatment Plant for biosolids handling and other improvements to the Larson and Sand Dunes Treatment plants. The contract was awarded for $2,441,990.90.

The council approved on its first reading, amendments to the city's 2005 budget that City Manager Joe Gavinski said needed to be made after the city receives some ending fund balances. Council members also approved a reimbursement levels to landowners for future improvements on Valley Road and Paxson Drive.