Burden visits Moses Lake again

Walkable Communities expert tells city to "not spend too little money" on revitalizing downtown

MOSES LAKE — Florida development expert Dan Burden met with city authorities and community leaders Wednesday afternoon, telling them that sometimes all it takes is "one good building" to revive a downtown area.

Burden met at the Moses Lake Learning Center with members of city commissions, city council, as well as local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce. During the hour-long session, he urged city leaders to go forward with the efforts to turn downtown into a walk-first, drive-second area.

Last year, during a two-day visit, Burden brought to Moses Lake his ideas on how to turn the city into a healthier, more community-based place to live. Back then, he advised the city to take advantage of the lake and called on everybody to get involved in making Moses Lake a walkable community.

"It all begins with every citizen figuring out what they can do," he said.

Then, earlier this year, City Manager Joe Gavinski, Mayor Ron Covey and Community Development Director Gilbert Alvarado visited and toured walkable communities in Florida with Burden.

In Florida, the trio from up north saw several things they would like to implement in downtown Moses Lake, such as plenty of downtown multi-family housing, ("You gotta have bodies around," Alvarado said.) lower speed limits downtown and plenty of the types of businesses that motivate people to stay downtown.

"(Downtown development) is not going to happen with just clothing stores, shoe stores and appliance stores," Alvarado said during the city council retreat where the three told the rest of the council what they had seen. "It's going to happen with coffee shops, bookstores and restaurants."

Only once, during the 12-hour-a-day tours of Florida, did they see back-in parking like in Moses Lake's Dogwood Street, a project that has received criticism from part of the community. But it's a project that will eventually see support by residents, Burden told city leaders Wednesday.

Burden told his audience not to get discouraged by criticism of back-in parking on Dogwood Street or other projects. "Sooner or later people are going to realize these are good ideas," he said.

Councilman Richard Pearce expressed some of the concerns of the city when he said "citizens can design a Cadillac but may not get a city to pay for it." Burden retorted that loosening the purse strings is important when it comes to luring people to live or shop at a city's downtown.

"You can't build what you can't afford," he said. "But you have to learn (how) to afford what you want. Don't spend too little."

Stopping in Moses Lake on his way to Portland, Ore., Burden said one of the things the city needs now is a small group of people to "really work hard," and work out the details towards future steps.

Gavinski assured Burden that the city is getting close to that point and to putting something on paper that depicts where the city wants to go.