Council accepts Sinkiuse plan
The Moses Lake City Council approved conceptual plans to redevelop Sinkiuse Square at Tuesday night's city council meeting, but with changes. In this older rendering, above, bathrooms were initially planned for a proposed stage. The latest plans place the bathrooms near the post office.<br>Courtesy photo
Concept approved for square redevelopment
MOSES LAKE — The proposed plan for a downtown square has been approved, opening up future movement on the redesign of downtown Moses Lake.
The Moses Lake City Council unanimously approved the conceptual plan for the redevelopment of Sinkiuse Square at their meeting Tuesday night, also authorizing city staff to put together information to go to bid on the project. The vote met with applause from a gathered group of Vision 2020 representatives in attendance.
The council voted earlier this summer to generally endorse the Sinkiuse plan, but a few tweaks to that plan have since been made. The biggest change to the square plan, Municipal Services Director Gary Harer told the council, has been the movement of bathrooms away from a proposed stage and closer to the Moses Lake Post Office.
The bathrooms and stage are part of a plan for the square that will also include landscaping and water elements for the proposed gathering place. The square redesign is part of a broader downtown revitalization project that has also proposed bringing wider sidewalks and extended curbs to the adjacent Third Avenue.
Harer said after the meeting that plans and specs for Sinkiuse Square would hopefully be in city council hands by late spring. Following a vote on the plan, Gavinski said the Sinkiuse Square plan would be included inside a 2006 preliminary budget proposal that will be presented to the council later in the year.
Mayor Ron Covey had a question about the plan, asking staff members how simple it would be to one day further expand the current design into a plaza. City staff responded saying that it had been accounted for.
"I just want that to be in the back of developers' minds when we put this together," Covey said.
Councilman Dick Deane showed his support for the plan but questioned if the city had covered every angle in its approval. He said that although he felt they have covered every aspect of the square redesign, the city continues to get comments from those opposed to it.
"It seems to me we've touched every nerve ending in this community," Deane said.
City Manager Joe Gavinski responded, saying that the council has anticipated many problems that could arise with the plan by taking their time.
Covey echoed those comments, mentioning the several planning and study sessions concerning the square in saying that a plan that for Sinkiuse Square does take a long time.
"It takes time, it takes planning, and we've said from the very beginning that we want to do it the right way," Covey said.
He added after the vote that a decision couldn't have been made without the input of groups like Vision 2020.
Vision 2020 Chair Jacie Daschel said after the vote that the group was "ecstatic" about the decision, adding that it was well worth the wait.
"It's a good plan, it's a good conceptual plan," she said. "There's room for details still to be added, but it's a good plan."
Also at Tuesday's Council:
? Council members awarded a bid for two sets of city mechanics' tools to Dunn Electric of Moses Lake in the amount of $29,058.
? The council unanimously approved to participate in improvements of Bailey Avenue and portions of Eastlake Drive.
? Council members unanimously approved a city ordinance prohibiting the view obstruction of fences, walls and hedges. The ordinance states that any fence, wall or hedge cannot obstruct the view of traffic or pedestrian movement, even if located on private property.