Downtown merchants look ahead to construction period

MLBA chiefs praise city for communication with businesses

MOSES LAKE — Several merchants are teaming up in what may be a pilot program in the face of concerns about downtown construction.

A number of downtown businesses are teaming up for an effort, beginning today and running through Saturday, for a "hot summer sale" in coordination with the Pig Out in McCosh Park.

"The merchants are coming together as a unit for this," Moses Lake Business Association executive director Sally Goodwin, said noting there are discussions for other promotions during the construction period, such as a treasure hunt. "Things to draw the customer downtown, and back door sales, alley promotions. That depends so much on the construction, we don't have all those details."

Construction is now estimated to begin July 31 instead of the original starting date, which was Monday. More information will be known following a meeting today between the contractors and the city of Moses Lake, Goodwin said. She said the city has kept the business community very well informed and up to date on the construction plans.

"This is kind of a trial basis here, to see how it all works," MLBA president Vern Hellewell echoed of the summer sale. "To see how it all works. If it's working good for this, we're just going to continue on through the construction."

Goodwin noted that the city put in contracting bids for the construction project such requirements as there having to be hard surface sidewalks, no business door can be blocked by a certain time of day on a business day and allowing contractors to work longer days, in hopes of having the construction over quickly.

"Get in, get it done and the sooner they can get it done, the better it's going to be," Hellewell said. "It's enough for them to have to work around the fact that they have to keep the businesses open, which is going to be a little bit of a task. But if they can work longer hours, it's fewer days, and makes it better for everybody. And the city's been in there making these things happen."

The merchants, Goodwin said, are anxious to see the project get under way.

"There was almost a panic right at first when we talked about how torn up it was going to be, but they realize that it's not going to be torn up for the entire length of the contract, that the city is really working to keep businesses accessible with everyone else," she said. "And with the city keeping us totally informed, we can keep them totally informed."

Hellewell agreed that there is concern, but those concerns are eased with increased amounts of knowledge about what's going on. He added that there had been some discussion about remodeling to the buildings, but many people are waiting to hear from Destination Development CEO Roger Brooks before making such moves. Brooks signed a one-year contract with the city earlier this year, to create the plan officials hope would turn the city into a tourist and economic development lure. The three- to five-year plan will include marketing and design concepts which the city will then try and implement. Brooks will deliver a branding workshop Friday morning.