City breaks ground on new operations complex

by Brad W. Gary<br>Herald Staff Writer
| March 20, 2006 8:00 PM

MOSES LAKE — City leaders dug the first shovels into the ground of an empty field Friday, at a site soon to house the backbone of maintenance and operations at the City of Moses Lake.

With shovels in hand, city councilman and Municipal Services Director Gary Harer dug the first holes on the ground before construction crews begin work at the 12-acre site. City Manager Joe Gavinski later climbed atop a CASE back hoe, complete with gold painted bucket, to further excavate on the property. Gavinski said the facility was long in coming.

"I am really happy to be able to do this for the city and the crews that have to work in the city's facility," he said.

Mayor Ron Covey added the complex will give city staff an opportunity to work in a nice and safe environment. The operations and maintenance complex at the corner of Road 4 NE and Airport Hangar Road will in one year encompass three buildings, including one 22,000-square-foot building, to house storage equipment rentals and maintenance shops for the city.

Harer said the facility is going to be a great improvement for city staff in operations and parks, who currently operate out of a building first constructed for use in the 1950s. He said the building will be a much needed addition for city staff members who have been crowded in their current facility, and the much needed addition will better accommodate the city's work alongside growth happening in the city.

"This is a true Moses Lake field of dreams," Councilman Dick Deane added.

The contract to construct a new complex also includes a remodeling of another city operations facility on Lakeside Drive. The entire project is expected to be complete within the next year at a cost of approximately $7.5 million.

The project's environmental checklist had been appealed by the residents of neighboring Skyline Acres, who had concerns about the increasing number of vehicles and noise created from the facility. Their appeal of the complex was denied by the city's planning commission, but their concerns did spark the city to add additional landscaping to obstruct some views of the site by the neighborhood.

Some residents had said following approval of the project that landscaping improvements would better obstruct views of the facility from the neighborhood, but concerns remained about dust coming onto county road and from noise emanating from the site at night for projects such as snow removal. The additional landscaping along Road 4 NE was designed to act as a buffer between the site and the residents, Harer said.

"With that," Harer said of landscaping, "I think the neighbors were satisfied. And we'll try to be as good as neighbors as we can."

Contractor Graham Construction will begin work on the site this week, and Harer envisioned the city moving into the completed building about this time next year.

"Everyone's really excited," Harer said. "We've put a lot of effort in reviewing the plans, and I think it's going to be a good facility."