Moses Lake tables Juniper Drive vacation

Council still seeks solution

MOSES LAKE - A request from the Moses Lake Clinic to vacate a portion of Juniper Drive was tabled once more by the Moses Lake City Council Tuesday night.

Moses Lake Clinic Administrator David Olson made a request to council in September to vacate a portion of Juniper Drive spanning approximately one tenth of a mile from Cherry Avenue to Hill Avenue to allow the clinic to expand their facilities, parking and keep physicians at one site.

A similar request was made in 2003 and was rejected by council.

Selling Juniper Drive to a business is not a benefit to citizens, Juniper Drive resident Coralee Gill said. Once the city sells the street, it's irrevocable. She questioned what would happen if the clinic moved its facilities in the future due to more expansion needs.

Moses Lake Clinic Physician Dr. David L. Curnel said several physicians are housed at Pioneer Medical Center due to the lack of space at the clinic. The different location causes patients to make at least two trips per visit and isolates physicians from each other, he said.

Juniper Drive resident William Bishop suggested the clinic build upward rather than expanding outward. He said the clinic should consider building a walkway to a parking garage where people can pay to park.

Olson said the clinic can't build upward due to their conditional use permit.

Bishop said he worried his property taxes would increase, his property value would decrease and he worried the residential area would become a business zone.

Mayor Ron Covey said if the clinic expands, increases in property taxes would not be directly related and the residential area would not convert to a business zone.

Bishop said the closure would force residents to drive alternative routes considered too steep and slippery during the winter.

"I don't like a bunch of big shots trying to pounce on little people living on the street," Bishop said to clinic administration and staff.

Olson spoke about the traffic counts conducted on roadways near the proposed vacation.

He said there were traffic increases on some roadways but there were also decreased numbers on others during the temporary test closure.

"No one was kept a prisoner in their house because they couldn't get out. No one was kept from getting to their job or getting back from their job or from the store to their house," Olson said. "I understand that it was inconvenient for some people to make a left turn instead of going straight but I think it's fair to say, at least in my opinion, that the benefits received by thousands of the members of this community outweigh the inconvenience of a relative few."

He said people ask why the clinic did not build in a less crowded area. He said 29 years ago when the clinic was built, it was not near as crowded.

Olson said there are citizens trying to get care but can't because the clinic can't provide the doctors on-site due to lack of space.

He said patient care would be better if all the doctors were in the same clinic because it encourages communication among physicians.

Pearce said he doesn't understand how vacating the street would help the physicians be in the same area to enhance communication. If the street is vacated it will become a parking lot separating the expanded facilities, he said.

He suggested leaving the street open and modifying it with paving bricks and eliminating curbs to make it similar to the downtown.

Pearce said drivers would probably use the clinic's parking lot as a through-way if Juniper Drive is vacated.

"We need specialists, really bad, to be based in Moses Lake," Councilmember Brent Reese said.

People are driving out of town to see specialist physicians, he said. He questioned if the vacation would bring more specialist physicians to Moses Lake.

Councilmember Jim Liebrecht said he will vote against the vacation request because he does not agree with the reasons why the clinic made the request.

"I'm somewhat disappointed in a request I have made on two or three different occasions," Covey said.

He said he asked clinic administration to send a letter to the city indicating any compromises they are willing to make and never received a response.

Covey said he wanted to know if the clinic would be willing to offset costs to improve Lark Avenue to be an access point for the neighborhood if Juniper Drive was closed.

The proposed vacation section of Juniper Drive is valued at approximately $155,000, City Manager Joe Gavinski said.

"I did expect something," he said. "And all I got was 'we are willing to sit down and talk with city staff' but nothing came of that."

Olson said he misunderstood the request by the city. He thought the city would arrange proposals and set the meeting.

"I think we are willing to look at options like that," Olson said. "I'm willing to get as creative as possible."

Liebrecht motioned to table the vacation issue to consider the idea of improving Lark Avenue. Reese seconded the motion.

Pearce voted no. The issue was tabled with a 6-1 vote including the mayor's vote to table the issue.