Covey to address builders' concerns

Moses Lake mayor to answer questions Tuesday

GRANT COUNTY - The area's building community gets to share concerns with the mayor of Moses Lake this week.

Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey is the guest speaker at the February general membership dinner taking place at the Best Western Lake Inn and Conference Center Tuesday. The dinner begins with a no-host social hour at 6:15 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.

Stacy Sanislo, Grant County Home Builders secretary, said the organization holds the membership dinners the third Tuesday of every month.

"We try to have speakers to come and get information out to our community, to our builders," she explained. "Laws the local groups are trying to pass, codes and regulations. We have the building department out a lot so we can get new building codes so the community is informed of what is going on in our area."

The meeting is open to members and those interested in becoming members in the association, Sanislo said.

"Any builders, anybody who deals with the building community," she said.

Covey was on the association wish list for a while, she said, with issues the building community is dealing with including domestic wells within city limits.

"That's a big thing that we are concerned about," she explained.

The association is also looking for general information and building connections with Covey and the city, Sanislo said.

"We want to have an open communication with our city council," she said. "That is a big thing for us, to be able to be notified that we're wanting to have the regulation changes, and vice versa - that they can have an open communication with us."

Covey said he expects the topic of discussion will probably center around permitting, pre-permitting and ordinances pertaining to development.

"Things that are directly affecting local contractors and builders, and then I will just open it up for a Q & A period after that," he said. "I just hope to be able to answer questions perhaps that they have. I know there are concerns that have been conveyed to me by local contractors with regard to the time involved with getting permits approved, etc., and so I want to try to let them know what the city's trying to do to accommodate and meet their needs."

For more information, call 509-398-3052.