Vision 2020 reviews underground utilities

MOSES LAKE — About 20 Vision 2020 members took a tour of a downtown alleyway to view the above ground utility lines and the deteriorating alley roadway Tuesday afternoon.

The group is working to encourage business owners to place their utilities underground to increase the appeal of the area for pedestrian traffic.

Vision Chair Bill Ecret said in order for the project to come together, the City of Moses Lake, Grant County Public Utility District, Northland Cable, Cascade Natural Gas and business owners must work together. Funding, service or a commitment is required from each group.

Ecret said the benefit of the project would be to allow for businesses to have reverse storefronts, decrease the visibility of Dumpsters and improve the alley road surface for pedestrian traffic and garbage collection.

Moses Lake Municipal Services Director Gary Harer lead the group in a tour behind a strip of businesses facing Third Avenue.

The group viewed the row of overhead power lines, Dumpsters pushed up against businesses and pot holes in alley roadway.

He said it would cost the city about $125,000 to $150,000 per city block of alleyway to repave the roadway surface.

Four blocks of alleyway are being discussed for the project.

He added the funds could come from the city sanitation fund because it can be used to improve roadways used for disposal trucks.

The last estimate given for the cost to connect to an underground electrical meter would be about $5,000 to $6,000 per business owner, Harer said. He warned the estimate is a couple years old.

He said the biggest expense of the project would have to be absorbed by the PUD since it’s their utilities being placed underground and replaced with new equipment. An estimate of the cost for the PUD was not available.

Harer said PUD commissioners appear to support the project but funds have not been committed.

Moses Lake Business Association President Rich Engelmann said it’s unclear how many years it could take before the PUD could provide funding. He said repaving the alleyways is a must in the meantime.

In the past the city advised they would like to repave the alleyways once the utilities are placed underground because the new work would not have to be torn up and redone to place the utilities underground in the future.

Harer said there is a need for business owners to commit to pay their portion of the cost to connect to the new meters and to dedicate easements for the project.

Business owner Lee Blackwell said business owners first need to know the exact cost and what kind of easements are needed before a decision can be made.

Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debbie Doran-Martinez agreed. She said once the costs are determined all involved stakeholders should meet and decide if they want to be involved with placing the utilities underground. If they are not in favor of the project, then the city should move forward with paving the alleyways to improve the appearance and usability of the roadway surface, she said.

Many of the group members nodded their heads in agreement.

The meeting concluded with a walk down the front of businesses on Third Avenue to review the storefronts and discuss potential facade ideas.