Moses Lake supports alleyway improvements

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake City Council unanimously agreed to set aside funding in the 2011 budget to improve the alleyways on Third Avenue in the downtown business area.

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake City Council unanimously agreed to set aside funding in the 2011 budget to improve the alleyways on Third Avenue in the downtown business area.

The city agreed to add the project to the budget after listening to testimony from citizens about how the alleys need improvement. The project is expected to only include re-pavement of the alleyways rather than underground utilities because there was difficulty getting Grant County PUD and other utility providers to support the project financially.

“We’ve been anticipating for the alleys to be improved upon,” said Vision 2020 member Lee Blackwell. “This whole effort goes ways back; 1990. No one’s done anything yet.”

He said the alley has deteriorated and is a safety hazard for people and vehicles.

Blackwell explained he is discouraged by how much time was spent on the under-grounding project and yet, nothing has happened due to lack of commitment. He said the largest cost would be incurred by the PUD to place the utility lines underground.

“I’m (now) more interested in seeing our facilities and our alleyways present themselves to the citizens and our visitors in a way that looks good,” Blackwell continued. “Right now we don’t have that and I realize why we don’t have that but we’ve got to fix that. I understand the cost involved. The cost not to underground is considerably less.”

He presented a couple of chunks of asphalt from the alleyway to illustrate how badly deteriorated the roadway has become.

“We have to step forward and take care of this problem,” Blackwell said. “It’s not going to go away if we ignore it.”

He explained a letter from the PUD in response to an inquiry about how much they could fund for the project indicated they were not interested.

“I’m a little astounded by that confusing June 3 memo,” he said. “I don’t think it made a lot of sense but I understand the underlying statement and that is ‘we’re not going to do diddly-squat, not until somebody can prove to use that there is a bigger reward to us than the cost.’”

“We’re not going to get this whole thing done,” Moses Lake Business Association representative Rich Engelmann said. “We are trying to make it a better place.”

Due to the deterioration of the alleys, businesses can’t have reverse storefronts, he said.

“You guys need to take the first step, be a spearhead on this thing and tear these alleyways out and let’s repave them,” he said.

Furniture West Manager Dustyn Mattes explained he often takes customers across the alley to see furniture at Red Rock Creek Furniture Gallery.

“We have a really hard time with the elderly clientele because those alleyways are so uneven that we literally do have to hold their arms or make sure they know about these potholes and how uneven the alleyway is,” he explained. “We are scared for their health, we really are.”

During wintertime, the alley is worse as it collects water that eventually freezes, causing another safety hazard. He said it is also a hazard for the people delivering new furniture to the businesses.

Municipal Services Director Gary Harer said in the past the city patched the alleys to try to keep the path smooth.

“We’re doing the best we can,” he said.

Councilmember Richard Pearce made a motion to set aside funding in the 2011 budget to pave the alleyway if the PUD and businesses owners choose not to contribute funding to the full project which would include placing the utilities underground.

The motion passed unanimously.