Columbia Basin Walleye Club fishing for funding

MOSES LAKE - Aside from ice fishermen, most Moses Lake fishing enthusiasts are laying low this time of year.

But a few members of the Columbia Basin Walleye Club are out raising money for a new recreational pier they hope to install at Blue Heron Park next spring.

The 120-foot pier will be used exclusively for fishing, bird watching, sun bathing and similar activities, with no swimming or boat tie-ups allowed.

The walleye club has so far raised about $100,000 toward the total $150,000 price tag, according to club treasurer Janet Baker. This includes a $50,000 donation by Quincy-based Deleron Flotation Systems, which will build and install the pier while the walleye club provides in-kind labor for handicap-accessible walkways.

The Columbia Basin Foundation recently gave the group a $1,500 check - thanks to the efforts of club member Bear Turner - and the Moses Lake Irrigation District is planning a donation, although exactly how much, Baker said, isn't yet known.

"We're moving forward but we need help from the community," Baker said. "We're looking for the big bucks to get this project finished, but the little ones show community support."

"I think this will be a boom for the area," said Russ Baker, Janet's husband and fellow club member.

The idea for the pier was first proposed in 2007, when the club collected about $4,000 but stalled on the project until achieving non-profit status, allowing them to solicit donations more broadly.

The pier was recommended by Moses Lake Parks and Recreation commissioners this spring, soon before the city agreed to donate $33,333 from their "Neighborhood Self-Help Fund" once the pier is mostly complete next year.

State law allows cities to use self-help funds to give a certain amount of funding back to projects of a public nature completed by non-city entities.

Club members plan to have their permits finished soon and hope to wrap up fundraising and have a ground-breaking in March when the lake is still down, Janet Baker said. If not, they'll shoot for the next time the lake is lowered in November.

Once the dock is built the club plans to donate it to the city.

"Right now we're looking for any donations," Janet Baker said. "No amount is too small."

Everyone who gives to the project will get a fish-shaped plaque - donated by Laserfab in Moses Lake - which will be mounted to the pier railing or the pier itself, she added.

Donations can be sent to the Columbia Basin Walleye Club, attention Janet Baker, PO Box 1501, Moses Lake, WA 98837.