Moses Lake halts construction for frogs

MOSES LAKE — Street construction was halted by Moses Lake because city staff did not want to disturb the home of a frog species in the area.

Davy Street, near Well 31 in Moses Lake, is surrounded by wetland south and west of the area and the likely home of Northern Leopard frogs, according to city documents.

“In Washington, leopard frogs originally occurred in wetland systems along the Columbia River and its major tributaries However, now they appear to be locally extinct everywhere in the state, except for populations in wetlands bordering Moses Lake,” states officials at the Washington State University Arboretum and Wildlife Conservation Center.

The species is listed as endangered by the state.

“We wanted to bring some of the environmental issues to councilmembers if the street were to be further developed,” said Gil Alvarado, community development director in an interview.

He said Davy Street is partially constructed and the waiver means further street construction on the street will stop.

Councilmembers also decided to defer street and utility improvements on Montana Street, which intersects Davy Street, at the meeting.

City manager Joe Gavinski said the city inherited the county street a long time ago and the street needs to be brought up to community street standards.

Gavinski said the street is not in bad condition, but was built based on county road standards.

The street currently does not have sidewalks, curbs, gutters, storm water infrastructure or sewer main, according to city documents.

Gavinski said he did not foresee Montana Street improvements in the near future.

He said houses were mainly on Windy, Dusty and Sandy streets of the neighborhood.