Ephrata council considers closing down C Street

EPHRATA - Ephrata councilmembers delayed a decision on whether to abandon a section of C Street Southeast.

The Columbia Basin Hospital requested the city abandon the street to avoid a requirement it build an about 600-foot sidewalk next to its property as part of its $13 million renovation. The city code requires landowners improving their property by more than a certain amount to add a sidewalk. Hospital officials can pay the city the estimated cost of building a sidewalk, so the city could build a sidewalk somewhere else.

Hospital officials believe the estimated $57,000 to build the sidewalk is prohibitive, according to city records.

City Administrator Wes Crago explained the city discussed closing the same section of the road in 1998. When the proposal was made, 11 people spoke against closing it and a petition with 107 signatures was delivered to the city.

After the request, the city collected data on the amount of traffic on the street, finding about 181 vehicles per day use the street, according to city records. A similar study in 1998 found about 227 vehicles per day used the street.

"The traffic is roughly double that of a generic residential street," Crago said. "The one-way traffic compares pretty similarly to the two-way traffic on a regular residential block."

City staff recommended not closing the street since it provides access for fire trucks to the back of Columbia Basin Hospital and rapid access to neighborhoods in the southeast section of the city for emergency personnel, according to city records. Residents, students and other people walk along the street.

"We don't have traffic counters to count walking traffic, but anecdotally, people who live in the area would state there are a fair number of people using that area as a walking path," Crago said. "We already mentioned that the traffic is relatively high for a residential street."

C Street Southeast also provides a detour if an incident occurs on Nat Washington Way, he said.

"It would be a fair and consistent application of the city code. Many businesses have already had to comply ... with the code of upgrading their sidewalks if you remodel," Crago said. "We have a letter from the Ephrata School District that is opposing the closure of C Street."

Hospital Administrator Bob Reeder said they made the request for some of the same reasons the city listed for keeping the street open. He started by pointing out the hospital already has a back road available for fire trucks to access the rear of the hospital.

"By abandoning that road that then becomes a walking path," Reeder said. "It does clearly fit into the city's goal. A lot of this, we're very surprised by the traffic count numbers ... We probably would have bet our bond that they wouldn't have been that high."

He questioned how much C Street would be used if Nat Washington Way was closed.

"We're not asking to be exempt from the code, we're just asking for the road to be (abandoned,)" Reeder said.

Councilmember Bruce Reim questioned whether the hospital officials missed the requirement when they were planning the renovation.

"I want to say it was just a couple days after (the bond passed) when we having a meeting with the city that we found out about this requirement," Reeder said. "I'm not sure where the disconnect was with our architects, but that's when it was."

When Reim questioned whether the city could waive the requirement, Crago responded the city could. It requires the council to determine it's not in the city's best interest to build a sidewalk and the property isn't likely to change in the next 15 years.

"The staff report would make it difficult for the council to find it's not in the best interests of the city," Crago said.

Councilmember Kathleen Allstot questioned whether the city would continue the side.

Crago responded if the city has the money, the city can either contribute 25 percent of the cost of building the sidewalk or spend the money extending the sidewalk.

None of the councilmembers supported closing the street, but Reim, Allstot and Stephanie Knitter questioned whether having a section of sidewalk made sense.

Knitter was concerned about having a section of sidewalk not connected to anything else, she said.

"I don't see students actually using that to get to school. They're going to have to cross to get down the hill," she said. "Where are they going to cross and you can't control the students. They're going to walk on top of the Jersey barrier if they get the chance."

Mayor Chris Jacobson said the hospital could give the city $57,000 to build a sidewalk somewhere else.

"Are we putting in the sidewalk just because code says, 'We have to put in a sidewalk?'" Reim said. "Are we focusing on the code and the expectation, even though we lose the potential of a piece of equipment? ... I'm trying to weigh both sides."

Reim understood the need for sidewalks, but felt the city might be requiring the hospital to build a sidewalk to nowhere at the cost of equipment, he said.

"I struggle with that, even though the burden lies in the hospital for not taking it into consideration," Reim said. "If we go by the ink and if we go by the letter of the law, (then) thanks for dropping by ... It's like a bridge to nowhere."

Allstot commented the city shouldn't close the street, saying she's walked on the street for more than a decade, and a lot of people use it.

"I was shocked see (the traffic figures) were that low, frankly," she said. "There are students I see walking up and down to the middle school ... I can't see us really abandoning the streets, but I'm disturbed by the sidewalk to nowhere."

Councilmembers Mark Wanke and Tony Mora understood the sidewalk might be a hardship for the hospital, but supported having it.

Wanke pointed out having the street open during construction in the southeast section of the city was helpful.

"With the new street, sidewalk ordinance that the council took on a few years ago, I think we'd be kicking ourselves in the butt if we allowed this to be abandoned," he said.

Mora wanted to keep the road open, saying he knew the sidewalk would be a hardship for the hospital, but he believed it would be used.

Jacobson disagreed with the idea of waiving the sidewalk requirement, saying in the past the city had allowed developers to ignore codes and do shoddy work to promote growth. The decisions have left the city correcting issues which wouldn't have happened if the council required the developers to follow the code to begin with.

The councilmembers requested more information about the street and the sidewalk, and plan to discuss the proposal at their next meeting.