Mattawa's police officer search slows

MATTAWA - After Moses Lake reserve officer Tyler St. Onge turned down the open position of police officer in Mattawa last week, the process of finding an officer has slowed to a crawl.

Before Chief John Turley can proceed, a new civil service commission will be formed. The last time the city had one was during the time John Ingersoll was contesting his firing from the force in October of 2013.

Member Diane Hyndman left in deference to a possible conflict of interest with her husband as mayor. Betty Webster and Wendy Lopez became members of the Mattawa City Council.

City Clerk Robin Newcomb said the city has been advertising for some time for replacements to the volunteer positions. Two, John Ball and Juan Puentes, were named last week. The city is still seeking a third member.

Although it is a 3-member organization, the commission can function with two members. They can begin the process of prioritizing a candidate list for officer positions.

"If they are both there, they have a quorum," Newcomb said.

According to Turley, the commission can provide him a prioritized list simply by reading the applications and rating them. The can also interview candidates before making the list.

In other people matters, the city continues to have a vacancy on the council. People are not flocking to the voluntary assignment that opened up last April.

The council turned away the lone applicant last week. Newcomb said the council could not ascertain that Vicente Acosta is a resident. He owns homes in more than one community.

Acosta was a Mattawa City Council member. He left the governing body when he moved out of town.

The Government Road (main street) Improvement Committee met for the first time last week. It's planned for 12 members and only a couple more are needed to be complete.

"We want people from all walks of life - business, city government, schools, residents," Newcomb said.

The city is planning to apply for grant funding to redo the street. Part of the process is an advisory group to bring community-generated ideas to the council.

"Maybe they want street lights," Newcomb said. "Maybe it should have three lanes."

The council also authorized a seeking of bids for the city hall remodeling project. City planner Darryl Piercy will inform contractors on the Municipal Research Service Center roster.