Grant County Superior Court judge dismisses case against WinCo

EPHRATA — Grant County Superior judge John Knodell dismissed the case challenging plans to build a WinCo Foods store in Moses Lake, paving the way for the employee-owned grocery to move forward on construction, which will be located between Stratford Road and Central Drive, adjacent to Moses Lake Town Center.

“WinCo’s excited and ready to invest in Moses Lake and bring the services and jobs to the city,” WinCo attorney Jon Sitkin said. “We’re pleased the judge came up with the correct decision.”

Donna Anderson, Peggy Vines and a group called A Stronger Moses Lake were appealing a planning commission decision to Grant County Superior Court, stating not enough planning was done to consider traffic, and the environmental impact it would have.

Following an hour and a half discussion by attorneys from both sides, Judge Knodell handed down his decision.

“Clearly (Judge Knodell) had reviewed the record and done a thorough job. Typically in these types of processes, the judge is going to ask a lot of questions,” Sitkin said. “It was not unexpected, and I thought the judge did a thorough consideration of the issues.

“There is a 30-day time period to appeal, but I don’t anticipate them to file. If they do proceed further, they are at risk of paying all the attorney fees for the city and WinCo back to the beginning of the process. I’d be shocked if they appealed it further.”

The basis of the appeal was potential traffic issues the WinCo store could create, including potential problems at the North Stratford Road and West Valley Road intersection, the North Stratford Road and Broadway Avenue intersection,creating dangers to pedestrians and bicyclists.

But there is also some speculation that a local food and commercial worker’s union was involved in the attempt to deny the employee-owned grocery access to the Moses Lake market.

“The union involvement was speculation that I have heard in a number of communities where I have represented WinCo,” Sitkin said. “But I never did any investigation to confirm that. But we run up against that everywhere we go.”

Both Vines and Anderson have union ties. Vines is a vice-president with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1439 and Anderson was a shop steward up to 2010.

The store will be located between Stratford Road and Central Drive, adjacent to Moses Lake Town Center, which houses Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts store. Construction is expected to proceed right away.