Othello approves developer agreement

OTHELLO — The Othello City Council unanimously approved an agreement with a major housing developer that will extend sewer service to the incoming Columbia Basin Hospital campus and expand development opportunities south and east of the city.

“We worked through the inconsistencies and developed a common language,” said Del Green, operations manager with Columbia Northwest Engineering. 

The agreement covers the timetable for installation of sanitary and storm sewer lines to a 15-acre, 94 home development project by Olsen Homes between Gemstone and Highway 26 and 7th and 14th Avenues, giving the developer 45 days following final approval of plans to install the sanitary sewer, and another 45 days after that to put the storm sewer system in place.

Mayor Shawn Logan said that would likely mean the sanitary sewers would be finished by early-to-mid September, and the storm sewers by early November.

“There’s no urgency to get the storm sewer in – it doesn’t storm much until November, our rainy season,” Logan said during the meeting. “But we need to get the sewer done as soon as possible.”

The sanitary sewer isn’t just going to connect the 94 new homes of the Sagestone 8 subdivision to the Othello sewer and water system, its also going to connect the new Columbia Basin Hospital campus— sited at the corner of 14th and Highway 26 — to the city’s sewer system as well, and expand that system east for new development.

“This is good for everybody,” Logan said. “Othello is poised to grow even more.”

The sanitary and storm project commits the city to spending roughly $500,000 — the figure has yet to be finalized — while the developer will spend around $1.3 million.

However, before any actual construction can begin, Olsen Homes must submit the development plans to the city by Friday and then sit down with a hearings examiner to validate the plans, and then receive a permit from the federal Environmental Protection Agency for the stormwater system.

“Our goal is to start construction as soon as the [EPA permit] is approved,” Green said.