Mattawa Police to begin negotiations with Wahluke schools

Rachal Pinkerton/Sun Tribune Tony Acosta (left) was sworn in by Mattawa Mayor Scott Hyndman during a regular city council meeting on Thursday, Sept. 5.

by Rachal Pinkerton Staff Writer
| September 11, 2019 2:22 AM

Mattawa — The Mattawa City Council gave its approval for the Mattawa Police Department to enter negotiations with the Wahluke School District for a school resource officer contract during its regular meeting Thursday.

The contract covers two officers. Mattawa Police Chief Joe Harris is hoping that the school district will pay both officers’ wages.

“One hundred percent of the deputies’ wages are paid for by the school,” said Harris. “Theoretically, there should be no overtime. If we have two officers, they can shift their schedules. They would also provide 24/7/365 coverage for all of the campuses.”

The two additional officers would bring the police department up to almost 24 hours of service. Currently the department only has between 18 and 22 hours of service, depending on the day.

The negotiations come shortly after the Grant County Sheriff’s Office informed the school district it was pulling its school resource officer in 90 days. Harris didn’t think the police department could have two officers ready to go by then.

“We’ll have to ramp it up,” Harris said. “Like year one, have one school resource officer. The second year, bring a second one on.”

Harris said the department is currently fully staffed and could support one school resource officer at this time.

“We’re still in the baby steps,” said Harris. “We have to negotiate with the school district. We’ll see where it goes from here.”

Harris said he is going to attempt to get the police department accredited. The purpose of becoming accredited is to certify that the department is following the best practices recommended by the state.

“It’s a big word for saying we’re doing everything right,” Harris said. “It opens up more grant opportunities for us.”

Harris told the council that the process will not cost the department any money. However, it will need some investigation of the building to see if it meets the minimum requirements for accreditation. If the building does not meet the minimum requirements, the department can not be accredited.

In other business, the council appointed Tony Acosta to vacant city council position No. 4. He was sworn in during the meeting and joined the council for the rest of it.

The council approved the inspection of the Mattawa water reservoirs. Public Works Director Juan Ledezma said the inspection required sending a camera into the tanks to take video of the inside to check if anything needed to be repaired or was otherwise compromised.

Harris asked the council for a letter of recommendation to join the Criminal Justice Training Commission panel. The panel, which meets approximately four times a year, is responsible for investigating claims of wrongdoing by police officers. Currently, they are looking for members.

During public comments, Victor Gomez, homeless liaison and grants manager assistant for the Wahluke School District, gave a brief presentation on the housing crisis in Mattawa. He works with homeless and under-housed children in the district.

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at rpinkerton@suntribunenews.com.