Soap Lake City Council nixes police dog idea

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Police Department is not getting a patrol dog. At least not yet.

At a regular meeting on Wednesday, the Soap Lake City Council voted 3-3 on a measure to create an account within the police fund to allow the Soap Lake police to take donations to procure and maintain a police dog. A tied vote means the measure did not pass.

“There are only a few situations where the mayor can break a tie, and resolutions or ordinances are not allowed,” Mayor Alex Kovach told the Columbia Basin Herald after the meeting.

Kovach said the council could reconsider the matter later when all seven members are present.

During the meeting, Soap Lake Police Chief Ryan Cox said he was requesting that the council create the account to allow the city to take donations for a K9 program.

“The funding is coming from all donations,” Cox told council members. “We have six or seven companies willing to donate.”

Currently, Moses Lake Police and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office have active K9 programs, and those are entirely supported by donations.

Cox said the department of eight — five patrol officers, two sergeants and one chief — was looking to acquire a dog that could both act on patrol as an attack dog and as a drug sniffer and allow for a fairly quick response time as opposed to the 30-40 minutes needed for a GCSO dog and handler to arrive.

The dog would cost around $12,000 and would be “the only dual-purpose dog in Grant County,” Cox said, adding that the department would solicit donations year-round to pay for the program.

“We would try to make the program self-sustaining,” Cox said.

Turning to the city’s mineral water system, the council unanimously approved a plan that doesn’t make any formal recommendations but does set the city up for future funding options if they arise.

“Here are plans and options for later use,” said Nancy Wetch, an engineer with Gray & Osborne, which provides the city engineering services and authored the plan. “It leaves the table open for when you want to do something in the future.”

The plan evaluated the city’s mineral water system, which was built in the 1940s to deliver the lake’s alkaline water to businesses and residences in Soap Lake, and provided options and cost estimates for repairs and expansions to the system.

The city’s mineral water system was not properly maintained and has been allowed to decay over the years. Currently, there are only five customers — two residences and three businesses — drawing water from the system.

While some hope to use the lake as a way to draw investment and tourists, some residents are concerned the proposal doesn’t look inward enough.

“There are 1,500 people who live here, and the study doesn’t look at the people who live here now,” said Judith Gorman, who was a candidate for a city council seat last fall.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.