Othello council OKs increase in jail rates

OTHELLO — It’s going to cost the city of Othello a little bit more to house jail inmates in Sunnyside beginning in 2021.

At an online meeting Monday, members of the city council unanimously approved a change to the city’s contract with Sunnyside, raising the cost of housing inmates 6 percent to $53 per day from the current $50.

“This is a very simple amendment to our current agreement,” said Police Chief Phil Schenck.

Schenck added that Adams County charges Othello $80 per day to house jail inmates, so the agreement with Sunnyside saves the city roughly $900 per month.

While normally people arrested for serious offenses by the Othello Police are transported to the Adams County Jail in Ritzville, Mayor Shawn Logan said the city needs the arrangement with Sunnyside for those times the county jail is full.

“It’s just good business,” he told the Sun Tribune after the meeting.

The Othello City Council also approved two changes to the city’s zoning code regarding garages and parking spaces. In the first, the council approved an ordinance allowing garages in homes built prior to 2008 to be converted into a living space, provided the conversion meets city code and the owners obtain a city building permit and maintain the requisite number of parking spaces.

In the second, the council increased to four the maximum number of concrete parking spaces allowed for any single-family dwelling built in the city after 2007.

Chris Dorow, a member of the city’s planning commission and husband of Council Member Genna Dorow, told the council that garages on a number of older homes “are not so useful” as garages and that newer homes are more “car friendly.”

“That’s the reason for the date,” he said.

“It adds space to smaller, older homes. I’m all for it,” said council member Angel Garza.

Community Development Director Anne Henning told council members that the clear distinction between additional living space and accessory dwelling units will remain clear since accessory dwelling units are currently not allowed under city code.

“We know that not always are the rules followed,” said council member Jonathan Erickson.

Both Henning and Logan said the city is working on an accessory dwelling unit ordinance that should be ready to review in the next few months.

Finally, the council also awarded a $206,000 contract to Ephrata-based Gray Excavation to replace four blocks of four-inch, steel and asbestos concrete water main between Seventh Avenue and 10th Avenue under the alley between Hemlock and Larch streets.

“This is the pipe that’s causing problems,” said City Engineer Shawn O’Brien.

O’Brien said the main will be replaced with eight-inch PVC pipe, improving water delivery to residents and increasing the flow of water for firefighters in the event of an emergency.

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