Othello mayor lists 2021 projects

OTHELLO — Othello Mayor Shawn Logan has a long list of tasks and goals -- New Year’s resolutions, basically -- for the city in 2021.

Logan said he’d like to see the city make progress in its efforts to build a sustainable water supply, with the goal of adequate water for the next 50 years. He’d also like to see the city’s funding applications for improvements to Lions Park to be approved.

Logan expressed the wish for the expansion at McCain Foods to be finished by the end of 2021, as well as more housing development, both apartments and single-family homes. Business expansion is another goal, retail as well as light manufacturing and commercial businesses.

Another soccer field was on the wish list, as was another park. And it would be great to have the Othello School District back in session, and all businesses reopened, without restrictions.

“Some stuff is out of our control, like the coronavirus restrictions,” Logan said.

The city is high on the list for grants to upgrade Lions Park, but the final decision is up to the state legislature.

“We don’t control that,” Logan said.

But while some things are out of the city’s control, there are plenty of tasks for city officials in 2021. Some will have immediate impact, and some won’t.

“We have plenty of work to do on things that affect us now, affect us 20 years from now, affect us 30 (and) 50 years from now,” Logan said.

One of those is development standards. Logan said city officials are working on design and development standards that will make it easier to build housing and businesses in town.

“There are some things in our development code that are out of date,” Logan said.

The Lions Park improvements are part of the long-term plan, what Logan called investing in youth. About one-third of Othello’s population is 13 years of age or younger, he said.

The city has a good chance to be awarded about $1.35 million to upgrade the park, a project that would replace the existing playground. The new playground would have a separate area for children five years of age and younger, more picnic tables and more trees. It would be more accessible for children with disabilities.

The plan also calls for the replacement of two basketball courts and the addition of two more.

But the possibilities for growth depend in large part on the availability of water.

“You either have water, or you don’t have water or you don’t have enough water,” Logan said.

Currently, the city has room to grow, water-wise, Logan said. City officials are in the second phase of a project designed to ensure adequate water supplies in the future.

The project involves taking water from an irrigation canal running through the city, treating it and pumping it into the underground aquifer that provides the city’s water. The second phase will begin when irrigation begins; water will be pumped into the aquifer and it will be monitored to see if the water stays there.

Water issues have been a focus of city officials for the last five years, he said. The aquifer recharge project, if it works, will help address concerns about water in the long term and ensure that future city residents won’t be scrambling to solve the problem.

“We’re a city that makes preparations for things that are to come,” he said. “Today we are paying attention to the details that are in front of us. Knowing that we will have a good result.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].