Mattawa council votes to negotiate with Granger for interim police chief

MATTAWA — Mattawa City Council members voted Thursday to allow Mattawa Mayor Maria Celaya to negotiate an interlocal agreement with the city of Granger for an interim police chief, and terminate the existing agreement with Moses Lake.

Moses Lake Police Department Capt. Mike Williams was Mattawa’s interim chief under the latter agreement, but resigned Sept. 10 due to “instability” and a “toxic” environment. He later agreed to stay until Sept. 17.

Granger Police Chief Estevan Araguz said Monday Granger and Mattawa city officials haven’t had any formal negotiations.

“We haven’t decided anything yet,” Araguz said.

Granger Mayor Jose Trevino was out of the office due to illness. Celaya didn’t respond to the Herald for comment.

Granger is a city of about 3,300 residents southeast of Yakima.

The original three-month interlocal agreement with Moses Lake was extended in July at the request of Mattawa city officials and would have expired Jan. 31, 2022.

That followed Celaya firing former Mattawa Police Chief Joe Harris April 10. Harris reached an agreement with the city in July to reinstate him and make him eligible for reemployment, but he had to agree not to reapply. He also received $100,000.

In his resignation letter, Williams advised against hiring another interim chief because the department needed stability.

“Another interim chief is the definition of instability,” Williams wrote.

Williams wrote Mattawa already had a candidate for the chief’s job who was more qualified than Araguz.

Williams also wrote the instability and a toxic relationship with some members of the city council contributed to poor morale in the police department, which led some MPD officers – three he knew about – to look for other work.