Property owners cast ballots in MLIRD board race
That rare sign in Washington pointing the way to a polling place, in this instance the Moses Lake Irrigation District’s headquarters at 932 E. Wheeler Rd., where district property owners got the opportunity to vote for a new member of the MLIRD board.
CHARLES H. FEATHERSTONE/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
MOSES LAKE — It’s a rare sight in Washington — a polling place and a ballot box.
“We’ve only been open an hour, and It’s been quiet so far,” said Beth Yonko, the interim manager of the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District, which held an election for one of five board of director seats on Tuesday.
Vying for the seat, which was held by Kaj Selman until he resigned in October, are Chuck Perry, who was appointed by the Grant County Commission to fill the vacancy on the irrigation and rehabilitation district’s board of directors, and challenger Andrew Koeppen.
The MLIRD is the only rehabilitation district in the state of Washington and is primarily responsible for ensuring that the quality of the water in Moses Lake is good enough for recreational use, such as fishing, motor boating and the use of personal watercraft.
As part of a lengthy dispute over how the MLIRD assesses property within the district, the district was also required to change how it conducts elections, Yonko said. Under the new rules, every landowner receives two ballots for every five acres or portion of five acres they own within the district and must submit a signed agreement 24 hours prior to election day stating how ballots will be cast by electors who hold their property in common, either with spouses, family members or as part of a corporation.
Yonko said the new voting rules, which are laid out in Washington state law for irrigation districts with fewer than 200,000 acres, would mean someone owning 20 acres within the MLIRD would receive eight ballots. The law also states that no one voter in an irrigation district of that size may control more than 49% of ballots.
While ballots were being cast on Tuesday at the MLIRD’s main office at 932 E. Wheeler Rd. in Moses Lake, Yonko said final results would not be announced until next Monday at 7 p.m. in order to ensure that voters casting ballots on Tuesday can submit the agreement stating how their ballots will be cast.
“If you didn’t know that existed, you still get to vote. You’re going to vote with a provisional ballot and envelope, and then you’ll have until next Monday to complete that form,” Yonko said.
Under Washington state law, the levies imposed by irrigation districts are not considered taxes, but rather assessments that pay for a beneficial service — in the case of the MLIRD, the maintenance of a recreational area. Because of that, only those who are assessed are allowed to vote, and the district runs its own election with help from community volunteers brought in to judge and supervise the election.
The MLIRD board consists of five members, each of whom serves a three-year term.
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.