Addressing the Basin's water future

MOSES LAKE — Kristofer Johnson noticed something a little different about the concerns of the Moses Lake business people who gathered to hear him speak on Wednesday.

“Water. Water percolated here, which hasn’t in a lot of communities, I would say,” said Johnson, president and CEO of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s chamber of commerce. “I think that’s the next big challenge we have as a state, for communities, for industrial land development, for residential land development, it’s about water.”

Johnson was in Moses Lake at Big Bend Community College’s ATEC Building with Alex. Evans, a senior account director for DH, a public relations and media consulting firm with offices in Seattle and Spokane, to solicit input from local business owners for Washington in the Making 2040, what Johnson billed as the state’s next big development plan.

Wednesday’s presentation given with the help of the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce was part of a statewide tour AWB is undertaking to get input for that plan, Johnson said.

“This state has not had an economic vision for what it should look like for the last 20 years,” he said. “It’s been 20 years since a vision has been built by Washingtontonians for Washington.”

Johnson said Grant County is projected to add as many as 25,000 people by 2040 to its current population of 106,000, and local residents need to answer some difficult questions as they arrive — where will they live, where will they work, how will their children get educated and cared for?

“These are some of the challenges that we think about as well,” he said.

Evans, who oversaw a live online survey of those attending the presentation in person and online, said it is important to get local comments.

“We really want to get local perspectives,” Evans said. “All of them.”

Attendees, most of them members of the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, overwhelmingly responded that the state is on the wrong track but also replied in the online survey that they love living in Moses Lake and rated the quality of life here as good or excellent.

“Overall, we’re headed on the wrong track because of Olympia’s decision,” said Moses Lake Deputy Mayor Deanna Martinez, citing complex regulations and too many taxes as the source of many of the state’s ills. “Tax, tax, tax. We cannot afford that any longer.”

Participants also discussed the cost of housing, inflation, persistently low wages in some employment sectors, the difficulty in finding qualified or motivated employees, and public schools they say do not adequately prepare young people with either the skills or the attitude to work.

“The lack of work ethic is the biggest thing,” said Grant County Fairgrounds Director Jim McKiernan. “People have no clue what work is.”

Emily Anderson, a training manager with SkillSource, said her agency is seeing fewer people looking for work, and that many who are can afford to be picky and choose employment on the basis of how they are treated and not just for a paycheck and benefits.

“I’m seeing that for the first time in my 20-plus years (working at SkillSource),” she said.

Participants agreed that more needs to be done to provide internships for motivated young people, encourage and recognize technical and vocational education, and reduce regulations that make it more difficult to train and hire people as well as build the homes they need to live in.

AWB is continuing its tour of the state to solicit input on the Washington in the Making 2040 plan. To get involved, or submit a comment, visit the AWB Institute’s website at www.awbinstitute.org/get-involved.

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