Grant awarded to help SLPD retain officers

SOAP LAKE — The city of Soap Lake will receive a grant that helps the Soap Lake Police Department retain officers. Chief Ryan Cox explained the terms to the Soap Lake City Council at its regular meeting Wednesday.

Cox said it was awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Our office currently has three of these (grants),” Cox said. “I applied again, and our city was awarded a fourth. It’s $125,000 over three years that the city will be able to reimburse for the retention of an employee.

“Four officers are under this currently,” he said. 

The SLPD has five officers plus the chief, but one will be leaving for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office in early December, Cox said. A replacement has been hired but will be attending the police academy, then undergoing department training. Cox estimated it would be July or August before the new officer was ready to work alone. 

Cox also reported that graffiti has appeared in town.

“We’ve been hit in the past couple days with graffiti on the southwest side of town,” he said.

Officers have video of a suspect, he said, and are circulating it, but he urged people to report suspicious activity when they see it.

“If anybody else sees individuals walking around in the middle of the night that look out of place, please call us,” he said. “Even if it’s a false alarm, we can get out and talk to somebody.”

Cox emphasized that residents should not try to talk to a suspicious person themselves. 

“We actually had an individual stop and yell at somebody the other day. And of course (the person) ran away from the individual,” he said.

In other business, attempts to get the word out about a problem with the city’s sewer system prompted Mayor pro tem Leslie Taylor to appeal to residents to pass the word along when they hear or see communication from the city.

A component in the city’s sewer system broke Monday and then broke again Tuesday, which required emergency repairs and affected the system in sections of town. City officials used SLPD social media to update residents on the incident and report progress on fixing it.

“The lift station drama, I think, showed some really good communication from the city to individuals who are on social media,” Taylor said. “I think that we have a gap for people who do not go online. I think that’s an area where organizations can kind of fill in those gaps.”

She appealed to church congregations, people in service organizations and other groups to pass along communication from the city to people who aren’t using social media.

“I urge you guys to take care of your friends and family and neighbors in whatever way you find available to you,” Taylor said.