Coulee City clinic, library both get new home

COULEE CITY — Coulee City got a twofer Tuesday, as officials cut the ribbon on the new building that will house both a medical clinic and library. 

“We're just incredibly ecstatic,” said Port of Coulee City Commissioner Joy Beardsley. “After all these years, we get to walk into an actual building.”

Beardsley, along with Commissioner Howard McDonald and Commission Chair Travis Liening, cut the ceremonial ribbon Tuesday morning on the new building at 218 W. Main St., in downtown Coulee City. The ribbon cutting was followed by a reception catered by Banks Lake Brew & Bistro and tours for elected officials, representatives from Coulee Medical Center and North Central Washington Libraries and members of the community. The town’s medical clinic will move in the coming weeks into one side, and the other side will become the new home of the Coulee City Public Library, which currently occupies a cramped 1909 building a few blocks away. 

“This is a really good step forward,” said Coulee City Librarian April Harward. “The facility is beautiful, and it's going to really suit the needs of our community a lot better. I mean, we love our old building, but she's 115 years old, and she needs a little life. She needs some additional support.” 

The project has been in the works for almost a decade, Liening said. The Port already owned the building that houses the Coulee City Medical Clinic, which was built in 1940, according to county records, and is in need of some upkeep. 

“We were looking to do some improvements with that building, and looking at the cost, and it was just kind of thrown out, ‘Why don't we just start new, start fresh, if, if we can?’ So this property came available, and we purchased it in 2015 and it's been fundraising ever since.” 

Commissioners searched for funding for a new clinic building, first at the local level, then appealing to state legislators for help. At the same time, NCW Libraries was trying to secure state monies for a new library building, and the two found themselves in competition. State Sen. Shelly Short, who represented Coulee City until her district boundaries changed in 2020, suggested combining the projects. 

“The building was, how can we get the most bang for our buck?” said Gary Wetch of Loofburrow Wetch Architects, which designed the building. “(We wanted to be) cost-friendly, because it kind of hit right at the beginning of COVID, when it was hard to get products … so we decided to build a stick-built building, a little more frugal … back to the basics. What are the wants, and what are the needs?’ We can give you the needs, and you can add (the wants) over time.”  

Liening said that the move would be a boon for both. The new library is basically a large, wide-open space with a smaller room and a restroom in the back. That will be much more user-friendly and has better accessibility than the old one, he said. NCW Libraries will supply the books, fixtures and other equipment when the library moves, probably in January. 

Coulee City Medical Clinic will probably move in about the same time, said Shoshannah Palmanteer, rural health director for Coulee Medical Center, based in Grand Coulee. CCMC is a branch of CMC but because of the distance and the size of Coulee City, it has no full-time provider. Two advanced practice registered nurses come in four days a week and offer basic health care. Coulee City’s location means that the tiny clinic serves people from a large surrounding area, who would otherwise have to drive to Grand Coulee or Moses Lake or Wenatchee just to see a provider. 

“We draw people from Wilson Creek … Hartline, they come in, Almira sometimes comes in,” Liening said. We draw from a lot of places.” 

The Port will retain ownership of the old clinic building, Liening said, and there are several businesses already showing interest in renting space. The building the library is moving out of will go up for sale, he said. 

The split building is only the first phase of the expansion, officials said. Down the road, the port, CMC and NCW Libraries hope to build a second building on the same lot to house the library and expand the clinic to fill the whole building. That could mean CMC can provide more than just the most basic health care in Coulee City, Palmanteer said. 

“(We’re looking at) expanding hours and adding more days,” she said. “Right now we do four days a week, so maybe five. And also more specialty services, maybe like (obstetrics), possibly endocrinology, general surgery, stuff like that.” 

“I know the CMC has some mental health services that they would love to provide down here,” Liening said. “Maybe a podiatrist could come down, maybe at some point a dentist. We can expand services here so people don't have to go to Moses, they don't have to go to Ephrata for some of those things. That's our grand vision.” 

    Elected officials, community members and representatives of Coulee Medical Center and North Central Washington Libraries check out Coulee City’s new clinic and library building. The project took cooperation from a lot of agencies, Port of Coulee City commissioners said.
  

    The new building that will house the Coulee City Medical Clinic and the Coulee City Public Library was built with economy in mind, but also to last for generations, said architect Gary Wetch.
  

    From left: Port of Coulee Commissioner Howard McDonald, Port Secretary/Treasurer Chris Erickson, Commissioner Joy Beardsley and Commission Chair Travis Liening in the new combined clinic and library building in Coulee City. Erickson had to work through a great deal of paperwork involved in securing the funding and getting the building built, she said.