Fire, water, sewer projects part of Othello facilities proposal
The city of Othello already has some fire equipment, but establishing its own department will require additional capital expenditure. As a result, about $2 million for the department is included in the city’s proposed capital facilities plan.
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OTHELLO — Establishing a municipal fire department and building a new sewer plant, animal shelter and facility to treat surface water are among the projects under consideration in Othello’s six-year capital facilities proposal. Othello City Council members reviewed it Monday as part of ongoing budget discussions.
Othello Mayor Shawn Logan said in most cases the amount of money allocated in the plan could – and probably will – change.
“As you know, a capital facility plan is just a guestimate,” he told council members.
Finance Officer Spencer Williams said the document is required before the city can apply for grants or other funding opportunities.
The city contracts with Adams County Fire District 5 for fire protection services, but council members decided in August to start a city fire department and terminate the ACFD 5 contract.
Logan said in an earlier interview the city has some fire equipment and facilities and will start there.
“We’ll need to go through and analyze what’s going to be needed to start up the fire department and specific equipment we would need to buy,” Logan said.
Williams said building an Othello Fire Department is going to take preparation and more money.
“There are a lot of grant opportunities out there that we’re looking into,” he said. “But we’re going to have some needs with equipment, facilities and with a new fire truck eventually down the road. Those are all things that need to be on our radar.”
The proposed plan includes $90,000 for fire department expenses in 2025 and $2.03 million in 2026.
Water levels in the subterranean aquifer that provides Othello’s water have been declining, and city officials have been working on a years-long project to take water from the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District system and treat it so it can be pumped back into the aquifer. The project has reached the stage of building a water treatment facility, and city officials have been looking for funding.
John Culton of Culton Consulting said the city tentatively has received federal funding for design and some of the construction.
Culton said $1 million has been allocated in pending federal legislation for design. About $14 million is pending in separate federal legislation for construction.
“I do want to be clear; authorization and appropriation are very different. Right now we have the line item in the (federal) bill, it’s codified, but we will have to be advocating for the Army Corps of Engineers to actually give us that money. So as with all things in the federal process, it does take time,” Culton said.
Some projects listed in the capital facilities plan for 2025 are already funded. That includes $1.26 million for a splash pad in Kiwanis Park with lighting and walking trails. Council members decided Nov. 12 to authorize up to $150,000 for an analysis of the existing Othello Municipal Pool.
The pool was closed for 2024 after city officials discovered significant damage. City employees suspected a leak after the 2023 season, investigated and discovered it had been leaking for years. The cost of repairs or replacement is unknown; the facilities proposal includes allocations of $1 million in 2026 and $2 million in 2027.
Williams said most of the projects on the list already have been discussed by council members, including the possibility the city will need a new sewer plant. The draft plan allocates $14 million to the new sewer plant project in 2028.
The city contracted with Hands ‘n Paws for animal control services earlier this year; under the contract, the city will need to provide temporary housing. The proposed capital facilities plan allocates $349,000 for that project in 2025.
The plan also includes money, up to $2.5 million, for a new heating-cooling system in the Othello City Hall. The city hall was built in 1997.
“The (heating-cooling) system has never worked properly since it was installed,” Logan said. “There’s been lots of money thrown at it, and it’s just a system that needs updated. And it’s expensive.”
The $2.5 million in the capital facilities proposal is an estimate, Logan said, but whatever it turns out to be the city probably doesn’t have that much money. City officials are trying to get a grant as a result.
“Before we can get a grant we have to do an energy assessment,” Logan said. “All of our buildings need an energy assessment. Once the energy assessment is done, then it’s a matter of quantifying what it would cost to get a system done here.”