Soap Lake staffing up with new police chief, departmental staff

SOAP LAKE – During the Soap Lake city council meeting held Wednesday evening, the city officially swore in Patrick Canady as the new police chief for Soap Lake Police Department. The city also has a fully staffed Public Works Department, which allows for smoother operations.

“I’m excited,” said Canady. “It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s going to be work that’s going to be worth it to get this town on to the next progression.”  

While Canady has been in office for a bit over a week, the Thursday swearing-in ceremony was held to make things official and allow the community to meet him. 

As police chief, Canady said he is already planning on getting officers in the field and tackling issues in town such as vehicles with no registrations, dealing with dilapidated roundhouses and other items of business dealing with visual appeal. 

Soap Lake Mayor Peter Sharp expressed his excitement for Chief Canady as he brings 26 years of experience to Soap Lake PD and said it is a milestone for the city as they’ve been without a police chief for some time. 

“Public Works is fully staffed now, City Hall is well taken care of, so now that the chief comes in, we’re whole again,” said Sharp. “It’s really nice feeling whole as a city and now we can progress, move forward and help build it.” 

Awards were also given to both Soap Lake PD’s administrative assistant Jody Siebert and officer Robert Gates for their efforts in operations at Soap Lake PD. Sharp said Gates acted as the stand in Chief and was one of the only officers on duty for a time and Siebert has been a backbone for the police department for some time operating dispatch. 

“I think it’s important to recognize people for their accomplishments and their deeds,” he said. 

One of the main topics of discussion was the city deciding to change the title of supervisor of Public Works to an official director title. The city would need to make this change through an official city ordinance, said Sharp. 

He said this change is to ensure that in the future that the position is officially recognized as “Director of Public Works” so anyone holding the position in the future can have a specific job description and any benefits that can be made for a director position. As of the Aug. 20 meeting no decision has been officially made. 

The council will revisit this topic at the next council meeting and Sharp said in the meantime he will send in the paperwork to Soap Lake’s city attorney and finance treasurer to move the process along. 

A report from Brian Adkins from Public Works in Soap Lake made note of some minor flooding zones that had been made apparent in the city after a storm that occurred Aug. 7. He said that there are currently four areas being looked into by the department all within the central part of town along Buttercup Street South and Canna Street South. 

Other topics of note from the council meeting was during the mayor’s message where Sharp said that Soap Lake is financially stable and the city is growing. He said the city is also looking toward the process of having passports in the city, getting a new playground, getting dog parks renovated and taking back possession of a local campground. 

“We want to be more self-sufficient for the city residents,” said Sharp. “We want to be able to give back to the community things that they need and didn’t have in the past.” 

The next Soap Lake city council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 3 at 5:30 p.m. 

    New police chief Patrick Canady stands with Jody Siebert as he hands her a Golden Heart award for the work she has done for the city over the years. Siebert is often helpful in the city’s efforts to be transparent as she processes public information requests, distributes police blotters and helps keep Soap Lake Police Department staff organized.
  

    Soap Lake PD officer Robert Gaetes receives an award from Chief Patrick Canady and Mayor Peter Sharp for his efforts in helping the police department over the past few years.