Ephrata town hall highlights local growth

EPHRATA — On Wednesday night, leaders of several Ephrata agencies gathered at the Ephrata High School Performing Arts Center to give updates to the community on various projects. There were presentations from the school district, both the mayor and mayor-elect, the Port of Ephrata, Columbia Basin Hospital, Grant Public Utility District and Grant County Sheriff’s Office.  

Ephrata residents Tyler and Robin Cummings said the 2026 school bond was what drew them out to the event. Tyler said he was able to speak with superintendent Ken Murray prior to the presentation.  

“It was nice to be able to actually ask questions and talk face-to-face,” Tyler said. “He was able to answer a lot of the questions I had.”  

However, the two said the presentations that were the most interesting to them were from the Port of Ephrata and GCSO.  

“The biggest thing I learned was what the airport has going on,” Tyler said. “I didn’t realize how many different industries were moving in there.”  

Robin said her favorite presentation was from Sheriff Joey Kriete. 

“I think he was funny, but he also offered some cool information. He knew his numbers, too. He didn’t fumble it. He just knew what was going on,” Robin said.  

School District 

Murray started his presentation by asking people who had children in the school district to stand.  

“Thank you to you, because I don’t exist here on stage right now as the superintendent without kids,” Murray said. “I really appreciate it.”  

Murray said his job is to take students where they are and maximize their learning to get them across the bridge to success.  

“I will tell you right now in the Ephrata School District, we have students that exist that don’t even know where the bridge is,” Murray said. “We have students that will get across that bridge as long as we get out of their way. We have all spectrums of needs, desires, goals, et cetera, and our job is to help a kid no matter where they are. Help them find their way across that bridge to the learning that maximizes their possibilities for the future.”  

Murray said he didn’t bring up specific subjects, because “education is bigger than that.”  

He concluded his presentation by bringing up the 2026 bond. 

“Sarah (Morford) has helped build TigersVote.org. It takes you to district level information about the bond,” Murray said. “TigersVote.org will give you a lot of the answers to questions you may have. Also, we want to let you know if you have other questions or you want to actually see me present on our bond, please come to our town hall meeting. It’s right in this space on Jan. 14. That will not only be an opportunity to hear but to ask questions.” 

Murray will also have a “Coffee and Cocoa with Ken” on Jan. 22 from 8 to 11 a.m. at The Bookery, where residents can come in and have conversations with Murray about anything they may choose. 

Mayor 

Mayor Bruce Reim said people are going to see a theme of growth and opportunity throughout the night's presentations.  

“For some of us, we can go back a good couple of years, we can remember when Ephrata was struggling. I can remember when we didn’t have a budget,” Reim said. “I can remember when everything was cut, cut, cut, cut, cut. Well, now things have changed, I can go into a more than five-minute explanation of that. But right now, we are finding out that we are able to do so much more.” 

Reim brought up the new upgraded equipment at Lions Park, which was led by Parks and Recreation Director Josh Johnson.  

“So, you’re seeing the park going to get up,” Reim said. “Just keep your eyes open.”  

He also mentioned the new water tower and rebranding effort with a new website.  

“We have a brand-new website, you have to go down and check that out,” Reim said “Katie (Kapalo) got that thing up and running.”  

Reim said the public works department has almost turned over the entire staff. Along with that, city hall has hired four of five new staff for the front administration. 

“The fact is, we have seen so much change,” Reim said.  

Reim said the City Council has plans to go out for eight to nine years. 

“It’s really grant-operated because we really frugally play with our taxpayer money, but we want to make sure that we spend it right,” Reim said. 

Mayor-elect 

Mayor-elect Steve Oliver said he has called Ephrata his home for the last 30 years, choosing to raise his family here and start a business, Tarot Tattoo, in the community. He said his decision to run for mayor was because he felt his family could be raised better than where he grew up.  

“I was raised in much larger cities and opportunities might have been more, but there is no sense of community,” Oliver said. “I chose to run because I did it for my kids. If I can help build something today, they can use it when they are older.”  

Oliver said he has large shoes to fill.  

“As you hear here, I have immense projects that I am stepping into,” Oliver said. 

Oliver said he has been working with City Administrator Ray Towry, learning what everyone’s jobs are and preparing for his new role.  

“I just want to be there as an assistant to the people as well,” Oliver said. “Leading the city is a big responsibility. I understand that. I am not taking this lightly whatsoever. So, I have dedicated myself to working around my day job to make sure that I can spend as much time in city hall as possible.”  

Oliver said his main priority for the term includes working on getting the city out of the flood zone.  

“We just need to have the right people working together and find the right ways to do this,” Oliver said.  

He said he is excited for the work ahead. 

“I have dedicated four years of my life, minimum, to making sure that I can get these projects finished,” Oliver said. “You will see me picking up where Bruce left off. Again, I have to reiterate that there are large shoes to fill.”  

Port of Ephrata  

Port of Ephrata Executive Director David Lanman said he began working for the port in March 2023, after spending 24 years flying as a professional pilot.  

“I had the honor and pleasure of coming up here and working with the Port Commissioners to address what is badly needed, and that is to prepare ourselves for the oncoming expansion of aerospace, industrial and rail operations in this immediate area,” Lanman said. “So, the primary job right now is to prepare to meet the challenges that are forthcoming.”  

Lanman said the port has had several companies expressing interest in working with the port. One of those projects includes an AI data center, which is considering building on 40 acres. Another company is looking at bringing in electric supply materials on nearly 20 acres of land. The port is also talking with companies in aerospace development, including AI technology and drone technology.  

From the aerospace standpoint, the Port of Ephrata has been working closely with the Port of Moses Lake. 

“There's a significant amount of money that is coming into this area in the form of billions of dollars from the federal government and military. We have been asked to make sure that we are doing our part to help supplement and support those services,” Lanman said.  

Recently, the port brought in Hertz car rentals to allow for direct transportation from the port. Next year, the port plans to modernize an 82-year-old hangar, which is around 45,000 square feet. The city and port have been working together to set up access for potable water. Alongside these projects, the port has also updated security and fencing, which is still a work in progress. 

“It’s definitely been my pleasure to be here and work with the community. The city has been great,” Lanman said. “They are providing support and expertise to help us get along further in our efforts to get outside funding through federal and state agencies. I can’t say enough about the support that they are giving us.”  

Hospital 

Columbia Basin Hospital Chief Executive Officer Rosalinda Kibby has been in Ephrata for 30 years, raising her family here. She said the hospital was established 75 years ago, in 1950 by the Grant County Commissioners.  

“We are existing to meet the needs of the community in a variety of services,” Kibby said. “We are a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital; we have a 12-bed nursing home and a 32-bed assisted living. We have a real health clinic. We have our emergency department, radiology, laboratory, therapy, all the services that you need to support a hospital besides surgeries and OB/GYN.”  

Kibby said the hospital attempted to run a $30 million bond, twice, to expand the space at the hospital. She said the bond may return, but it depends on if the hospital can find other funding sources.  

“So, there are some small solutions we can come up with in the near future,” Kibby said. 

Kibby said Columbia Basin Hospital has begun a Washington State University residency program, where physician students come to the area, with students spending 50% of their time in the hospital.  

Grant PUD 

Grant County Public Utility District Community Engagement Public Affairs Officer Annette Lovitt said the biggest piece of news is the new Ephrata Service Center, which will be built near the new Grant County Jail at 1020 Electric Avenue. The project is anticipated to be completed by 2027, with a move planned for the beginning of 2028. 

“We are replacing; we are moving away from our downtown service center,” Lovitt said. “That was built in 1976.” 

She explained that in 1976, Grant County only had around 23,000 electrical meters. In 2024, there were around 55,000 electrical meters. She also explained that transmission lines and distribution lines have nearly doubled since 1976. 

“We also had no high-speed internet, of course, in 1976,” Lovitt said. “Today, we have over 40,000 people that are connected to the internet.” 

Lovitt explained with this growth; they have outgrown the downtown building.  

“We no longer meet state and federal regulations for our building,” she said. “My husband is a lineman, and he would really like more restrooms, too, by the way.”  

GCSO 

Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete said serving as the county sheriff has been a great honor. He said when he was elected in 2023, the department was down 14 corrections deputies and 10 patrol deputies. Since then, he has hired 64 employees to fill these gaps, along with others.  

“Recruiting has been really good for us,” Kriete said. “I do not give sign-on bonuses, like a lot of agencies do. I refuse to. If you want to come to work for the sheriff’s office, I want you to be here because you want to be here. I don’t use the word ‘deserve’ very often, but to me, our community deserves that. They deserve to have people that want to be here and want to work here.”  

Another priority for Kriete was making sure both families and deputies were taken care of in regard to stress management.  

“If you think about it, everyone in society may have three, maybe four, really critical stress incidents that they see in their lifetime. We see that sometimes five to six times a day, and it gets to be a lot, and I have been doing the same for almost 32 years, and it’s a lot,” Kriete said.  

The sheriff’s office uses a program called First Watch to help both deputies and their families manage stress. This includes retired deputies.  

The sheriff also helped implement the Crime Reduction Team which focuses on rural thefts, burglaries, crimes of violence, street level drugs and gangs.  

“Our calls for service have reduced 6.6%, our attempted theft of properties ... down 68%, residential burglary is down 42%, theft of gas, which is diesel fuel, is down 65%, motor vehicle thefts are down 45%, vehicle theft is down 25% and wire theft is down 60%,” Kriete said. “Those are huge things that our Crime Reduction Team has now been able to start clearing these cases.”  

Lastly, Kriete spoke on the new jail facility, which will be open May 2026 and include 512 beds. This is three times the current facility at 126 beds. The cost of the facility was estimated at $155 million, with GCSO being under budget by nearly $20 million right now. 

    Mayor Bruce Reim spoke about the various projects happening around Ephrata, including the water tower, rebranding and new Lions Park playground equipment.
  

    Mayor-elect Steve Oliver discussed his plans to get Ephrata out of the flood zone designation and how he looks forward to taking over this role.
  

    Port of Ephrata Executive Director David Lanman highlighted the recent developments at the port including Jet A Fuel, Hertz car rentals, potential new businesses and updated security measures.
  

    Columbia Basin Hospital Chief Executive Officer Rosalinda Kibby discussed the services the hospital offers along with the bond, which was twice rejected by voters. Kibby said the hospital is working on alternative funding to bring some of the assets to the hospital, but another bond is a possibility in the future.
  

    Grant County Public Utility District Community Engagement Public Affairs Officer Annette Lovitt said the biggest piece of news is the new Ephrata Service Center, which will be built at 1020 Electric Avenue. The project is anticipated to be completed by 2027, with a move planned for the beginning of 2028. Grant PUD has been using the current service center since 1976.
  

    Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete discussed current staffing, upgrades to deputy resources, the Crime Reduction Team and its impact and the new Grant County Jail.