Future and development focus of ML council discussion

MOSES LAKE — Water, urban growth and future development was the focus of an extensive discussion by the Moses Lake City Council while they considered amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan. 

The council considered an extensive list of amendments, with the discussion focusing on the city’s urban growth boundary. That prompted a question from council member Deanna Martinez. 

“Just because it’s in our (urban growth area), does it obligate us to provide services?” Martinez asked. 

City Attorney Katherine Kenison said the city isn’t obligated, but that inclusion in the urban growth area does imply the city will provide services, like water and sewer, sometime in the future. Some of the land affected by the comprehensive plan amendments are in Mae Valley and outside the city limits. Martinez said that’s a challenge. 

“We still have discussions to have regarding water for this area and whether or not we can actually expand out there,” she said. “I don’t have all the information to know whether or not we have the ability as a city to expand out there.” 

City Engineer Richard Law said it was actually two questions. 

“The ability to (provide services) and the reasoning for serving are, I think, two different things,” Law said.  

The city does have the ability to provide services in the short term, he said, but there are considerations about the financial benefits, especially for projects that are outside the city limits and are going to be outside for a long time, maybe more than a decade. Any additional revenue from increased property values in those unincorporated areas would go to Grant County, he said. 

“Long term, the more we commit our water and sewer services outside the city limits, rather than inside the city limits, eventually we may get to a point where that becomes an issue. It’s not immediate – is it in the next five years, is it in the next 10 years? Probably not,” Law said. “But those are questions that council needs to address – whether we are focusing on development in the city limits and those parcels that can annex today versus extending water and sewer services to developments that most likely will not annex for many years, and the associated revenue loss that the city gives up by extending those water and sewer services.”  

Council member David Skaug said the council should be discussing development with county officials. Moses Lake does add a surcharge to customers who are connected to city services but are not in the city limits, but Skaug said that won’t pay the costs of providing the services.  

Law said cities around Eastern Washington have different policies for offering services outside the city limits – some do, and some don’t.  

“It’s a financial decision, in my mind, is what it boils down to,” Law said. 

Martinez said she thought discussions with county officials should precede a vote, but Law said the only thing under discussion was the comprehensive plan. Moses Lake’s UGA is already large – much larger, in fact, than projections show the city will need for the next 20 years. But whether or not to provide water and sewer services to any specific development is a separate conversation, he said. 

Mayor Dustin Swartz said in his opinion keeping properties in the UGA would make it easier to talk with county officials. There are discussions needed, he said, first with developers about the components they will be required to pay for, then with county officials. 

“In the course of drafting the agreement with (developers) we can also discuss the annexation piece. Absolutely that’s the conversation that should be had with the county,” Swartz said.