Moses Lake council, school board to hold joint workshop

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake City Council and Moses Lake School Board will be talking about water, partnerships and facilities at a workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday. Ryan Shannon, Moses Lake School District director of public relations, said MLSD officials proposed the workshop to talk about issues that affect both of them as well as the city as a whole. 

“What are some key topics that affect the city and the school district that we need to dialogue on?” Shannon said. “We need to get everybody in the room.”  

Workshop topics will involve issues of mutual interest,  including water and water use and an interlocal agreement for facility use. Discussion is planned about partnerships between the MLSD and city agencies, including the Moses Lake Police Department and Moses Lake Fire Department.  

Moses Lake City Manager Rob Karlinsey said the goal is to get a better idea of what other agencies in town are doing. 

“The main reason to meet is to build relationships and improve our working relationships as government agencies who serve the people of Moses Lake,” Karlinsey wrote in answer to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. 

Shannon said it’s a chance to talk over issues, sometimes thorny issues, that affect both parties. 

“Some tough conversations and some necessary conversations,” Shannon said.  

District and city officials will be talking about tiered water rates; the city’s system starts with a base rate but adds a charge for residents and businesses that use more water than the base amount. The city has an irrigation schedule for lawns, and MLSD has a lot of grass fields. The district has water rights and some wells of its own, and MLSD officials have used that water and those wells at schools that have them. 

City and school district officials signed an agreement in 2021 governing the use of school facilities, which expires in May 2026. 

“It’s time to revisit that,” Shannon said.  

The district and the city have some joint projects; the MLPD’s school resource officers are one example. The MLPD is implementing a Safe Streets program, designed to give young people alternatives to gang activity and ways to stay away from gangs. The MLSD is one of the Safe Streets partners. 

“Public safety is paramount with both agencies,” Shannon said.

The MLFD has allowed the fire science program at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center to use one of its fire engines, subject to an agreement to use it if necessary. That engine was donated to the fire science program earlier this year, Shannon said, and both entities are looking for other areas of cooperation.

“It’s a great starting point between the city and the school district,” Shannon said.