Moses Lake council, board eye cooperative efforts

MOSES LAKE — Facility use, working to give children alternatives and opportunities, improving partnerships that help students look at careers, were discussed as areas of cooperation at a joint meeting of the Moses Lake City Council and Moses Lake School Board. Mayor Dustin Swartz said the advantages of cooperation extended beyond making it easier for city and district residents. 

“From the council’s perspective, looking at budgeting and all of that, we want to find as many efficiencies as possible, and sharing of resources is a priority of ours,” Swartz said.  

Council and school board members discussed the agreement between the city and MLSD for facility use, which expires in 2026. City and MLSD administrators are also cooperating on other projects, including the Safe Streets program designed to show young people alternatives to gangs, and programs at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center.  

The Safe Streets program is a new joint venture between the Moses Lake Police Department and the MLSD, and one that’s showing promise, said Adam Sawyer, MLSD assistant executive director of safety and well-being. Police department Corporal Omar Ramirez is working with the MLSD, Sawyer said. 

“He’s been working for the last year trying to get it rolling,” Sayer said. The Boys and Girls Club is partnering with MLSD and MLPD as well, he said. 

The initial Safe Streets program is focused on elementary students, Sawyer said. 

“This is looking at younger students and trying to get in their lives as police officers, and as teachers, trying to give them advice and really talk about leading positive lives, staying away from gangs and things like that,” Sawyer said. “At elementary, we’re not seeing a lot of the gang problems, but then all of a sudden, when they get at that age going into middle school, that’s usually when they’re (being) targeted.” 

To counteract that, MLPD officers and MLSD staff are doing activities with children and talking with them away from school, at venues like the Boys and Girls Club. 

“We had police officers playing basketball with kids (at the club), and we were worried about not having enough kids coming. We’re getting double the amount of kids now,” Sawyer said. “And it’s not just police – we have a firefighter joining in. We’ve had teachers (and MLSD administrators).” 

The idea is to show children that there are options, and MLSD personnel have worked to make sure students know that. 

“We’re not just talking about anti-gang. We’re talking about what does your future look like, and what can you do instead of joining the gang,” Sawyer said.  

Police Chief Dave Sands said the district had to cut one school resource officer position in the 2024-25 school year due to financial issues, but that position has been restored. School resource officers spend most of their time at Moses Lake High School and the district’s three middle schools, Sands said.  

City and school district officials discussed possible improvements to the existing facility use agreement.  

Doug Coutts, the city’s director of parks, recreation and cultural services, said both the city and the school district mostly serve the same people.  

“In my mind, it makes perfect logical sense — if you guys need a field that we have, you can use it,” Coutts said. “Why would we charge our constituents twice for the same facility?” 

City officials wanted to clarify some of the details of facility use, he said, such as cleanup following an event. 

Moses Lake Superintendent Carol Lewis said the district had to make some changes after financial issues left the district with little to no reserves. Because money was short, Lewis said, MLSD officials began charging a fee to some groups for facility use and asking that groups clean up after themselves. Most groups did that, she said. Coutts suggested the interlocal agreement between the city and MLSD be amended to include a damage deposit.  

    Adam Sawyer, MLSD administrator, said the new Safe Streets program, in partnership with the MLPD and Boys and Girls Club, is showing promise.