RITZVILLE CITY COUNCIL Q&A: Plumb vs. Ottmar
Michelle Plumb, pictured, is running against Eric Ottmar, no image available, for the 2025 Ritzville City Council election.
FILE PHOTO
RITZVILLE – The race for Ritzville City Council consists of two candidates, Michelle Plumb and Eric Ottmar. Plumb responded to a set of five questions presented as follows.
The Columbia Basin Herald has reached out to Eric Ottmar, Plumb’s opponent in the race, but received no response.
How do you plan to support local businesses and attract new ones to Ritzville?
Plumb: Council voted to hire a Community Development Director to focus on this very issue in 2025, so supporting him in that role going forward. He’s already been invaluable on several issues that we’ve seen arise this year.
How do you plan to support local businesses and attract new ones to Ritzville?
Plumb: We need workforce housing. Everyone knows it. We’ve worked on the development code to try to tackle this through a mixed-use zoning addition. The Multi-Family Tax Exemption tool has only recently been made available for use by smaller cities, but I feel it is an avenue worth pursuing.
What is your vision for youth engagement and opportunities in Ritzville?
Plumb: There are conversations happening around our Park and Rec facilities and what the city envisions for those. Ideally, the Adams County Park & Rec District #4 could expand programming, but they remain limited to maintenance and operation of the water park. It would be amazing to get some synergy between our two agencies and remains on my wish list.
How do you plan to collaborate with county and state officials to bring resources and attention to Ritzville?
Plumb: Our mayor is the interim public works director and engineer for the county, so I feel we’ve got that cross-pollination covered pretty well at the moment.
What role do you see technology playing in improving city services and communication with residents?
Plumb: Huge. I cannot overstate how much these tools help freeing up staff time and improving the customer experience once they are leveraged correctly. We still have some work to do on that last part but the council seems to agree across the board on this matter.