What will improve downtown, and how to do it, focus of Moses Lake council discussion

MOSES LAKE — Rod Stevens, one of a team of consultants working with the city of Moses Lake on ways to improve downtown, said he wants to help answer a question that came out of the personal experience of some family members who lived in and visited Moses Lake. 

“What is this place, and how do you function?” Stevens asked Moses Lake City Council members at a special meeting June 29. 

He cited the example of a family member who worked in the area and lived in Moses Lake but spent little time here.  

“When my wife came over to visit, she said, ‘I can’t figure this place out,” Stevens said.  

Council members made improving the reputation and image of Moses Lake a priority and allocated about $150,000 to the project. A question from Stevens about why it was a priority, and what they wanted to see downtown, kicked off discussions about economic diversification, self-image, investment and returns on investment, among other things. 

Councilmember Mark Fancher said he thinks downtown needs more attention than it’s received so far, especially as people worked on economic diversification. 

“(Efforts were) really focused on job growth, and industrial growth,” he said. 

Agriculture was, and still is, a critical element in Moses Lake’s economy, he said.  

“But we are trying to diversify our economy, so that we would have a lot more opportunities for growth and stability. I think the focus has always been on that,” he said. “Unfortunately, the quality of life downtown – those areas probably weren’t focused on enough.”  

Councilmember David Skaug said downtown has changed as retail has changed, and that has downstream effects that need to be taken into account. He cited the downtown he remembered while growing up in Moses Lake. 

“My first winter coat – I can remember, in eighth grade, getting my first new one that wasn’t a hand-me-down. That was a big deal. And that retail just doesn’t exist today. When we talk about, ‘How do you develop downtown and retail,’ it really boils down to numbers. What kind of volume can I do, what kind of margin, and what can I pay for rent?” Skaug said. 

Property owners are willing to make improvements, but that means rents go up, he said, often beyond the ability of business owners to pay them.  

“I mean, that's the conundrum that we have, is how do you fund the redo, and to me it seems like we need to concentrate on what kind of retail sales could go in that area,” Skaug said. 

That’s a difficult but real dynamic, said councilmember Jeremy Davis. 

“When you update infrastructure, (which is) our part, then the building owner updates their part, now suddenly we’ve priced out most of our small businesses,” Davis said. “I think that’s something we need to be very conscious of.” 

Also, a Moses Lake native, Davis said he’s seen downtown go through previous improvement cycles. 

“It looked really good for a few years, then we just kept adding to it, which now I would categorize as very eclectic,” he said. “Nothing really goes together – nothing really matches.” 

Davis and Fancher said they’ve seen downtown projects in their travels that did work, citing Walla Walla and Spokane as examples.  

Councilmember Joel Graves and Deputy Mayor Don Myers said residents sometimes seem to struggle with the city’s self-image. 

“I’ve always felt like the city has so much going for it, and so much potential, but a lot of the sentiment around Moses Lake is sort of negative, like a negative view of itself,” Graves said. “I do think there can be broader economic development that occurs as a result of the city becoming more prideful in (itself).” 

Myers said improving the self-image was part of the motivation behind the work downtown. 

“I think that’s what we’re trying to (promote), is people (are) excited to be here,” Myers said. 

    Moses Lake city officials are working on a plan to improve downtown.