The city of Pasco needs to invest more than $28 million over the next six years on its water treatment and distribution systems to meet regulatory requirements, according to a report presented to the city council Monday.
Anthony Krutsch of CH2M Hill, who developed the comprehensive plan, said the city's growth has put a strain on its only treatment plant, and the addition of the new $11 million water treatment plant will add to the water capacity on the west side of town. It's expected to be operational next year.
"You've taken aggressive responsibility in protecting the citizens," said Krutsch of Pasco's ability to provide low-cost service to its growing population.
Revenue bonds are financing the project, said City Manager Gary Crutchfield.
A possible rate increase in the next couple of years would help pay it off, but it would continue to be less than $1 per 100 cubic feet, Crutchfield said. Pasco's current rate is 54 cents per 100 cubic feet.
Also Monday:
w City officials discussed raising golf cart shed annual fees from $350 to $450 to pay for upgraded facilities. New garage doors have been installed and the sheds have been painted, reported Rick Terway, administrative and community services director.
w The council discussed the 2010-14 Tri-Cities consolidated plan. The plan is a federal requirement acting as an application for community block grants and more, said Angela Pitman, Pasco's block grant administrator.
w Mayor Joyce Olson chastised Tom Larsen when he asked to reconsider a special permit for Planned Parenthood. Motions cannot be passed during workshop meetings, Larsen was reminded. The next meeting will be Monday, she said.
The Pasco Planning Commission last month denied a special permit for a Planned Parenthood clinic. Planned Parenthood filed an appeal to get permission to open a women's health care clinic at a building on Court Street the organization bought in May.
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The nation's leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates - creating a bitter rift, linked to the abortion debate, between two iconic organizations that have assisted millions of women.
Quad-cities water right pact reached
Quad-cities water right pact reached
State officials and the Tri-Cities and West Richland have reached an agreement on getting Pasco the water it needs now and the water the other cities will need in the future.
Officials say the new pact will put to rest a decade of disputes over the so-called quad-cities water right from the Columbia River.
The water rights from the Lake Roosevelt Incremental Release Program will be noninterruptible, which means that even when a drought is declared, the cities can continue to use that water, said Joye Redfield-Wilder, communication manager for the Department of Ecology in Yakima.
Quad-cities water right pact reached
Quad-cities water right pact reached
State officials and the Tri-Cities and West Richland have reached an agreement on getting Pasco the water it needs now and the water the other cities will need in the future.
Officials say the new pact will put to rest a decade of disputes over the
so-called quad-cities water right from the Columbia River.
The water rights from the Lake Roosevelt Incremental Release Program will be noninterruptible, which means that even when a drought is declared, the cities can continue to use that water, said Joye Redfield-Wilder, communication manager for the Department of Ecology in Yakima.
Proposed pavement system might save Pasco money, extend life of roads
Proposed pavement system might save Pasco money, extend life of roads
Pasco is taking a new approach to paving streets.
Ahmad Qayoumi, city public works director, told the Pasco City Council on Monday that a new pavement management program should extend the amount of time before roadways needs replacement.
The city has been improving city streets on a 15-year cycle, said Pasco City Manager Gary Crutchfield. The new program will be managed on a street by street basis and hopefully be a better use of money available for street improvements, he said.
Pasco finds Columbia River water to close water rights gap
Pasco finds Columbia River water to close water rights gap
Pasco may have found about two-thirds of the water it needs to fill the gap between the water its residents use and the city's water rights.
That water has been freed up by an adjustment in how much water the state Department of Ecology acknowledges the Tri-Cities and West Richland return to the Columbia River, Pasco City Manager Gary Crutchfield told the Pasco City Council on Monday.
It is one of the changes Pasco, Kennewick, Richland and West Richland are being asked to approve in a memorandum of agreement concerning the so-called quad-cities Columbia River water right that the four cities share.
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