City of West Richland: Growing together
Economic Development
The City of West Richland spent much of 2020 focusing on supporting local businesses through the COVID-19 crisis. Over $400,000 in CARES funds were distributed to our business community by the city.
Over the year, we permitted 230 single-family homes. We are excited to welcome these families to West Richland, as well as several new businesses set to open in 2021.
Circle K by Yokes on Bombing Range recently opened. Sun Market with Firehouse Subs and Frank and Sons Collision Repair are both scheduled to break ground near the Municipal Services Building this year.
The City anticipates the development of multi-family homes near Paradise and Van Giesen that, when complete, will bring approximately 300 new homes and families to the community. The city continues to enjoy the continual interest and growth in our community.
Community Safety
The West Richland Police Department is focused on what is known to be ahead and not speculate on what may happen. In 2021, the department will add two patrol vehicles, replace five patrol vehicles and two administrative vehicles, allowing for substantially reduced vehicle maintenance cost and dependability for the foreseeable future.
The department will add two police officer positions, one in June 2021 and one in January 2022, bringing the commissioned staff to 22 officers.
The police department also recently welcomed two lateral transfer officers, Officer Conner Ehr from Columbia County and Officer Clinton Armitage from Richland. They replaced two officers who have retired.
Construction of the voter approved police facility has begun, and will be completed in December. The new facility is a remarkable sight and a 3-D video tour is available on the city’s Facebook and Nextdoor sites.
Infrastructure
Work continues on Phase 2a of the city’s Well No. 10 Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Conversion Project. The multi-year project, in partnership with the state Department of Ecology, allows West Richland to meet future projected peak summer demands in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner by withdrawing Columbia River water during high winter month flows and storing the water in an underground aquifer until needed.
The Phase 2a work includes well rehabilitation and preliminary aquifer testing. The goal is to continue to obtain grant funding from Ecology for Phases 2b, ASR testing, Phase 3, design and construction, and Phase 4, pilot testing, to complete the $4.3 million project by the end of 2025.
Washington state Department of Transportation staff is currently designing the $26 million three mile corridor improvement project along State Route 224/Van Giesen from Bombing Range Road to Red Mountain Road for construction tentatively scheduled for 2024-25.
The project will transform the roadway to a multi-modal, urban complete street with sidewalks, bicycle lanes, a separated pathway into the Red Mountain AVA, transit bus pullouts, street lights, center left-turn lanes and improvements to all five intersections along the corridor. In preparation for the improvements, the city will be designing and installing approximately $2 million of water and sewer infrastructure prior to 2024.
Construction of the $500,000 traffic signal at the intersection of Van Giesen and South 38th Avenue is scheduled to begin in this spring. The project will relocate existing overhead power lines and greatly improve safety for pedestrians and vehicles crossing at the intersection. The project is funded with Benton County’s Rural County Capital Funds.
All of the city’s progress in the past and the future could not have been accomplished without our award-winning finance team. Its prudent financial management provides the best return for our citizens’ investment.
As West Richland grows, it continues to be a great place to do business, raise a family and play. We encourage our citizens to stay involved and informed through our web site at www.westrichland.org and like us on Facebook.
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 12:49 AM with the headline "City of West Richland: Growing together."