City of Pasco: Preparing for a bright future

Situated along the Columbia and Snake rivers, Pasco has experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, transforming it into a vibrant community of over 77,000 people, which serves the region’s hub of commerce. 

With a diverse population, quickly rising education levels, increasing household incomes and an excellent multi-modal transportation system, Pasco has become a premier destination for people who want a high quality of life with an affordable cost of living. Pasco has experienced a changing demographic, infrastructure growth and increased demands for services in all areas as part of this transformation.

The Pasco City Council has been responsive and strategic throughout these enormous changes, which has led to an impressive level of stability during this dynamic period. Those long-term strategies, as reflected in deliberate investments in critical infrastructure, technology, people and the community in general, are bearing fruit.

2020 began routinely, with the evaluation of the biennial community survey results and a series of productive community listening sessions in preparation for the council’s biennial goal-setting retreat. Then, in March, the city began responding swiftly to the global pandemic, with community members’ and employees’ safety and well-being the top priority.

Simultaneously, the City Council and staff adapted how city services were to be delivered in a remote environment as they managed circumstances along with changing, and sometimes conflicting, federal and state regulations.

In a year of lockdowns, limitations on public engagement methods and uncertainty, council and staff have worked diligently to advance goals, initiatives, comprehensive plans and strategic investments. We saw numerous and noteworthy successes in 2020:

▪  Completed Urban Growth Area analysis and development of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

▪  Achieved police re-accreditation at the national level via the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the state level via the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).

▪  Implemented a community engagement app, “AskPasco,” to cultivate effective interactions between the Pasco community and the city.

▪  Implemented federal CARES Act utility assistance and business assistance programs.

▪  Collaborated with the Benton Franklin Health District to set up and oversee a COVID-19 testing site.

▪  Began construction of Fire Station 84 and administration with estimated completion in August.

▪  Construction of replacement Fire Station 83.

▪  Completed Gesa Stadium improvements.

Over the next several months, the community will see significant investments in our services and facilities to promote a high quality of life for all of Pasco. Some of the more notable projects include:

▪  Completion of Peanuts Park and Farmers Market Renovation.

▪  Construction of the Lewis Street Overpass project replacing the old underpass.

▪  The long-awaited construction of a new Animal Control Shelter for the Tri-Cities.

▪  Construction of Phase 1 of ‘A’ Street Sporting Complex.

▪  A Police Strategic Master Plan developed through a vigorous community process.

▪  Widening of Road 68 south of I-182.

▪  Completion of the Wrigley Drive extension.

▪  Argent Road widening.

▪  The addition of a one-stop Permit Center.

▪  Coordination with Port of Pasco on the waterfront-zoning plan and Riemann Industrial Park initiatives.

Substantial private investment in Pasco continues, with residential construction and commercial/industrial development at historically high levels. The Road 68 corridor continues to mature, and there is considerable interest in the Broadmoor/Road 100 area as infrastructure develops. The Peanuts Park and Lewis Street Overpass projects will spur interest and economic growth in Downtown.

The public’s willingness to present ideas and priorities has added immeasurable value to these plans, as has the City Council’s efforts to distill all of this information into clear policy direction and in the development of the 2020-2021 City Council Goals.

Pasco has dedicated considerable time, effort and investment in infrastructure preparation for the community’s bright future. Watch us go!

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 12:51 AM with the headline "City of Pasco: Preparing for a bright future."