Council hears pitch for uniting cities

Bob, Washington?

That could be the new name of a consolidated Grand Coulee and Electric City, chamber representative Bob Valen laughingly told Grand Coulee’s council last Tuesday night.

He and Kevin Portch appeared before the council to make a pitch for consolidation discussions. The chamber had earlier appeared before the Electric City council.

This time, the issue got some action, with the council agreeing to prepare a letter of support.

It’s a first step.

Valen had proposed that the chamber hold a community meeting for residents of the two cities and then see where the issue goes from there.

Valen stated that residents from both communities had approached the chamber to see if it would facilitate getting people together to discuss consolidation.

Portch said that if the two cities could get together they would have a larger voice in Grant County, Now, this area is the end of the line in Grant County.

The chamber is working with SCJ Alliance, a Wenatchee firm, to help develop consolidation discussions.

Valen said he would find out what SCJ Alliance would charge in a first-step get-together of the two towns.

“We would look to the two cities to pay for discussions, and I will get back to you on the cost of the first meeting,” Valen told the council.

For one thing, it would “save on lawyer fees,” Portch stated, and “it would give a consolidated city a larger pool to draw talent from.”

The chamber representatives brought a six-month outline of how a consolidation process might work, with a price tag of about $30,000.

“But,” Valen stated, “that cost could probably be cut in half by chamber volunteers doing much of the work.”

It was discussed that community surveys might be done after the first two-city meeting, if there was interest in consolidation.

The council wasn’t necessarily buying into the process, but they would like to hear more and see if there is genuine interest.

The name of any new city would be one of the last things to be decided if consolidation became a reality.

And it probably wouldn’t be Bob, Washington.