Grant County commissioner talks to GC council

Newly elected Grant County Commissioner Danny Stone spoke with the Grand Coulee City Council during their Feb. 16 meeting held via Zoom. 

Stone is the first county commissioner from the northern part of the county in recent memory, possibly since Fred Ludolph in the 1940s.

Stone introduced himself and told the council that he was available to talk with them.

"If you need something," Stone said, "I can't tell you I can always fix or help, but I can sure be a part of the discussion and be supportive of the towns up here in the north part [of Grant County]. ... Don't be afraid to call. If you need assistance at the county level, or have questions, I'm willing to dig into it for you."

Stone explained that he farms near Hartline and is happy to represent the northern part of Grant County. 

His wife, Sandy, works as an obstetric nurse at Coulee Medical Center.

Having taken office only recently, in January, Stone described the newness of the experience as being "like a hounddog with its head out the window of a pickup; the jowls and cheeks are just shaking, and it's like drinking from a fire hose."

"I've been learning a lot and I'm amazed at the diversity of stuff we have to deal with," Stone continued, "everything from people wanting to drive their (all terrain vehicles) on county roads ... to being on the county department of health board, where I hear about gloom and doom every week about COVID."

Stone displayed knowledge of local issues, saying that he'd like to have a conversation with the council about the potential Columbia Basin Hydropower project which would involve building one or two large underground tunnels connecting the North Dam area to the Crescent Bay area to generate electricity in a gravity fed hydropower system.

"You may have questions about digging a hole under your town," Stone said, adding that he's still learning more about the project. 

Stone said he had become aware of the potential project after being approached by someone who works at the Grand Coulee Dam who was concerned about where the 1,000-plus workers and their families would live, and how it would affect the schools.

Stone joked that if the project takes as long as the Bureau of Reclamation firehouse being built along SR-155 it wouldn't be a pressing issue because the firehouse wouldn't be completed until 2050, which made the council laugh.

Councilmember Tom Poplawski took Stone up on his offer to look into things by asking him about money the county might receive from the federal government in the form of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) dollars. 

Poplawski said that with the dam being here, and not paying property taxes, the city should get a portion of what the county might receive in PILT dollars.

Stone said that he would look into what Grant County's status is in relation to PILT dollars.

He concluded by thanking the council for their service.

"It's an important job you do," he told them.