News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout holds up an overhead view of a trail project, which the city has been working on since 2019, to explain the many changes it has undergone so far. It was one of many projects the city is undertaking she wanted people to have a chance to give input on Tuesday night. At right is a map showing parcels the city is asking voters to de-annex next month. - Scott Hunter photo
Electric City has a lot going on, and the mayor wanted people to have a chance to learn, ask questions and share their thoughts on a several key projects, so the city held a town-hall type meeting at the fire hall Tuesday night.
Mayor Diane Kohout spoke with a roomful of citizens about an upcoming vote on de-annexing four parcels of property the city annexed several years ago. Those can't be developed, belong to federal or state agencies, and sometimes require services from the city, such as cleanup, fire and police response to public safety issues.
"Once it's not in the city limits, we don't have a responsibility to go out there," Kohout explained.
Some other parcels the city had brought in during its annexation in 2009 it is not now seeking to withdraw from, including the land on which Sunbanks Lake Resort sits. That resort produces tax revenue for the city and was a big part of the reason the annexation originally took place. Sunbanks contributes thousands of lodging tax dollars for tourism promotion for the city that would otherwise go to Grant County. Kohout said the resort is also hoping to join in the city's sewer system in the future, which would mean more revenue.
Another project that drew interest: a pathway project now referred to as the "waterfront trail." It has undergone several changes since its original proposal, Kohout said. The state Department of Transportation is heavily involved since the trail would exist alongside highway 155. The agency has made several changes in its requirements, and the engineers are revising cost estimates yet again.
The half-mile multi-use trail from Coulee Playland to North Dam Park is to be funded by grants that currently total about $900,000.
It originally was to have a guardrail and a 2-foot buffer, but now must involve the building of a retaining wall along Banks Lake, no guardrail, but a curb and an eight foot section of gravel behind a sturdy fence.
If a final design is approved in February, Khohout said, it should be completed this year and would result in a lowered speed limit on the highway from 45 to 35 mph.
A citizen heading up the development of plans for a city park between the fire hall and the Banks Lake Bible Church said the committee is eager for the public's ideas on what kinds of features should go into that park.
"Let us know what you and your kids want," Arrow Coyote said. She shared handouts that listed several ideas.
Many other projects were talked about, and Kohout prepared a list of initiatives the city is working on this year and where they are getting or hope to find funding:
Sewer main reline - USDA Rural Development
Waterfront multi-use trail/speed limit change on Hwy. 155 - DOT
Streets chip seal - TIB and Grant County STBG
Public Works truck - USDA Rural Development
Stormwater Master Program - Ecology/DOH
Osborne Bay Water Feasibility Study (Phase 2) - CERB
Spring/Fall Cleanup grants - Grant County Solid Waste, LSWFA
City Park - Park Committee, Planning Commission, Council - potential grants
Coulee Playland ABA Deficiencies Plan - $100,000 - potential grants, Bureau
Streets Maintenance Crack Seal - TIB
De-annexation public meeting, vote & legal description - January/February
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