Ritzville Council approves support resolution for John Wayne Trail

The Ritzville City Council approved two street closures at their Tuesday meeting on Aug. 16.

The meeting began with a proposal from CenturyLink to put fiber lines throughout the city, which requires an easement area on the northwest corner of the park on South Division Street behind the Ag Shop.

The Council expressed their concerns about the placement of the piece of equipment being in the vicinity to the water tower, which would prove difficult to relocate the tower if ever needed.

Councilmember Scott Yaeger added concerns with the wording of the proposal, which grants Ritzville little to no permission to relocate the piece of equipment and allows CenturyLink to have permission to clear any trees and other obstructions for their use of the easement area.

The Council discussed the fact the approval of the proposal would be in relation to selling a piece of land and after it is sold, it is no longer Ritzville’s property. Due to the overwhelming amount of questions and concerns about the proposal, the council suggested CenturyLink give a presentation of what their plans are for the area and the restrictions the City of Ritzville would have if approved.

Clerk/Treasurer Kris Robbins then presented the Council with a Resolution from a member of Tekoa City Council and President of the Tekoa Trail and Trestle Association, Ted Blaszak, requesting the Council’s support for the maintenance and improvement of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

The John Wayne trail is the property of Washington Parks and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which stretches for 285 miles and is Washington’s only cross state trail.

Robbins received an email from Blaszak explaining the importance of the trail to the small community of Tekoa and why the preservation is crucial. Blaszak also attached a list of cities who approved the resolution and support the trail, along with the approved resolution from the City of Cle Elum.

The email explained in the 2015 state legislative session, two legislators from the Ninth District wrote a capitol budget provision, which closed 135 miles of the trail to the public. This allowed adjacent landowners exclusive control of the property.

A typographical error and public outcry prevented the proviso, and the Washington Parks Department formed a committee of trail users and the adjacent landowners to advise parks, according to Blaszak.

The Committee adopted a trail management plan by the Washington Parks Commission on July 21, Blaszak said.

The plan calls for trail repairs and a capitol budget request of $2,016,000 in funding. Blaszak stated the resolution of support from Ritzville would greatly encourage state legislators to honor the budget request in 2017.

The Council discussed the importance of the trail in relation to Ritzville to decide if the maintenance and improvements would benefit the Town in anyway.

Adams County Commissioner John Marshall, spoke about the landowner’s position with the situation, explaining they have been responsible for cleaning up any litter or mess left by hikers through the trail and any expenses needed for the trail on their property.

All Council members expressed their appreciation for the trail but did not see the purpose of a resolution for the cause. Yaeger then requested the word “regarding” in the Resolution be changed to “supporting” due to the actual purpose of the resolution.

The Council motioned for the resolution to be approved with the word change. The approval deemed unanimous.

Robbins then presented the Council with two street closure requests made by the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2.

The Ritzville Chamber of Commerce requested the closure of Main Avenue from Jefferson to Columbia; Broadway from Jefferson to Division from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. for their annual Ritzville Junior Parade and Ritzville Community Parade on Sept. 3.

The Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 requested the closures of Washington Street from Main Street to Railroad Avenue and Railroad Avenue from Division Street to Adams Street for their annual Health Fair on Sept. 10.

The request also included use of the sidewalk and parking area on Main Street for vendors and two parking spaces to the east and two parking spaces to the west of Washington on the south side of Main Avenue along with three parking spaces north of Main Avenue on the west side of Washington be blocked off during the Health Fair.

The Council reviewed the requests and motioned for both to be approved. The approval resulted unanimous.

Robbins presented the Council with a third request from Lori Williams for the Wheat Land Communities’ Fair to put up signage at the freeway entrance near the welcome to Ritzville sign.

The council expressed concerns about the amount of displays already in place in the area and the sight line for vehicles turning at the area.

After much discussion, the Council decided to approve the request under the condition the sign not block drivers’ line of sight and become a safety concern.

The Council also requested a plan be presented to them for the placement and size of the sign for negotiation. The approval deemed unanimous.

Attention turned to Dave McCormick, Ritzville Police Chief for a department update. McCormick informed the council of a meeting he had with the county sheriff in regards to setting up county K-9 training.

He explained the training would include a classroom presentation on how to handle the dog and situation in which the dog would be needed. McCormick said the department hopes to do periodic practice searches at the schools along with vehicular practice searches.

Robbins then informed the Council about complaints she has been receiving about “junk” vehicles around Town. She suggested the Council set stricter policies about these vehicles and consider doing and town clean up of these vehicles.

Mark Weigand told the Council about a very successful Ladies Golf Tournament for the Ritzville Golf Association, which 40 players attended and 28 of which were from out of town. He then informed the Council about the participation for the Dig’s Golf tournament being held Aug. 21-22.

He said all 72 spots have been filled for the tournament, which should prove to be a successful and busy weekend for Ritzville. He ended his update by stating the Ritzville Golf Association received an endowment of $1,000 from the Rudy Thaut family, which will be used for planting trees on the golf course.

Mike Schrag made a recommendation to the Council to approve the nomination of a new Tree Board membership to Debi Balfe. The Council approved the request.

The meeting came to an end with an update from Yaeger about the relocation of the solar panels on the Sprenger Memorial.

Yaeger explained the Parks and Recreation department could not come to a consensus on whether to relocate the panels or not due to and two-to-one disagreement.

Mike Schrag requested a vote from the Council about the situation, which resulted in every member of council approving except one. This allowed for the request to be approved.