Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Saturday’s Tribune.
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COLFAX — The new Washington state capital budget includes $1.38 million for the Colfax Pool upgrade.
Colfax Mayor Jim Retzer thanked the district representatives who advocated for the city’s pool upgrades.
As Senate leader on the capital budget, Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, stated that he appreciated the feedback from various Colfax citizens who let him know what projects needed funding in the capital budget.
“Thanks to discussions with people throughout our district, as well as collaboration with my seatmates, Representatives Schmick and Dye, many needs in the 9th are addressed in this budget,” he said.
Retzer said he could not thank representatives Mary Dye, Joe Schmick and Schoesler enough.
“A lot of thank yous to them for that and getting the money available here for Colfax in July,” he said.
Retzer added that Mary Dye was also excited to work with Colfax to ensure the project goes through and the upgrades get started.
Retzer noted that they have been working on getting the project off the ground for the last three-and-a-half years, and they’re excited to get it going.
It was during the Colfax 150 that they were able to give the representatives a tour of the pool to show them the community needed it.
“I’m proud of that for the community,” he said.
“I’m not sure when the last time it was they got the money from the legislature,” he said, adding that it’s incredible that it’s something for the community to use.
Retzer explained that the pool had not had any renovations itself other than just paint and structural.
“It has some leaks, piping issues,” he said, noting that it has been losing 32,000 gallons of water daily.
“That’s a lot of water,” Retzer said, adding that they’ve needed to look at doing some renovation projects to fix those leaks.
Retzer also explained that they wanted to work on the locker rooms, including a coat of paint, the shower heads, and fixing the lighting fixtures and bulbs.
The city wants to bring the pool up to date, Retzer said.
“It’s from the 1950s, and I don’t think they’ve ever done anything there,” he added.
Retzer explained that the project’s primary focus is replacing the pool liner.
He further expressed his excitement to fix up the pool as the project moves forward, which he states is a large and unique part of the community and the county.
“We want to put a splash pad in,” he said, noting that’s part of the plan to make the pool more inclusive for the community.
The splash pad is an option for smaller kids and the family to enjoy; Retzer also shared that they plan to add slides and some boards to the larger pool area.
Retzer expressed that he and the staff are thrilled to move forward with the project, and their next step is to work on the timelines.
He explained that the pool would still be in use this summer and, hopefully, it can remain open all summer.
— Teresa Simpson, Whitman County Gazette (Colfax), Thursday
McCall official approve housing for public school staff
MCCALL — A proposal by the McCall-Donnelly School District to build employee housing on Stibnite Street was approved Tuesday by the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission.
Plans for the 4.5-acre site across from McCall-Donnelly High School call for four multifamily apartment buildings and three single-family homes that could house up to 35 M-D employees.
The two-story building would contain six one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments for use by teachers, janitors, school administration and other staffers.
Construction could begin this summer on the project’s first phase, which would be one multifamily building with space for eight employees.
The apartments could be occupied ahead of the 2024-25 school year. There is no current timeline for the other three apartment buildings and three single-family homes to be built.
The approval followed an agreement between city staff and school district officials that resolved a dispute about burying power lines along Mission Street as part of the project.
The P&Z was previously warned that the cost of burying a 473-foot stretch of power lines could sink the project. However, the cost of that work was unknown. The city agreed to pay to bury the power lines as part of future work on Mission Street in exchange for the district permanently deed-restricting the housing for use by local employees, even if the property is sold.
The first multifamily building would include 19 parking spaces and a sidewalk leading to the high school campus. A private road to the site would be built off Mission Street.
Lease rates for the apartments will be set by the employee’s contract with the school district.
The district has 115 certified staffers with an average salary of $64,000 per year and 65 other staffers with an average salary of about $34,000 per year, according to district officials.
Between nine and 15 M-D staffers will be eligible for retirement within the next five years.
The M-D Board of Trustees set aside $4 million in September to start developing employee housing on the Stibnite Street property and hired The Land Group, an Eagle consulting firm, to design the project.
In January, the McCall City Council approved the school district’s application to rezone the 9.4-acre parcel to allow for medium-density residential development, or up to 74 units.
However, the district plans to sell 4.9 acres of the land to fund construction of the employee housing.
The Stibnite Street property was previously zoned as “civic,” which limited development to “governmental, cultural and recreational facilities.”
— Drew Dodson, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday
