Sorted by date Results 187 - 211 of 330
The Cheney City Council unanimously approved final adoption of an ordinance at its July 25 meeting changing the zoning of a 3.6-acre parcel of land bordered by North Eighth, Cedar, Erie and Oak streets — clearing the way for development of a proposed student-housing complex on the property. The ordinance changes the property zoning from R-3 multifamily to R-3H, high-density multifamily, allowing more units per acre. By approving the ordinance, the council also adopted as part of it the terms and conditions of a agreement b...
By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter It's survived decades of issues with water. Then a change in ownership at the outset of the recent "Great Recession," served up yet more challenges for The Fairways Golf Course. And one person, Kris Kallem, probably knows, and has seen more than anyone when it comes to the former farm and site of birddog trials, which celebrated its 30th birthday back in May. Such as, interestingly enough, "Some of the water hazards that are still here today...
Cheney’s City Council unanimously approved the second reading at its July 11 meeting of an ordinance rezoning a 3.6-acre parcel of land at the corner of Cedar and North Eighth streets from multifamily residential (R-3) to high-density multifamily residential (R-3H). The difference between this and the first reading’s approval June 27 is the inclusion of a development agreement between the city and the developers of Parkside Commons LLC — Greenstone Development and Eastmark Capital Group. Both are seeking the rezone to build...
City of Cheney officials have relaxed water restrictions imposed on June 30 after one of its deepest and largest producing wells went down with a mechanical failure. The failure, coupled with very hot weather conditions, sent water levels at the city's five reservoirs plummeting from a normal 25–28 feet to 11.7 feet on July 7. Those levels have been slowly climbing, thanks to residents efforts in adhering to restrictions, and had reached 20.23 feet around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, J...
City of Cheney officials have relaxed water restrictions imposed on June 30 after one of its deepest and largest producing wells went down with a mechanical failure. The failure, coupled with very hot weather conditions, sent water levels at the city's five reservoirs plummeting from a normal 25-28 feet to 11.7 feet on July 7. Those levels had been slowly climbing, thanks to residents efforts in adhering to restrictions, and had reached 20.23 feet around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. In a notification on its website, the city said it wa...
Once the dust from other issues has settled, Cheney officials will revisit a water conservation plan for the city. Municipalities are required to produce and implement water conservation measures under the Water Use Efficiency (WUE) rule, which was part of the Municipal Water Law passed in 2003. Under the WUE, Cheney must establish a water use plan and savings goals for customers, evaluate and implement specific measures to achieve these goals and report annual progress. The city held a public hearing May 2 on proposed...
The City of Cheney has enacted a mandatory lawn irrigation water shutdown for residents and businesses. The shutdown went into effect late Thursday afternoon, July 6. City water resource manager Dan Ferguson said the bearings in Well No. 5’s pump column seized up on June 29. Initially thought to be a quick fix at the top by replacing motor bearings, when the contractor pulled the column apart on July 6 at the Presley Drive well, they found lower bearings along the pump shaft had also seized up. “This will require removing as...
The City of Cheney has enacted a mandatory lawn irrigation water shutdown for residents and businesses. The shutdown went into effect late Thursday afternoon, July 6. City water resource manager Dan Ferguson said the bearings in Well No. 5's pump column seized up on June 29. Initially thought to be a quick fix at the top of the well head, when the contractor pulled the column apart on July 6 at the Presley Drive well, they found some of the lower bearings had seized as well. "This will require removing as much pump piping...
Cheney’s City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance changing the zoning of a 3.6-acre parcel of land at the corner of Cedar and North Eighth streets from multifamily residential (R-3) to high-density multifamily residential (R-3H). The increased density will allow the Parkside Commons student-housing project to move forward once the other two readings and final passage are held. Parkside Commons’ request for the zoning changes have been the subject of several well-attended council and planning com...
It's survived decades of issues with water. Then a change in ownership at the outset of the recent "Great Recession," served up yet more challenges for The Fairways Golf Course. And one person, Kris Kallem, probably knows, and has seen more than anyone when it comes to the former farm and site of birddog trials, which celebrated its 30th birthday back in May. Such as, interestingly enough, "Some of the water hazards that are still here today were here then as well; No. 12 was...
Medical Lake continues to make some progress in reducing the water it produces and consumes. According to the most recent water efficiency report, Medical Lake produced and purchased 279.2 million gallons of water in 2016. This is about a 3 percent decrease from 2015 when the city pumped and bought about 286.7 million gallons, which was lower than the year before. Water consumption declined as well. Last year, the city consumed a little over 254.2 million gallons a 4 percent drop from 2015. The year before consumption...
From its earliest days The Fairways Golf Course has been saddled with issues related to water usage and the cost to keep it green and playable. And now, a decades-old dispute threatens the existence of the facility following the city of Spokane's decision to cut off irrigation water May 23. However, a ruling by Superior Court Judge Michael Price, who issued a restraining order at 11 a.m. ended the shutoff June 6. Price's ruling came as result of a motion filed this past...
Although the West Plains — and most of Washington state — experienced a wet winter and spring, the city of Medical Lake will still ask its residents to adhere to water restrictions during the summer. During the summer, irrigation in Medical Lake is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., with an exception made for newly-planted lawns. The water restriction was set by an ordinance the city adopted in November 2007. The resolution came in response to a critical water situation the city experienced in 2006. The ordinance inc...
Although the West Plains — and most of Washington state — experienced a wet winter and spring, the city of Medical Lake will still ask its residents to adhere to water restrictions during the summer. During the summer, irrigation in Medical Lake is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., with an exception made for newly-planted lawns. The water restriction was set by an ordinance the city adopted in November 2007. The resolution came in response to a critical water situation the city experienced in 2006. The ordinance inc...
Overall tonnage for this year’s Cheney Clean Sweep was the lowest it has been since records have been available. Information presented by Cheney Public Works Director Todd Ableman to the City Council at its May 23 meeting indicated 10.15 tons of material was collected at the annual citywide event held April 22. It’s the lowest in seven years of data, and has been dropping each year since a high point of 21.92 tons in 2014. Broken down, volunteers collected 2.29 tons of garbage, dramatically lower than the previous yea...
After the first round of flushing its water system, six of Airway Heights' wells are still over the Environmental Protection Agenciy's perfluoro chemicals advisory levels of 70 parts per trillion. The good news is flushing the system, which used over 15 million gallons of water, seems to be working. In a May 26 news release, the city announced it had received test results from Anatek Labs that afternoon. Of the 17 samples that were taken from different sources throughout the...
Airway Heights continues to make progress on reducing its recent water contamination issues. On May 16, the city announced that two of its wells tested over 70 parts per trillion for contamination by two perfluoro chemicals. In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency updated its health advisory levels for the chemical concentration to 70 parts per trillion. That day, staff immediately deactivated the wells and recommended residents not drink the water, though it is safe for...
During a May 16 press conference, officials from Fairchild Air Force Base and Airway Heights announced that two water wells used by the city tested over 70 parts per trillion for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and/or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination, which is above Environmental Protection Agency lifetime health advisory levels. The city tested two of its wells in light of the private wells located near Fairchild Air Force Base that were tested for PFOS and PFOA contamination. These chemicals are classified...
The city of Cheney wants to hear from residents on how to reduce the impacts of demand on the city’s potable water supply system. A public meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 2, at 5 p.m. at the Wren Pierson Community Center to present information about Cheney’s water supply and discuss conservation measures residents and businesses can take. According to a city press release, “water systems with 1,000 or more connections are required to establish water use efficiency goals in accordance with the state’s Water U...
Remove the lower four dams on the Snake River system or keep them? That is the question the Medical Lake High School Future Farmers of America Agriculture Issues team is posing to businesses, state officials and others for their "forum." Forums are where an agricultural issues team researches the pros and cons of an agricultural topic. The team will present their topic at the state FFA convention in May where judges will grade them on their research and theories. The team...
The Airway Heights wastewater reclamation plant recently celebrated its fifth year in operation. According to Chuck Clawson, lead operator of the facility, things have been going pretty well in the last five years. “We’re well within compliance of our permits,” Clawson said. “That’s one of the keys of our success.” The plant treats wastewater to Class A reclaimed water levels. Development for the plant began in 2003 after Airway Heights completed a facilities plan to help mitigate water resource and wastewater challenges...
The final piece in Cheney’s proposed $24.34 million 2017 budget is Public Works. Maybe that really should be final pieces. There are a total of 12 departments and funds that fall under the category of Public Works, including the Planning Department, Building Department, Transportation Funds along with water, solid waste and wastewater divisions. Projected revenues for these in 2017 total $7,510,700, with expenses coming in at $7,544,000. Charges for service make up most of that revenue stream, 75 percent, while operations a...
The Cheney City Council gave the go ahead at its Oct. 11 meeting for residential development to take place on a 14.2-acre parcel of land in southwest Cheney. The council approved a hearing examiner recommendation for a plat of land known as View Acres, located north of Salnave Street near Ridgeview and Scenic Heights drives. The development includes an extension of Ridgeview to the north. In passing the resolution, council also gave its approval to a requested variance in standard single-family residential lot sizes on the...
The Oct. 10 Cheney Planning Commission meeting might be characterized with one word: updates. Cheney's senior planner, Brett Lucas, told commissioners during a discussion item there was a possibility they would see two proposals for changes in the city's comprehensive plan's land use chapter in 2017. The state's Growth Management Act allows these changes to comprehensive plans once a year. Lucas said the city has been contacted by two parties regarding changes in land use. The...
The Cheney City Council’s Sept. 19 budget workshop wasn’t so much about crunching numbers, but more about what Mayor Tom Trulove described as “looking to the future at things we should be worrying about.” Department heads were asked to provide a budgetary mission for 2017, listing what components would be needed to achieve that as well as positioning the city to meet needs 5 – 6 years down the road. This week, departments with designated revenues will be examined, with general fund departments presented next week. Light Dep...
