Medical Lake pulls the trigger on road grader purchase

The Medical Lake City Council made the city’s purchase of a used road grader official by approving a budget amendment at their March 15 meeting.

The $157,614 amendment pays for the grader, a 2008 Caterpillar 140M Motor Grader purchased from dealer Western States, via four accounts. The money essentially comes out of the water/sewer and the streets fund, with each paying half, $78.807.

While water/sewer is a combined account, City Administrator Doug Ross said the city breaks out expenses for each function separately for tracking purposes, hence the amendment shows a $39,404 expenditure from water and a similar one from sewer. The expenditure from streets is covered by a $78,807 transfer from the city’s general fund.

The council approved the purchase of the road grader at its March 1 meeting in order to replace the city’s existing unit, which was manufactured in 1962 and purchased in 1967. That grader is no longer useable not only as a grader to move dirt but also to clear snow from city streets, and the city had no plans to use it this coming winter.

During staff reports, Ross noted that the city’s compost trailer was now open for public use. Crews have also completed work on a new shelter at Waterfront Park, and that public restrooms at all city parks should be open soon.

As part of their packet information, council members received a copy of the Medical Lake Crime Report issued by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The report contained figures for February.

While crime reports in the city equaled the number in February 2015, 39, so far in 2016 those reports are running at just under 59 percent year-to-date totals as compared to last year, 58 reports versus 99 in 2015. Total property crimes in the city so far are at just over 41 percent of 2015, 14 reports to 34 last year, with major crimes running at 74 percent, 34 to 46.

Traffic stops are also down, with just five so far in 2016 as compared to the 11 through February 2015, although four of those five came last month. The only crime type running ahead of last year’s total through February was malicious mischief (property crimes), with six reports so far compared to two in 2015.

City attorney Cindy McMullen told the council that some of the categories listed by the Sheriff’s Office don’t align with those used during Medical Lake Municipal Court proceedings. She told the council she would contact the county to get a better idea on what types of crimes some categories were referencing.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].