Infrastructure continues to be high on the list of priorities

CHENEY- In efforts to maintain the sustainability of Cheney, the city council has identified a few of its main priorities like infrastructure, growth management and things that benefit the function and people of the city.

Cheney Mayor Chris Grover said the council is concerned with projects and infrastructures impacting the majority, if not all, Cheney community members.

"The city of Cheney really needs to focus on infrastructure. We've got a very old water system and a very old wastewater system," Grover said. "Infrastructure is huge right now."

Infrastructure projects relating to water supply in Cheney are receiving large amounts of funding.

The Purple Pipe Project is No. 1 on the city council's priority list. They hope it will create a continuous water supply for public spaces in Cheney later down the road.

"That [the Purple Pipe Project] is something that is for sustainable water in the future," Grover said. "Right now, we pull domestic water out of the ground from several different wells, clean it, and put it in the reservoirs. That services the city."

The city is requesting $16.5 million in funding to complete the final steps and get non-potable water throughout the city.

"Right now, we pump it all into the wetlands," he said. "The goal of this is to treat that water at a higher level and turn it around, pipe it back into Cheney for high water users. This takes the pressure off domestic water."

Grover said this is an important project that the city council intends to keep in front of the legislature for decades to come.

Infrastructure projects using ARPA funding have not seen support from the entire community. Grover said he and the council are trying to reach a compromise and urge citizens to see places where this infrastructure can benefit everyone.

"I'm going to meet with small businesses and some community members to get their feedback, but I also need to educate them on the importance of being good stewards of that money that is going to benefit the most people in Cheney," he said.

City Administrator Mark Schuller said the other legislative priorities for the city council include zoning mandates and adopting a new transportation revenue package for transportation. He said safety needs for the widening of State Route (SR) 904, use of force in law enforcement practices, broadband internet and general support of Eastern Washington University priorities also need to be addressed.

Schuller said the council intends to defend against the seizure of local land use authority while supporting policies that help provide equitable access to housing in Cheney.

"The state legislature wants to take away our local control of zoning," Schuller said. "Part of our legislative effort is to try and educate the elected's on the impact their zoning decisions would have on communities like ours."

Another area of concern is accommodating growth within the city limits of Cheney. Both Grover and Schuller said there is limited space for Cheney to expand. The Growth Management Act (GMA)was adopted to address ways to accommodate growth, but its specific guidelines may not be beneficial to Cheney.

"Growth management is problematic for a community like ours because we need to be able to grow and add more land within the city limits for housing. GMA doesn't allow you, without hitting certain population thresholds, to actually expand the boundaries of the city," Schuller said. "We're focusing on trying to take some land that isn't really conducive to growth and putting it where growth in Cheney is happening right now."

An option the council is pursuing is working with the county to find ways to swap out southern parts of land within the city limits and add it to the northern part of the city.

Schuller said the council is also focusing on road maintenance and plans to use allotted funding from the state to better the area roadways.

He mentioned widening SR 904, which runs through Cheney, would alleviate issues created by the already existing two-lane highway that serves as the main road for commuting and general transportation.

"What we would like to see is a four-lane highway 904 all the way from I-90 into Cheney," Schuller said. "That addresses a lot of issues- traffic congestion, traffic safety and even attracting businesses to Cheney."

Schuller said expanding the two-lane road would bring more economic development opportunities into Cheney and prevent further traffic congestion.

Also on the city's list of priorities is clarifying the use of non-lethal alternatives and the standards for local law enforcement's use of force when dealing with threatening situations. The thought is to help Cheney PD gain more room to be proactive and intervene early enough to stop bad things from happening.

The Blackhawk Ridge Preliminary Plat is not a project that the city council has on their list of legislative priorities. Still, they do recognize its impact and importance to the community.

"Right now, it's at the city council for their decision on what happens," Grover said. "Over the last three council meetings, the council wanted it to be kicked back to staff for staff to negotiate with the developer on how we can together come up with a win-win solution."

For the last several weeks, Grover said staff has been working with the developer to adjust the project to respond to the community's concerns while still allowing the property owner to develop.

"I don't think the community doesn't want the development, they just want the right kind of development," he said. "It'll go back to council next Tuesday."

The city council's list of priorities is generated at the beginning of each year and contains many projects for years to come.

"I think: When I have a great-granddaughter, if she is my age and lives in Cheney-what decisions do we have to make now to ensure that we're still providing a level of service to citizens that are living here a hundred years from now?" Grover said. "We need to be good stewards of the resources that we have here. We have to."

Author Bio

Michaela Friedrich, Former intern

Michaela is a former newsroom intern at the Cheney Free Press. She covered stories on education, city government, cops/courts/fire departments and local businesses.