City Council members and police officer vie for Medical Lake mayor position
Medical Lake residents can choose among two longtime City Council members or a police officer to lead their city.
On the August primary ballot three candidates, Shirley Maike, Laura Parsons and Mike Suniga are vying for the spot. The winner will replace Mayor John Higgins, who opted not to run for a new term.
Maike and Parsons have served together on Medical Lake City Council for a number of years. Suniga received 35 percent of the city’s vote in 2013 when he last ran for mayor, against Higgins.
Police department
A recurring issue in Medical Lake politics is the debate between restarting the city’s own police department or contracting with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, the current choice. Medical Lake has contracted with the Sheriff’s Office since Nov. 1, 2009.
Parsons and Suniga say they would re-evaluate the possibility of a Medical Lake police department. Maike said the city should maintain a contract with the Sheriff’s Office for policing services.
Parsons said the city receives many complaints about long response times to calls as resources of the Sheriff’s Office get stretched thin among cities like Medical Lake that contract with the department.
“People complain all of the time that the sheriff’s department is never here,” Suniga said.
Maike acknowledged that officers get called out of Medical Lake to respond to other cities, but out-of-town officers reciprocate this process for Medical Lake due to mutual-aid agreements.
Medical Lake expects to receive quality service, Maike said.
This issue is reviewed frequently, Maike said, and while it may not be the best contract, it is all the city needs.
“They do a great job when it comes to big picture things,” Suniga said. “Not so much the small things.”
“We lose our community identity” without a dedicated police department, said Suniga.
Suniga, who worked at the city’s police department, said the city had two applicants for the position.
He said one of the candidates didn’t receive the position because he wasn’t willing to move inside city limits, even though the city administrator also lives outside city limits.
Suniga said the other candidate was a sergeant from Tri-Cities whose wages would’ve decreased by becoming police chief.
Suniga argues that a salary increase of roughly $10,000 for a police chief pales in comparison to the amount the city pays to contract with the Sheriff’s Office.
“The city is paying more for less service,” said Suniga about the contract with the Sheriff’s Office.
Fire department
The fire department in Medical Lake is run by volunteers, and Parsons wants to transform it into a larger, paid department.
Maike said the number of calls the city’s fire department receives doesn’t warrant a full-time, paid fire department. She also said the city doesn’t have the money for the project.
Suniga agreed with Parsons and said the fire department misses service calls.
Business
Parsons wants to supply “opportunities for small-business owners to spread their wings.” She aims to revitalize the business scene in Medical Lake.
She wants to work with an ordinance “to sell and repurpose old buildings.”
Maike said there are “no vacant city buildings” and the council has to be careful interfering with privately owned buildings. She wants to “encourage private landowners,” she said.
Referring back to the police department issue, Suniga said having officers living in Medical Lake would help business. Employing seven police officers, as they once did, benefits the city.
Parks and activities
Maike said she is proud of the parks in Medical Lake and committed to maintaining them.
Suniga wants to reinvigorate Medical Lake’s park services because he believes they are underutilized. He wants to create a community garden that would be tended by local “green thumbs” and to dedicate a park to veterans.
“We’re a military community, and we have no parks dedicated to veterans,” Suniga said.
Suniga said Medical Lake should work to attract a farmers market or food truck rally, which would invite consumers to the city and increase tourism.
Parsons also plans to upgrade the parks in Medical Lake.
“We need flowers,” she said, “at Waterfront Park especially.”
Parsons believes Pepper Park, already a habitat zone for geese, should be officially transformed into a wildlife reservation for the animal. The city should install nonfatal geese control measures, like water sprinklers, at certain parks, she said.
Parsons also wants to improve the community center in Medical Lake by increasing its hours of operation and providing more activities.
Community involvement
All council meetings contain an open comment period for the public to voice opinions. Maike urged people to participate.
Maike said she started sitting in on City Council meetings in 1997 and would be the only audience member. She has been on the council for 20 years.
“We always listen,” she said.
Suniga, on the other hand, believes the council has not explored reaching out to the public through modern outlets.
Council meetings could be broadcast online and public forums should be created on social media platforms, like Facebook, he said. This would provide access to citizens who aren’t able to attend meetings and would create a more open government in Medical Lake.
Parsons agreed that the city should be more open.
Community members “want to see change happen in Medical Lake,” Parsons said. “Citizens feel they aren’t being heard” and “are unhappy with how the current administration responds.”