Medical Lake council rejects annexation proposal

MEDICAL LAKE – The Medical Lake City Council on Tuesday decided not to annex 227 acres north of the city, citing concerns that current city infrastructure couldn’t handle that much growth.

The 227 acres lie within the city’s Urban Growth Area and is part of a much larger parcel owned by Fred Wilcox.

City Administrator Doug Ross estimated that more than 800 new homes could be built if half of the 227 acres were developed, based on the raw square footage.

After much discussion on how the annexation would affect the city, Councilmember Howard Jorgenson made the motion to reject the annexation, arguing that the extra land would put a strain on the current city staff and services.

“We’re not in a position to offer that person services,” he said.

Resident Lahnie Henderson worried that the annexation would encroach on Fairchild Air Force Base and would hurt the city’s relationship with the base.

“My husband and I are retired military and depend on Fairchild for many eligible services,” she told the council.

Henderson also said that the lack of infrastructure in the area would put a strain on the city, as well as take many years of planning and funding any projects that would need to be in place.

Denny McDaniel, another Medical Lake resident, countered that the growth of the city would help ensure its survival.

“If you don’t have the growth, you don’t have the business,” he said.

He said that if the city started the process of annexing the land, it would be years before there would be any need for infrastructure and there would be time to plan for it.

“If we don’t grow we’re going to be the town of Medical Lake, not the city,” McDaniel said.

City Attorney Cynthia McMullen told council members that if they rejected the annexation request, their decision would not be subject to appeal.

Also on the agenda Tuesday night was the introduction of the new interim police chief, Sgt. Greg Rogan from Airway Heights.

The bad news: Rogan will be leaving Sept. 8 to accept a full-time position with another police department.

Rogan said the Medical Lake department has a very good staff and has made a name for itself in the area.

“The police chief that will take over won’t have a lot to do,” he told the council.

The city is continuing its search for a permanent police chief in the meantime and has also hired a full-time officer who lives in Cheney and has been commuting to Hanford.

“It’s been two years since he’s worked as a police officer,” Ross said.

The new officer will have to take a two-week equivalency course at the police academy, but since he’s worked as a police officer in the past, will be able to work in Medical Lake until the course is held in December.

The next council meeting will be Sept. 16; the Sept. 2 meeting was canceled because of the Labor Day holiday.