Alki Street paving plan on road to approval

CHENEY – The Cheney City Council held a public hearing Tuesday night to discuss the city vacating 1,700 feet of Alki Street between the Cheney-Spangle Road and the Cheney-Plaza Road that borders the Terra Vista development.

Steve Emtman of Defender Developments said he wants to pave and realign the road to include two 12-foot-wide travel lanes and a 12-foot turn lane.

“It’s an important thing for me to get it done right away,” Emtman told the council, adding that he first approached them about the project in 2005 and is willing to wait until the ordinance allowing it wins final approval.

But the discussion took a turn down a different path when Fire Chief Mike Winters expressed concern that nearby railroad tracks pose a significant concern for emergency workers. If there is a house fire or someone has a heart attack and there is a train passing through the city, rescue crews will have to wait until the train has passed to reach the development, he said.

Emtman said there are provisions in the master plan for a well and a fire substation and that he’s willing to work with the city to solve the problem.

“I need nine people and I need another firetruck,” Winters said.

“We need an overpass,” Councilman Tom Trulove said. “We need to go forward and I think it’s going to be a great development.”

But overpasses and substations are expensive and the council will need to address this issue in the future, several members of the council and staff mentioned.

“I think Mr. Emtman has demonstrated that he’s willing to come up with some beneficial plan,” Trulove said.

The council came back around to the discussion on the agenda – the vacation of Alki Street.

“I drove the road yesterday,” said Arlene Fisher, the city administrator. “Not so good.”

“He’s going to build this road for free,” said Councilmember Doug Nixon. “I don’t have a problem with it.”

The council approved the first reading of the ordinance that would approve the vacation of the street.

The second reading will be at the next regular council meeting.

In other news, the council agreed to approve a $23,465 change order for extra electrical and telemetry design engineering work on the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant.

Nixon wondered why the work wasn’t included in the original bid.

“I want to ask a dumb question,” Nixon said. “Why did we miss this? This is an important part of our contract.”

Larry Esvelt, the project engineer for the wastewater treatment plant, explained that the equipment is in need of an upgrade in order to meet current industry standards.

The resolution passed in a unanimous vote.

The council also approved a professional services agreement with Tom Richardson, the outgoing community development director who will retire after 28 years on Friday.

When needed, the city may consult with Richardson and Trulove pointed out that the fee Richardson will charge the city is very low.

Council members Bob Stockton, Trulove and Mike McKeehan all congratulated Richardson on his retirement.

Mayor Allan Gainer presented Richardson with a plaque at the end of the meeting and talked about how Richardson helped show Gainer the ropes when he was first elected into office.

“He’s dedicated a lot of his life here,” Gainer said.