Pateros proposes Recreation Basecamp Corridor to draw business

PATEROS – A new electric vehicle charging station (EVCS), a law enforcement update from Okanogan County Sheriff Paul Budrow, and a proposed Recreation Basecamp Corridor were among issues heard at the regular meeting of the Pateros city council August 21.

Installation of the new EVCS near the information kiosk on Commercial Avenue is now underway.

Budrow addressed the council about current county jail conditions and enforcement of the recently modified drug law.

Budrow said the jail capacity is limited to 100 beds to allow room for mandatory (DUI, domestic violence) and high felony incarcerations. There is a shortage of six jail staff members including a cook and a medic so occupancy must be controlled for the safety of both staff and inmates.

Budrow said the jail was originally built to accommodate 74 beds but those were later increased to 184 but without supporting infrastructure.

“There was no medical facilities upgrade, no kitchen upgrades, and no laundry upgrades,” said Budrow. “We’re going to keep it at 100-125 from now until we remodel whatever we need to remodel.”

Addressing state drug law Budrow said recent legislative changes make drugs illegal but possession has been reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

“The misdemeanor means the towns are now responsible for everybody who is put in jail,” said Budrow. “If I put every single person that had drugs on them in jail at $100 per, it could bankrupt you in a month. We’re not going to do that.”

Burdow explained how his office is working with the county prosecutor to cite drug users absent the incarceration to control costs and still address the problem through rehab, drug court, and related actions.

“Eighty percent of the people inside our jail have a mental health issue,” Burdow said.

He blames the introduction of fentanyl for the latest drug surge and said the ratio of crimes committed are becoming more violent in nature.

The Sheriff’s Office is currently short three deputies of its full complement of 35. Budrow said his office has two handlers in training to work with drug-sniffing dogs and is working with both the state patrol and the Colville Tribes to access their dogs.

Budrow said if he can acquire adequate staff, he wants to establish more condensed county zones to increase patrol coverage in communities like Pateros.

The city has submitted two applications for Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) funds. One for $50,000 would help pay for visitor information center operations and one for $195,000 to fund a Recreation Basecamp project. The latter is designed to transform the industrial appearance of Commercial Avenue into one more attractive and inviting to traffic on Hwy. 97. The Basecamp features would include:

       • Removal of the city center sign and replace it with a Recreation Basecamp pillar at the main entrance to the downtown mall.

       • Installation of recreation art pieces along Commercial Avenue. The 6 proposed art pieces would be spaced along the parking strip along the north side of Commercial Avenue from Lakeshore Drive to Dawson Street.

       • Installation of business signs and landscapes at four parking lot entrances along the south side of Commercial Avenue. Their purpose would be to direct economic traffic to the mall and improve the look of the corridor.

The city approved a grant application to the state Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) for $620,443 to complete the sidewalk connection along Commercial Avenue from Lakeshore Drive to Dawson Street.

The solar installation at the reservoir funded through a 99 percent $228,000 grant is now operational. July production was 4,133 kilowatt hours.

A Department of Ecology grant for $109,000 will fund 85 percent of the city’s stormwater plan.

A Department of Natural Resources tree grant for $29,656 will pay 50 percent of costs to plant trees along Warren Avenue.

The city was notified that it was awarded a Washington State Department of Transportation grant for $99,219 that will fund 100 percent of a pedestrian crossing and pathway plan for Highway 97.

The city council meets at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of the month.