New approach to cleaning up proposed

Three local women with a history of getting things done spoke with Grand Coulee's city council May 20 to advocate a new approach to tackling an old problem that the city was just beginning to explore again.

Earlier this year, Councilmember Tom Poplawski proposed a possible ordinance to encourage owners of vacant buildings to either actively use them or sell them so someone else can.

The council set up a "Town Hall" meeting to discuss that possibility and encouraged business owners to attend it, inviting business owners to attend.

The city's new initiative seemed to dovetail with the core purpose of a new non-profit being formed by Solveig Chaffee, Mary Schilling and Nancy Zimmerman-Boord. They attended the town hall meeting. And at the city council meeting that followed, they introduced they're new initiative.

Chaffee, the owner of Voltage Coffee House, on Spokane Way, has been wanting to find a way to solve a problem her business is up against - almost literally. Next to Voltage is a dilapidated building that has been basically abandoned for decades. Another one is right next to that one.

Converting that kind of property into a usable space and a community asset is what they're hoping to accomplish, repeatedly, in the city that has a lot to work with.

"We are the three people comprising the fledgling board of what we're calling Neighborhood Recharge Initiative," Chaffee said, "and our goal is to help in the revitalization of downtown Grand Coulee. ... but also to try to improve the town as a whole. And honestly, that was a big part of why I wanted to start Voltage, is to give a community hub and active business, a place to go in the winter for us locals."

The city is considering some kind of ordinance that could make it possible to "incentivize" owners to clean up, possibly with fees that increase over time if they don't.

But the Recharge folks are hoping more speed might be possible. Chaffee said the heir to former owners of her neighboring problem doesn't want anything to do with it and is willing to sign it away.

They asked the city to explore with its attorney whether eminent domaine might be used in some cases - that is, a formal declaration that the city would be acquiring a property for the public good, regardless of the property owner's intent or wishes.

Chaffee said the problem is ironic. "I have heard property owners who live outside of town say that they are just holding property because they think it will become more valuable in the future, but by just sitting there empty, they're stopping revitalization in most of the town."

Two major buildings are actually already planned for demolition on Midway Avenue. The building last operated as MPH Auto and the closed restaurant building that operated as Pepper Jack's are now both owned by a Moses Lake business. City Clerk Lorna Pearce said they are planned for demolition.

But other properties have been problems for much longer. Councilmember Mark Nash talked about one.

"I'm going to point out one building in particular, and that's the Button building jewelry store. The front of that building looks terrible," he said.

That building, right on Main Street, has been vacant for more than 35 years.

An old bar knows as Stucks, also next to Voltage, has been empty for decades too. But owners don't live in town and don't have much incentive to do anything with them.

Between a new push from the city council, and maybe some pull from Neighborhood Recharge Initiative, perhaps that could change.