Questions, answers

When three-term Medical Lake Mayor John Higgins decided to step away from wielding the gavel at City Council meetings, three residents chose to vie for the position.

In August, sitting Medical Lake City Council member Shirley Maike earned the most votes - 350 and 44.25 percent - in a three-way race in the primary. Mikeal Suniga edged out another council member, Laura Parsons 232–201 for the right to move on to the Nov. 7 general election.

Maike has spent 20 years on council and time as the chief operating officer at Eastern State Hospital. Suniga, a former Medical Lake police officer, now works in Airway Heights.

Each candidate was asked the same three questions, provided to them via email and then asked to answer in as close to 100 words as possible. They were then asked to think of an issue that they thought was important.

Here's what they said with Maike given the first response based on the results of the primary.

It seems people in Medical Lake are either happy, or not, when it comes to how the Spokane County Sheriff's office handles policing in the city. Where do you stand, and why?

Maike: According to our contract with the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, I believe they have fulfilled the expectations over and above the agreement terms of this contract that has been in place since 2009.The SCSO services contract is reviewed regularly and any adjustments are made as needed. The services currently being provided are in sync with the ability to fund them. If legally permitted, we can look at placing the monthly reports on the city's website. 

I was on the City Council when there was a local police department and believe going back to that era would not benefit our city in any way.

Suniga: The Spokane County Sheriff's Department is a great organization and does a great job with the resources it has, but it only has a total of two deputies (not including the one assigned to Medical Lake) to cover the entire unincorporated areas of the West Plains. 

As a city, we have an obligation to continually look at public safety and determine if it is beneficial for us to continue to contract with the county, or look at bringing back our department. An honest and open dialogue needs to happen. I believe Medical Lake loses its identity when we contract out services and lose opportunities for grant funding as a result.

Where do you stand on growth, and why?

Maike: Medical Lake's boundaries are determined by the urban growth boundary. We do not have legal authority to move beyond those borders. 

People move to Medical Lake for many reasons and seem to enjoy our small town quality of life like I do. There have been over 400 new homes built city-wide in the last 20 years and I feel that the size of Medical Lake allows our city to be able to provide the necessary services to stay viable.

Growing can also be defined as having a sense of wellbeing and safety within the city and being able to live and raise our families as we choose. 

Suniga: A city has to grow to continue to be successful. It is inevitable that our area will continue to grow.  If we accept this, we can grow how we want and maintain the quality of life we enjoy.

If we do not, other cities will continue to grow and begin to encroach on our borders.

When that happens, we will not have a say in how they zone areas near us and it could affect our quality of life. Increased businesses and more homes bring more revenue to allow us to continue to have great roads and city services we currently enjoy.

Across the West Plains, water is a primary concern among municipalities. What are your thoughts?

Maike: With any additional homes, available water is a concern.  Medical Lake currently has 12 water hook-ups available, both for businesses and residential uses. In the summer of 2016, the city took action to protect our infrastructure for emergencies and our parks did not get watered.  In past years, citizens were asked to conserve to ensure we have an adequate supply all year.

A possible option of purchasing water from Spokane through their water line is extremely expensive.  I do not want to increase water rates.  I look forward to meeting with other West Plains cities to identify the best options. 

Suniga: Water continues to be a big concern for the West Plains, not only to dig more wells, but the recent contamination of wells in our area. I believe that we as a West Plains community, should be looking at tackling this together.  Engaging with our neighboring cities to come up with a proactive, long term, economical solution that continues to not only be the best for us, but for everyone. This is a responsible and potentially cheaper approach than any reactive crisis solutions that may result in the future.

What other issue not noted above do you personally see as something important in your role as an elected official in Medical Lake?

Maike: An important opportunity is to explore and expand current economic development with the help of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce, Greater Spokane Incorporated and the new West Plains group that is focusing on aerospace to see if there are companies that would be viable in Medical Lake.

Suniga: I would like to address the calls for service being missed by our fire department.  In the last several months it has been reported by the City Council that our fire department was not able to respond to at least four calls a month. Our all volunteer fire department does a great job with the resources it has and I applaud them for their great work. We owe it to them to provide viable, economical solutions to bridge this service gap as it is not fair for our amazing volunteers nor our community members.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.