Cheney City Council OKs land purchase

Cheney’s City Council gave its unanimous seal of approval at their Oct. 9 meeting to the purchase of two parcels of land located on Anderson Road across from the city’s Utility Building and Recycling Center.

The land, tax parcels 23182.0007 and 23182.0006, comprise 6.33 acres, with the smaller lot 23182.0007 including a 1,782-square-foot, single-story doublewide home that was installed in 1978, according to information from the Spokane County website’s SCOUT page. Both properties are listed as owned by Jack C. Benson, with the property containing the home also owned by Jovita M. Benson.

According to the county, the 1.61-acre site with the home was appraised at $100,400 in 2018, while the 4.72-acre parcel next to it to the east on Anderson Road was valued at $16,520. The sale price for both parcels — agreed to by the parties — was listed on the council resolution as $195,000.

City Administrator Mark Schuller told the council that acquiring the land provides the city with a “buffer” for its properties along Anderson Road while also giving it development options in the future. There is also the prospect of the city renting the building on the smaller property.

Council also approved a pair of equipment purchases last Tuesday. Council agreed to spending a total of just over $33,964 with LD McFarland Cascade for the purchase of 59 light poles of various sizes for use by the city’s Light Department. LD McFarland Cascade was the only company that bid on the request, and Schuller told the council the city has done business with it before, including last year when it purchased 48 poles.

Council also approved a $59,490 change order to the city’s Well 3 redrilling project. Public Works Director Todd Ableman explained that the change order was for installing a 24-inch diameter formation seal and 20-inch outside diameter steel casing to a depth of 116 feet below ground. The installation will allow contractor Blue Star Enterprises Northwest to drill and install the portion of the formation seal below 116 feet without risking interference in the process from the layer of clay and broken basalt that exists between 90 – 120 feet.

It will also prevent the contractor from having to remove a temporary 20-inch diameter casing that would have been installed under the drilling plan, thereby reducing the risk that removing the casing would complicate the 20-inch seal installation.

Ableman said the city would receive a $37,000 credit for the 20-inch seal, bringing the total net for the change order to $21,790. The change, coupled with an earlier $19,440 change order, brings the original contract price up from $724,890 to $803,820.

Council also approved two resolutions related to potential energy savings for the city. At its May 22 meeting, the council authorized an energy audit of city facilities through an interagency agreement with the state Department of Energy, bringing on Spokane-based Apollo Solutions to perform the assessment.

Apollo’s report indicated there are potential savings in upgrades of a number of city facilities and functions, some of which could qualify for financial assistance through grants. With council’s approval, Apollo now moves forward to complete an energy investment grade audit as the assessment’s next step.

Apollo will also provide an energy investment grade audit for the possible installation of a solar energy collection array at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The 60,000-square-foot array could produce up to 100 kilowatts of power to offset utility costs and be mounted on the plant’s compost building’s roof.

At council’s request, the audit will also provide costs for mounting the array on the plant’s grounds as well.

“We’ll do a structural analysis of the building,” Apollo senior project director Brent Tracy told the council. “If it won’t hold, we’ll go to a ground mount.”

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.