MEDICAL LAKE — The city of Medical Lake has been granted $150,000 from the CARES act. The funding is part of the money the bill provides to state and local governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
City administrator Doug Ross told the city council at the May 20 council meeting that there are limitations to what the money can be spent on. Currently, he said, he’s trying to gage where the need is.
“I have been calling some of our businesses to see what they need, outside of money,” Ross said. “Personal protection equipment was by far the answer I got.”
Ross said he’s already looked at ways to spend portions of the money on PPE. He said he would consider pooling money with Spokane and allowing the larger city to do the purchasing.
“Spokane is trying to become a central purchaser for the region with PPE,” Ross said. “They would be a central location where businesses could go and purchase PPE where they are not competing against each out.”
Ross said the city would get better deals in partnering with Spokane.
“The city of Spokane has greater purchasing power because of the number of their business and their bulk orders,” Ross said. “The businesses I have spoken with said they thought that would be a good idea.”
Ross said the pandemic has forced the region to work together more than it has in the past.
“The one good thing that has come from this, and that’s a horrible thing to say, is I think we are really starting to look at regional services,” Ross said. “We are coming together as a region and that has been great.”
Ross said the city is still waiting on guidance on what the money can be spent on. He said once that is known, a plan can be made to move forward.
Jeremy Burnham can be reached at jeremy@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)