College Place city administrator Mike Ristello to leave; outlines $102 million in grants and summer projects

Mike Ristello, College Place city administrator, said he will leave his post in about a month to become development services director for the City of Richland and outlined a slate of grant‑funded infrastructure, transportation and parks projects the city expects to pursue this year and next.

Ristello told attendees the city has secured about $102,000,000 in grants during his roughly nine years in office and listed completed and upcoming projects including water‑system work, wastewater lift‑station construction, sidewalks and Safe Routes to School projects. He said the council is likely to hire a consultant for a public search for his replacement and that an interim city administrator will serve while the recruitment proceeds.

The announcement matters because leadership will change while the city moves forward on multiple capital projects and grant programs, including a franchise renewal with Pacific Power, an assessment of municipal court services and several transportation grants tied to sidewalks, crossings and active‑transportation improvements.

Ristello provided a schedule of upcoming public meetings tied to those efforts, including a city workshop on Tuesday, July 1 at 5:30 p.m. and council meetings on July 8 and July 22 at 7 p.m. He also listed advisory‑body meeting dates for the Economic Development Commission (July 7, 5 p.m.), Planning Commission (July 15, 7 p.m.) and Park Board (July 25, 8 a.m.).

On utilities and public works, Ristello said Wastewater Lift Station 5 on Southwest First Street is nearly complete and that the wastewater treatment plant is having mechanical equipment replaced. Drinking water work includes development of additional wells and a plan to build a well house for "well number 8." He said consultant JUB Engineers is mapping a new sidewalk on Southeast Eighth Street between College and Larch, with construction likely later this year; the sidewalk work is being funded in large part by a Surface Transportation Block Grant and a Transportation Improvement Board active‑transportation grant.

Ristello described larger corridor projects the city expects to bid next year if right‑of‑way work is completed, including the Johnier Road corridor project that he said would provide a new roadway with utilities, fire hydrants, lighting, sidewalk and a bike path. He also named engineering work under way for Lithing and Northeast Rose between College and Cary Court and for Southwest Davis between Whitman and Sixth, where the city plans pedestrian lighting, a sidewalk between Fourth and Sixth and pavement work.

Ristello said the city received two Safe Routes to School grants from the State Department of Transportation. For the Davis Elementary area he described planned engineering and construction of a sidewalk on Northeast Ash and "a rapid flashing beacon across Ash at Second" plus work at Second and Birch and ADA improvements; he said one segment may need conversion to one‑way to fit the sidewalk. For the Sager Middle School area he said a separate grant will fund a rapid flashing beacon at a rear Walmart entrance and a sidewalk along Southeast Central to 12th Street with a beacon at 12th and Central and ADA improvements. (Street names and some intersection descriptions were reported as spoken in the briefing and for a few segments the recorded wording was unclear.)

Ristello said the city attorney and staff are working on renewing the Pacific Power franchise that governs electrical lines in city rights‑of‑way for the next 20 years, and that staff are assessing municipal court services now contracted to Walla Walla County District Court because the current contract term runs through 2026.

On parks and events, Ristello said the Farmers Market runs Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. at Lions Park, 801 Southeast Larch, and that the Freedom Festival was scheduled for Sunday, June 29 on the grounds of College Place High School and Sager Middle School, with fireworks, vendors and an appearance by Olympian Kenneth Brooks. He noted Lions Park now has a splash pad and listed summer programs run by the YMCA and YWCA.

Ristello described a state legislative earmark that will pay to replace mechanical equipment for the fire department and said additional energy‑efficiency equipment replacements are planned for the fall funded by a state grant.

Reflecting on his tenure, Ristello said, "It's been a pleasure to serve everyone here ... we build a great management team here," and listed projects completed while he was administrator. He thanked staff, boards and commissioners and named several elected officials who served during his tenure. He said the council "is likely gonna end up contracting with a consultant to do the city administrator search," and that there will be an interim while the recruitment proceeds.

The briefing was informational; Ristello announced his departure and described planned projects and grants but did not record any formal council votes or ordinances during the update.