East Wenatchee reviews 2024 public works report; stormwater billing and grants highlighted

At a City Council meeting, public works staff member Garren presented the City of East Wenatchee's 2024 Public Works annual report, describing capital projects, stormwater upgrades and administration, and recent grant funding that reduced the city's local share of project costs.

The report said the city's public works group has 11 employees: nine in field maintenance and two in administrative roles handling GIS, stormwater utility management and development review. Garren told the council the department continued large corridor projects and pavement preservation while securing more grant funding, which has reduced the percentage of East Wenatchee taxpayer dollars used on major projects in recent years.

Garren said the city has seen roughly a 7-to-1 return on local transportation dollars through grant awards tied to the Transportation Benefit District (a 0.1% sales tax dedicated to transportation). "We've been able to get about a 7 to 1 return on our dollars," he said. He gave examples of recent capital work, including corridor rebuilds dating back to 2013, the 2021 Tenth Street project, and last year's Safe Routes to School work on Fifth Street.

On stormwater, Garren highlighted a new detention pond at Pace and Highline Drive designed to divert and store runoff and relieve pressure on undersized pipes on Grant Road. He said upsizing the underground pipes through Grant Road would be far more costly and disruptive, and the pond is a more efficient alternative. He described two small-improvement stormwater responses completed in 2024: an infiltration gallery installed on Third Street NE ahead of pavement preservation and a "rain vault" installed on Jerome that uses a smaller footprint but retains more water than conventional infiltration galleries.

The council heard an explanation of the stormwater utility billing transition from the county to the city. Garren said mortgage companies historically did not pay stormwater charges even when they paid property-tax and irrigation assessments through escrow, which contributed to late notices. City staff reached out to mortgage companies and explained the payment process; late notices fell from about 741 in 2022-23 to 216 in 2023 after the outreach and changes in billing visibility.

The presentation also reviewed other projects completed or under way, including the Third Street NE Complete Streets project (one example where the city used a small amount of local funds to unlock larger grant dollars), improvements at the Safeway roundabout, the second half of Grant Road preservation and the start of a multi-utility Nineteenth Street project in partnership with the county and local utilities.

Council member Johnson praised the grant performance: "As a council member and as a resident, I really appreciate you and how hard you work in that area," he said, referencing the grant-to-local match cited in the report.

No formal action was required on the presentation. Council discussion included questions about contractor preference and whether the city can require out-of-town contractors to stay locally; staff said engineering consultants are chosen for qualifications and that public works is bound to the lowest responsive bid for construction contracts, so residency requirements for contractors are limited. Staff also said many projects are being performed by Wenatchee- or East Wenatchee-based firms where possible.

The presentation closed with a preview of upcoming work, including completing sidewalk gaps tied to the Fifth Street Safe Routes project and continuing coordination on the Nineteenth Street utility project. Staff did not propose ordinance changes or fee adjustments in the presentation.