The Pullman Lodging Tax Advisory Committee did not approve the city council grant to make changes to Main Street, which were discussed at the last council meeting.

Councilmember Pat Wright said the denial was likely due to the difficulty of maintaining the parklets during the summer. 

Wright said there are several reasons, including the lack of regular summer-month employees working in Pullman or the lack of continued maintenance to the area at the time of the grant. Another reason is the fact that the submitted graphic of the proposed changes did not make a clear distinction between public and private properties.

“There were a lot of details we just couldn’t get answers to,” Wright said, “not the least of which is the implied cost of the maintenance of these parklets.”

The council unanimously approved a $20,000 LTAC grant to move forward with the Palouse Summer Series Baseball Tournament. The council will also allow modification to the Reaney Pool.

The city will also repair the dive pool liner vinyl in the poolhouse, which adds about $24,000 to the initial contract made with Acquatic Renovation Systems, Inc. approved in 2018. This liner improvement project is already complete and in a “closeout” phase, according to public city documents.

Changes to the Reaney Pool include improved men’s and women’s shower stalls as well as an added stall in the women’s locker room. It also would add an accessible restroom stall. 

Improvements to the public restrooms that are accessed from the park side of the poolhouse would include an upgrade to the hot water system, slight fencing improvements and room for a climbing wall, said Clayton Forsmann, deputy public works director. This resolution would allow the execution of these projects. 

The city accepted a Rural Business Development Grant that will allow the addition of three acorn lights in order to improve overall vision in more dimly lit areas of Pullman. The grant amounts to about $37,000 and the project will cost about $42,000, said Economic Development Manager Jennifer Hackman, who helped approve the conditions for the RBDG.

“We would seek the most attractive and long-lasting LED lights that we can find,” Hackman said.

Several businesses submitted approval of the new lighting, including Sanctuary Yoga, Paradise Creek Brewery, B&L Bicycles and Noshies.

Other News

Mayor Glenn Johnson said the Fourth of July celebration will still take place without food or entertainment. He also encouraged residents to fill out the 2020 government census if they had not by now.