Since 1970, Desert Aire has been faced with a variety of issues. Many have been dealt with, but some seem to still linger.
Since 2018, the Security/Safety Committee (SSC) mission statement has been: to work with available constituencies to improve the public security and safety presence to 24 hours/day, 365 days/year with emphasis including: security services/community policing patrol, emergency management, fire safety, traffic/road safety, animal control, code enforcement, public health, owner education and any other related concerns affecting the security and safety of the Desert Aire Owners Association in the rural village known as Desert Aire, Washington.
To do this, a consistent group of 12 owners, who have now welcomed two more, plus building relationships with stakeholder representatives has been invaluable during discussions and recommendations needed.
Last month, SSC launched the “Know Your Neighbor” project – check out the flyer in this newsletter for more information.
This month, work has begun on SSC’s Safe Streets/Roads (SSR) initiative. The emphasis on this issue really began in March of 2021 when 32 individuals – 24 owners and 9 stakeholder representatives - participated in SSC’s meeting on road safety. A first “win” of this effort was finding out that $12 million was placed in the legislative budget for improvements on SR 243 between Desert Aire and Vernita Bridge. Additional resources are continuing to be pursued to extend the targeted area beyond this first phase. However, transportation projects typically have a six-to-ten-year cycle from first adoption, and competitiveness around the state for funds is fierce.
SSC’s homework to get to this point was to find out what we didn’t know, beyond what we did know - that Grant County didn’t do a good job of keeping up on the schedule for normal road maintenance on Desert Aire roads. SSC is now working with a third GC roads engineer and pleased to report that the next phase of collecting ideas for SSR is at hand.
Resources used so far include GC Transportation Improvement Plan, adopted in October each year, WSDOT Active Transportation Plan 2020 and Beyond (377 pages), 2022 WSDOT Statewide Human Services Transportation Plan (105 pages) and annual grant deadlines (July) WA State Public Works Board and US Dept of Transportation Safe Streets/Road.
Discussions to develop a pro-active scope for Desert Aire roads includes working with Grant County prior to the next road maintenance rotation (eight-year cycle), concerns for pedestrian safety, traffic, speeding issues currently, while looking forward towards innovative and creative solutions continuously.