Grant County commissioners visit council for talk

QUINCY — Two Grant County commissioners visited Quincy City Hall Wednesday to listen to Quincy Mayor Dick Zimbelman and other officials discuss issues important to them.

One of the top issues: NASCAR in Grant County.

Grant County Commissioners LeRoy Allison and Cindy Carter asked city leaders what they thought of having one of the massive racetracks in Grant County.

The sport is popular, Zimbelman and others said, could bring thousands of people to the county, boosting the economy.

But Quincy officials didn't exactly agree where they'd like to see a racetrack built.

Zimbelman imagines the town of George, he said. The town's location, the mayor said, along Interstate 90, is the perfect place.

Councilman Jose Saldana would prefer it be somewhere in the undeveloped-sagebrush area between Ephrata and Moses Lake.

Councilman Scott Lybbert envisions a NASCAR track upstaging The Gorge Amphitheatre as the highest-powered engine of Grant County's tourism economy.

Finishing the NASCAR discussion, Zimbelman and council-members gave the commissioners an idea of the population growth they're anticipating.

Quincy's population is expected to double in the next five years, Zimbelman told the commissioners.

Much of the growth is due to Quincy's popularity among tech giants Microsoft Corp., Yahoo! Inc. and Intuit. The companies are building jumbo data centers in town. Microsoft opened the first portion of the company's data center Monday.

Lybbert attributed some population growth to retiring baby boomers relocating to Quincy.

They're making the move to the city, he said, because property values are skyrocketing.

Many boomers are also moving to nearby Crescent Bar, Lybbert said.

Finally, city officials detailed one of their greatest concerns.

The city must devise and construct a safe truck route to and from the Port of Quincy's intermodal rail facility.

Trucks need a route to the intermodal facility allowing them to avoid downtown streets and traffic, said City Administrator Tim Snead.

Snead said the city and Grant County should begin a joint planning study to determine the best route for truck traffic.

City councilmembers attending the meeting with the commission included: Jim Hemberry, Lybbert, Saldana and Rebecca Young.