SOAP LAKE - De Vaun Black and Kat Sanderson each told attendees of a forum why they were the best choice to serve in Soap Lake City Council position 2.

Sanderson's top issues include bringing in more tourism, fixing crumbling streets and encouraging economic development, all of which she said can be done by instigating a downtown revitalization plan and searching out grants.

Black said more community involvement is needed in the face of reduced federal and state funding for the city. He called volunteers an "untapped resource" who could help with many projects.

"We're going to have to rely on ourselves to get us out of this," he said.

In response to a question about city water rates and whether they should be lowered in the summer, Black said the rates are set to cover the city's cost of providing the service and are some of the best in the state.

But Sanderson said she has a difficult time accepting a recent rate hike and believes there should be a cost break in the summer to allow people to more affordably water their lawns.

"Water rates increased on a community that's already struggling is hard for me to understand," she said.

Public safety can be improved if the community takes time to educate itself, Sanderson said; adding there must be more of a police presence if there's to be any hope of increasing the population of the city. She's heard of several people who have moved away because of crime, resulting in reduced revenues to Soap Lake.

As far as how they might increase funding for the police department, Sanderson said she doesn't have the answer, but is researching the issue.

"We don't have the information that we need from the city to be able to answer that at this time," she said.

The responsibility for stopping crime ultimately comes down to the citizens, Black said.

"If we want this to be a safe community we need to step forward and help out by being the eyes and ears for the police department," he said.

He said the state mandates how the city spends its money so the city is likely already spending all it can on police services, but it's still not enough.

"Once again it's going to fall on the citizens to step in and fill some of these gaps," he said. "If we want to protect ourselves we're going to have to take some responsibility."

The city isn't obligated to provide funding to promote events, Black said. He believes the city simply paves the way for events to take place by providing the necessary infrastructure, but the chamber of commerce should be in charge of any marketing efforts.

Sanderson countered by quoting from the city code handbook, which states it is part of the city council's job to promote Soap Lake "by advertising and publicizing or otherwise distributing information for the purposes of attracting visitors and encouraging tourist expansion."

"That is what they're supposed to be doing," Sanderson said.

Sanderson used her closing comments to discuss her support of a possible partnership between Soap Lake and the McKay Health Care and Rehabilitation Center on a project that she said could bring more than 100 new jobs to the city.

Black closed by saying he's been in and out of Soap Lake politics since 1976 and hopes to be elected to serve another four years in "one of the best towns I've ever lived in."