MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District Board of Directors selected the site of a mobile home at Connelly Park at a special board meeting Thursday.

The mobile home will house a park ranger, allowing the district to extend the hours the park is open.

Three options were presented by district manager Curt Carpenter to the board members during their regular board meeting Tuesday. The three options were identified as sites "A," "B" and "C." Directors Mick Hansen and Rich Archer voted for site "B," while director Ron Covey expressed support for site "C."

Site "A" is located above the overflow gravel parking lot at the park. The site requires a sewer system design and installation, costing approximately $7,500, as well as between $5,000 and $7,000 to connect to electricity, said Carpenter.

Site "B" is in an area near the lake shoreline the district has already leveled. A sewer system at the site would cost anywhere from $3,500 (if the Department of Health allows the district to connect to an existing drain field) to $7,500 to design a sewer system from scratch. It would cost between $5,000 to $7,000 for electricity. Running an additional water service line to the site would add another $2,000 to the cost of using the site. The site would also require additional permits due to its proximity to the shoreline, said Carpenter.

Site "C" is located further away from the park, but a sewer system and electrical infrastructure already exist on it, said Carpenter.

"After evaluating the three sites and discussing the site's conditions with the Washington State Department of Health, Grant County PUD, and Grant County Building and Planning, staff recommends the site placement of the manufactured home to be at 'C,'" said Carpenter.

Site "C" would save the district $13,000 in service connections and installation, provide adequate viewing of the park, and be accessible to the public, said Carpenter. It could be secured by existing gates and would allow the park ranger to keep an eye on equipment, he added.

The board tabled the decision until Thursday so they could visit the park to evaluate the sites.

On Thursday, Archer opened the discussion and said he preferred site "B." Although site "C" provided the best view of the district's property, he was concerned by its distance from the park. The view from site "A" was inadequate, but depending on where one stood from site "B," they could see most of the park, he said.

"My vote is either site 'A' or site 'B,'" said Hansen. "I do not like site 'C.'" He agreed with Archer that site 'C' was not close enough to the park.

Covey supported site "C," citing the money saved by not needing to build sewer or power infrastructure. The site allows the greatest visibility of the park, he said.

The site could be used as a campsite check-in in the future if the district allows camping at the park, he said.

"Should (a park ranger) not prove to be financially feasible, which we have not been shown yet that it's going to be, this mobile unit sitting up here could be used at some future time as the office for campsite check-in," he said.

Covey suggested that the issue of the site's distance from the park could be solved by setting up an intercom system so people could contact the park ranger if he were needed.

"Anything I've ever seen as far as deterring thefts and damage and all of that kind of stuff generally comes from proximity ... When it's nighttime and it's dark down there, people can run around in that park and up on top, you're never going to see them," said Archer. "I'm just thinking site 'B' is still the way to go."

The board moved to choose site "B," with Hansen and Archer voting for the motion and Covey voting against it.