Royal City gains new council members, approves water main upgrade
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 8 months AGO
Royal City Finance Director Shilo Christensen, left, administers the oath of office to incoming City Council Member Ryan Piercy at Monday’s council meeting.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | June 13, 2023 3:25 PM
ROYAL CITY — The Royal City City Council swore in two new members during its meeting Monday evening. Rick Kannely and Ryan Piercy were selected to fill vacancies left when other members moved out of town.
“I'm here as a volunteer to support the community, to serve the community that I live in,” Kannely said. “I love this place. It’s the best place I’ve ever lived.”
The Council ordinarily meets the first and third Tuesday of each month, but the June 6 meeting had to be rescheduled for lack of a quorum. Council members Tiffany Workinger and Mackenzee Anderson resigned last month as they no longer met the residency requirements, leaving council members Michael Christensen, Perla Garcia and Hector Rodriguez. Rodriguez was unable to attend the June 6 meeting, thus eliminating the possibility of a quorum.
Mayor Kent Andersen attended the Monday meeting by phone, and the council elected Christensen to serve as mayor pro tem. Two applicants to replace Anderson and Workinger were present at the meeting and the council voted to appoint them to the vacant positions. City Finance Director Shilo Christensen swore in the new members.
Position 4, Anderson’s seat, was filled by Piercy, a graduate of Royal High School who works for Trident Soil Fumigation.. He was encouraged to run for Anderson’s seat, which would have been up for election in November, by Anderson herself, he said.
Kannely took over Workinger’s seat at Position 5. Kannely, a California native, retired as an ag teacher at Royal High School five or six years ago, he said. Before that he had taught in Mount Vernon on the west side, he said. Kannely’s wife, a nurse who retired from the Royal School District at the same time, passed away last December, he said.
The newly repopulated council voted to accept a bid from Premier Excavation to complete a water main improvement project for $2.3 million. The project includes replacing about 10,000 feet of old steel pipe, Public Works Director John Lasen explained.
“(The pipe) was put in in the late ’50s,” Lasen said. “Its life expectancy at the time was 30 years. Well, we got our 30 years out of it.”
“So it’s a possible liability,” Piercy said.
“It is a possible liability,” Lasen answered. “There are other communities that have waited for too long and had major system failures in their distribution system as a result of that.”
“It’s the last area to be upgraded,” Michael Christensen said. “All the other areas have been upgraded.”
Joel Martin may be reached at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Space Burger booth open March 13-15
MOSES LAKE — Those who can’t wait for the Grant County Fair can get their Space Burger fix next weekend, according to an announcement from the Lioness Club of Moses Lake. The iconic Grant County sandwiches will be available at the Grant County Fairgrounds March 13-15, according to the announcement. There is no admission fee to get into the fairgrounds that weekend.
SENIOR EVENTS: March 2026
COLUMBIA BASIN — Plays, art shows, auctions and more await seniors in the Columbia Basin this month. Here are some opportunities to get out and about in March.
Valentine’s Day cards flood Brookdale Hearthstone with love
MOSES LAKE — Residents at Brookdale Hearthstone Assisted Living in Moses Lake got Valentine’s Day greetings from across the country last month. “I believe that the only states we have not received (cards from) yet are Vermont and Maine,” Lifestyle Director Imelda Broyles said Feb. 24. “We keep receiving new cards every single day. They have not stopped. My residents are in awe with every single one of the cards that we’ve been receiving.” The Hearts Across America project started as a way for children in school classrooms to exchange Valentine’s Day cards with classes in other states or even countries, but the idea has expanded to senior living facilities, according to the project’s social media.