WARDEN — Warden spent 2025 laying foundations — literally and figuratively — for the next phase of its development. From industrial access planning with the Port of Warden to targeted neighborhood upkeep, the City Council’s agenda balanced growth with day‑to‑day livability. Early in the year, council members took up a proposed development agreement designed to improve street connections around the port, streamline truck movements and minimize residential disruptions.  

The Port’s multi‑phase road concept centered on opening a corridor from South Madison Avenue to Road T.3 Southeast with a cul‑de‑sac, emergency access gate and redesigned intersections to safely accommodate freight turning radii.  

“Ultimately, this phase is about facilitating industrial traffic while minimizing disruption to residential areas,” said Western Pacific Engineering’s Kevin Richards, speaking on behalf of the Port.  

The Port identified at least $5 million toward the effort and sought additional grants to reach roughly $10 million.  

By August, Warden moved several projects forward at once.  

The council advanced the Port of Warden airport‑area annexation, updated its weed code to address property maintenance, progressed police chief hiring and authorized an application to the Transportation Improvement Board’s Small City Maintenance Program—a crack and fog seal plan spanning 25 roads plus subgrade repairs on County Road.  

City Administrator Kriss Shuler described the work as a life‑extending maintenance approach that seals cracks and preserves pavement rather than adding new asphalt. It was announced later in the year that Warden did not receive the TIB grant.  

Two weeks later, Warden City Council refined community standards by approving weed abatement resolutions on persistent overgrowth near the city park and on an empty lot along Third Street, a step meant to reduce hazards and improve neighborhood appearance, according to Shuler.  

In September, Warden took a strategic turn toward long‑range planning and environmental stewardship. The council approved adding a climate element to its comprehensive plan and commissioned a wastewater facility and general sewer plan — backed by a $285,000 Department of Ecology grant — to analyze service areas, wastewater flows and infrastructure needs.  

The city contracted Gray & Osborne to develop the plan, which includes sewer video inspections and evaluations of the water reclamation facility and biosolids management.  

At the same meeting, the city postponed First Street North reconstruction to spring 2026 to avoid freight disruptions during harvest season, an operational decision made in consultation with property owners and the contractor and accepted by the Transportation Improvement Board. 

Public safety remained front and center throughout the year. The city worked through leadership transitions after the mid‑year retirement of Chief Rick Martin at Warden PD. Following, Warden contracted Moses Lake Police Department’s Juan Rodriguez and then with Grant County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Nick Overland as interim chiefs. By late September, Chief Jeff Gann was appointed as the permanent chief by the council.  

By December, newly installed Gann reported an uptick in caseloads — 91 case reports in November — spanning welfare checks, collisions, domestic violence, burglaries, thefts, assaults, stolen vehicles and one sexual assault. In these incidents, Gann dealt with what he believes is Warden’s first attempted train theft. The suspect, 40-year-old John L. McKernan Vasquez, of Warden, gained access to the locomotive and released its brakes, attempting to move the train. He was confronted by employees and fled on foot. Officers pursued him for nearly a mile before he was located and arrested without incident.  

Warden closed autumn with a measured fiscal move: a 1% increase in the city’s property tax levy, projected to add around $6,860 to support essential services in the 2026 budget.  

Shuler emphasized that a 1% rise in collections does not equate to a 1% increase in each household’s property tax bill; it’s a cap‑bound adjustment based on the district’s highest levy amount and consistent with Washington Department of Revenue rules for taxing districts. The increase followed a public hearing with no resident comments. 

November’s general election largely affirmed continuity. Most races—two Warden City Council seats, four Warden School Board positions, and a Cemetery Board role—were uncontested, with the sole contested School Board seat going to Shawn Clausen, who received 356 of 433 votes.  

In December, the Council formally swore in Agapito “Speedy” Gonzalez for Position 2 after his unopposed win, 150 votes; four write‑ins, reviewed voter turnout 21% in Warden; 30.5% countywide. Omar Pruneda also won his council race with 146 of 149 votes.  

The council also approved mid‑year budget updates to transparently account for hiring costs, interim chief coverage and other operational adjustments — about $45,000 for police chief recruitment and bonus, plus $20,000 for interim services from GCSO and MLPD.