RITZVILLE – Michelle Plumb is up for reelection for Ritzville City Council. Plumb has served on the City Council for nine years and said she wants to continue helping move the city along. 

“Making sure that (the city) serves its citizens effectively and efficiently is definitely huge on my list of reasons why I continue to participate,” said Plumb. 

Alongside her time as part of the City Council, she has been working for Adams County public works as an Engineering Technician. There she said she assists with road projects and works alongside contractors and developers to ensure the job gets done.

Plumb said she would like to take a different approach in how the council responds in times of need, recalling the fire that had broken out last year that spread toward town.  

“That put a lot of things into focus for what we need to do better to serve our citizens in times like that,” she said. “That’s always at the forefront of my mind... that’s what we’re here for is to try and protect our citizens in times like that.” 

Having a plan in place for emergency preparedness and better communication is something she said would be beneficial for when dire situations such as a fire occur. This would also make situations that come from outside of their community easier to handle in future circumstances. 

In general, she said she would like to put a focus on improving general services offered by the city so citizens can be provided with what they need to ensure their safety.  

Ritzville is also working to put in place a notification app for the city as they tag onto Adams County’s CodeRED, she said. CodeRED is a notification service that allows public safety officials to alert residents about emergency situations. 

“We need to get it past those bumps that they’ve hit and get it working for our citizens,” said Plumb. 

Plumb said the city of Ritzville currently has a solid team in place that is interested in working with her on those ideas and would like to help finish getting these projects in place. 

“It’s definitely an inspiring position at times, when you see stuff come together,” she said. 

Attempts were made to get in contact with Eric Ottmar, who is also running for this Ritzville City Council position, but no response has been received. The Columbia Basin Herald will provide coverage of Ottmar once we have heard from his campaign.