MOSES LAKE — The Downtown Moses Lake Association held its annual kickoff meeting Thursday to discuss last year’s achievements and the coming year’s plans. The meeting was held at Moore Brewing Company, which is a DMLA member.  

“I like to call myself a student of downtowns,” said City Manager Rob Karlinsey. “Whenever I’m on a road trip, I try to check out every downtown I can … I love this downtown. This is a gritty, hyper-local, relatively healthy downtown. Is it an evolving downtown? Sure, like all downtowns. This downtown is real. It doesn’t depend on fake stuff (or) tourists. The locals, I can tell, are supporting downtown. That’s a really good sign.” 

The DMLA is a part of the Washington Main Street Program, explained DMLA Executive Director Mallory Miller, one of 41 member communities across the state. The Main Street program emphasizes four aspects of downtown health: economic viability, outreach, promotion and design.  

Downtown Moses Lake did well in the area of economic viability in 2025, Miller said, with 30 new business starts and 50 jobs created. There was $1.3 million in private investments in the downtown business core, meaning improvements businesses or private individuals made, and $1.26 million in public investment from the city of Moses Lake. In addition, the DMLA logged 600 volunteer hours for events and projects. 

Other milestones include the new DMLA office downtown, complete with promotional merchandise, and new Christmas decorations.  

Through the Main Street program, downtown businesses are eligible for a 75% tax credit for contributions made to the DMLA. Last year, 17 businesses took advantage of that, raising $146,200 to support the downtown area. 

In 2026, the DMLA will have some upgrades to its regular annual events. Brews & Tunes, coming up March 15, will cover six blocks, Miller said. Alder Street will be closed as well as Third Avenue, to allow for the foot traffic. Whereas past events have had a musical act at each location, this year there will be three main stages, which will allow larger groups to perform. 

“We have sold out the last two years in a row,” Miller said. “I have purchased a lot more tickets … a little less than 1,000, so please buy your tickets so we can sell out again.” 

The Spring Cleanup got so many volunteers out to help that this year’s event, which is April 15, will be expanded from just a few blocks on Third and Broadway over to Neppel Park, Miller said. 

The city of Moses Lake has some plans for downtown as well, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Doug Coutts told the meeting.  

“We’re going to do a little spruce-up of the downtown core,” Coutts said. “We’re looking at the garbage cans and the light poles and benches. When you walk downtown, you see the light pole looks like one kind of design, the garbage cans are a different design, there are benches that are a different design.” 

The city has selected an architectural firm and a landscape architect to come up with a better, more unified design, Coutts said. Sinkiuse Square, in particular, he said, could use some reimagining. 

“How can it be designed to be more effective, to support out events rather than just making do?” He said. “Why is that stage right in the middle across the park? As a musician, I don’t get it. Why would I have people behind me while I was playing?” 

Those plans won’t be finalized this year, Coutts added; the city is just getting the ball rolling. What will happen this year is the semi-quincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

“We’ve purchased 300 two-foot-by-three-foot American flags,” Cpoutts said. “If you ever look at the light poles (downtown), they have two flag holders on either side. We’re going to put (the flags) in those light poles. We’ll have them hopefully before Memorial Day and we’ll have them up as long as they look good.” 

The city is also planning to add some lights to the Alder Street Fill, Coutts said, although he said he wasn’t ready to elaborate on what those would look like. 

Mayor Dustin Swartz, a lifelong Moses Lake resident, said he appreciated the importance of the city’s downtown area. Besides his own small business as an electrical contractor, he said, his mother ran a kitchen store downtown, and his grandmother owned the Hallmark store where Windermere Real Estate is located today.

“So, the downtown has been important to me and my family for generations, literally,” Swartz said. “I’m so excited about all the work that you’re doing, (and) really enthusiastic about the direction we’re going with the city.” 

An earlier version of this story gave two dates incorrectly. Brews & Tunes will take place March 14, and the Downtown Cleanup is April 25.

    Four girls learn how to make a battery from pennies at Sila’s booth at the Moses Lake Family Picnic in June 2025. The event is one of nine DMLA events scheduled for the coming year.
  

    Volunteers gather for last year’s Downtown Cleanup Day. The event has drawn so many volunteers that this year’s cleanup will be extended to Neppel Park.
  

    A crowd listens to music at Brews & Tunes in Moses Lake. This year’s event will have some changes, according to Downtown Moses Lake Association Director Mallory Miller.