Local news- Press Release
City of Walla Walla Washington - City Central Walla Walla news and insider tidbits for June 01 June 2022 ( news )
City of Walla Walla , state Washington ( By Press Release office)
Jun 01,2022
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Get ready , Walla Walla: The unassuming driving range at our Veterans Memorial Golf Course will soon be filled with thousands of concertgoers as the Northwest ' s newest outdoor musical performance venue! The inaugural season at the Wine Country Amphitheater kicks off one week from today , when ZZ Top takes the temporary stage — the first of six shows scheduled for this summer . Visit
WineCountryConcerts . com
for complete details , including a diagram of the amphitheater layout and a map showing shuttle bus , pedestrian , and vehicle access routes .
Construction on the Alder and Poplar projects is progressing nicely . Visit our
GoWallaWalla . us website
for background info and updates as they ' re available . Admittedly , the work can make getting where you want to go a bit of a challenge — please be sure to support the local businesses located in or near construction zones . . This graphic shows the current routes to get to the Walla Walla Public Library , but these could change as portions of the projects are completed and new construction phases begin . To keep up , follow the library on
Facebook
or visit its
website
for the latest news .
Holiday closure: City offices and facilities will be closed on Monday , June 20 , in observance of the
Juneteenth
holiday ( since June 19 is on a Sunday ) . If your residential trash/recycling collection day falls on June 20 , your container will be serviced on Tuesday , June 21 .
Public Meetings this month
June 6 , 4 - 6 p . m . :
City Council
work session ( public comment not taken )
June 8 , 6:30 p . m . : City Council regular meeting ( public comment taken )
June 21 , 4 - 6 p . m . : City Council work session , moved from June 20 due to Juneteenth holiday observation ( public comment not taken )
June 22 , 6:30 p . m . : City Council regular meeting ( public comment taken )
At the June 22 meeting , the City Council will hold a public hearing on the City’s proposed water use efficiency goals . Background information on the goals is available
here
. For additional info , contact the Water Division at 509 - 527 - 4380 .
The Walla Walla Public Library is looking to
renovate and expand its building
to better serve residents . Library staff and SHKS Architects will host a community feedback session from 6 - 8 p . m . on June 29 at the library , at which you can review the plans , discuss the project , and give your feedback .
It ' s swimming time! Although the weather hasn ' t yet cooperated with much consistency , Veterans Memorial Pool is open for its 2022 season . Pool schedules , fee details , and other information are available
here
.
The Swim , Play , Discover Camp is a two - week day camp that includes a daily play activity , discover activity , and swimming at Veterans Memorial Pool . Sports , crafts , career - day presentations , and water safety lessons are a few of the activities included in this great program . Visit
this page
for more details and to register or be placed on a waiting list .
Space is extremely limited for this Saturday ' s Spring Cemetery Tour! For more info and to reserve a spot , visit our
Recreation Programs catalog
.
Parks & Recreation invites residents to participate in the second annual Symbol Quest . See Mountain View Cemetery in a whole new light and discover the life that is etched on stone . The quest takes place from July 9 - Aug . 7 , but the registration period ends in June . You can learn more and register
here
.
In May , Parks Maintenance crews put up this year ' s hanging flower baskets and filled the planters downtown and flower beds in City parks with new seasonal blooms . We ' re loving the color they bring to the entire city , and we look forward to seeing their beauty increase as the summer progresses . By the way — these welcome banners currently hanging on the light poles were designed by Becky Donley , our multitalented Aviary Caretaker and Cemetery Clerk .
We ' re seeking applications from volunteers to fill openings on the Housing Authority Board , Infrastructure Improvement Committee , Planning Commission , Sustainability Committee , and Water & Wastewater Advisory Committee . Application forms and additional information are available
here
. Anyone with questions may contact the City Clerk’s Office at 509 - 527 - 4424 or khill@wallawallawa . gov .
Last month , our Water Treatment Plant team ( some of whom are pictured above ) and Supervisor Tom Krebs ( second from right ) were honored to receive a Commitment to Excellence Award from the Washington Department of Health . Our crew skillfully determines appropriate supply and treatment to meet water demands , and uses excess treated water to recharge the aquifer to help ensure our supply will be sufficient for decades to come . More information is available
here
.
Speaking of our water , Walla Walla has faced significant water loss dating back at least to the 1950s , with losses of more than 40% . Much of this is attributed to the use of steel water lines dating back to the early 1900s , which tend to fail and spring leaks over time . In 2010 , we began an aggressive effort to confront water loss through a multipronged attack of leak detection and repair , and replacing water services , meters , water lines , etc . Since then , we have driven water loss to a place probably not seen in Walla Walla since the 1900s , taking the City from a loss of nearly 35% in 2009 down to 12 . 2% this year! That’s going from losing 1 . 2 billion gallons a year to 462 million .
Did you know we publish information on water usage and conservation each week from May through September? This includes details like precipitation totals , stats on water usage by residents , and tips to optimize your irrigation .
This page
is updated every Friday , and you can sign up to receive Water conservation/quality updates via email
here
.
Thanks to everyone who attended the public open house on May 10 at the new joint fire training tower . The structure will serve as a regional training facility for the Walla Walla Fire Department , College Place Fire Department , and Walla Walla County Fire District 4 . More information is available
here
.
On May 6 , the Walla Walla Fire Department ' s C - shift Station 2 crew stopped by Edison Elementary to pay a visit to their kindergarten class and give them a quick tour of the engine and demonstrate how a fire hose works . And on May 13 , Library Technician Joel Gaytan and Youth Services Librarian Liz George attended the Commitment to Community ( C2C ) event at the Carrie Center , sharing the bilingual “Growing Vegetable Soup/ A sembrar sopa de verduras” story program with attendees . City employees always enjoy these opportunities to get out in the community and meet residents of all ages .
Also on the subject of getting out and meeting folks , we ' re really excited to host the first of our 2022
summer neighborhood parties
this month . These parties are intended to be a place where residents in certain neighborhoods ( in this case , the Emma/Lowden and Jefferson Park areas ) can to get to know their neighbors better and connect with City officials and staff . We ' ve invited some of our community partners to attend , including Blue Zones Project Walla Walla Valley , C2C , the Walla Walla County Department of Community Health , Walla Walla Community College , and more , and we ' re all looking forward to some tasty food and beverages , lively tunes , and spending time together .
We also enjoy having residents visit us at City facilities , and last month we hosted more than 160 local third - graders over three days for Show and Tell get - togethers in celebration of Public Works Week . City staff led groups of students through stations where they learned about the services the Public Works Department provides for our community , and got to try out some of our vehicles and heavy equipment . To see what our guests got a chance to experience , check out this
recap video
produced by our Communications Division .
In May , Deputy City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain ( right ) was invited to participate in Fire Ops 101 at the Hammer Federal Training Center in Richland , with support from WWFD Firefighter/Paramedic Wes Granath ( left ) . WWFD crew members Brandon McKinney , Cesar Lopez , and Chris Worden also took part in the event . Fire Ops 101 provides local International Association of Fire Fighters affiliates an opportunity to invite elected officials , other policy decision makers , and members of the media to experience the time - critical , highly technical , labor - intensive work of firefighters and paramedics .
The City has achieved the
Blue Zones
Worksite certification thanks to the hard work of our Wellness Committee . Pictured above are members of the Wellness Committee , and the Streets team who helped install this Blue Zones Parking sign behind City Hall . These signs were placed at or near the farthest parking spot in eight parking lots throughout the City , to encourage everyone to improve their health by increasing their steps .
Work on the
Alder/Poplar TBD project
was delayed for a while in early May when around 70 , 000 honeybees took up temporary residence in a Scotch Pine tree slated for trimming . A beekeeper was called in , and the insects were safely relocated to a different air - bee - n - bee .
The City is currently hiring for a variety of full - time and part - time positions , including three Civil Engineers , police officers and staff , a variety of positions in Parks & Recreation and Public Works , and more . For more information and to apply , visit the
Human Resources page
on the City website .
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