Moscow’s city council approved multiple proposals brought to the meeting on Sept. 15. Among these were a request for a second K9 unit and a grant application plan to build an alternate truck route with Whitman County.
Moscow chief of police Anthony Dahlinger and Lt. Ryan Snyder asked the council to approve the expansion of the Moscow Police Department’s K9 unit. The council approved the proposal.
MPD currently has just one K9 unit, K9 Ragnar. Ragnar began working on Aug. 1, 2022, and is currently 4 years old, which is about halfway through his working lifespan of seven years, according to MPD.
Since his Aug. 1, 2022, start date, K9 Ragnar has been responsible for the seizure of 296 grams of methamphetamine, 40 grams of fentanyl, several illegal firearms and thousands of dollars related to illegal drug activity and has contributed to 44 arrests, according to Dahlinger.
Expanding the K9 program would allow MPD to stagger succession of K9 units, schedule the K9s on opposing shifts and ensure a K9 unit could be on patrol at all times.
MPD budgeted approximately $80,000 for the purchase of the vehicle and approximately $13,000 for the dog, kennel, handlers and residence.
“We’d like another cute dog,” council member Julia Parker said after the council voted. “Tell your dog we said hi!”
City administrator Bill Belknap presented Whitman County’s BUILD Grant application plan and asked the city of Moscow to approve the cost sharing plan. The city council approved the plan.
Whitman County has been working to create an alternative east-west route for freight traffic to reduce traffic in downtown Pullman. Previously, this had been called a bypass, but Belknap said that a truck route was the more accurate term.
“The bypass would be a state highway that’s being constructed to go around a city, where a truck route is just an improvement to existing surface roads, oftentimes to provide an alternate route for heavy truck traffic to take,” Belknap said.
Sand Road and Kirkendahl Road, located south of Moscow and Pullman, respectively, make up the primary route recommended by Welch Comer Engineers, the company contracted for the application process. The company has already completed an initial study and recommendation.
The route would also reduce freight traffic in downtown Moscow, according to the study.
Whitman County plans to apply for a federal BUILD grant from the Department of Transportation for the project. The county asked Moscow to share the costs of contracting Welch Comer Engineers for the application process.
Whitman County would fund 70% of the cost and the city of Moscow would fund the remaining 30%. According to Belknap, this reflects each side’s proportionate share of the estimated $18.9 million cost of construction. For immediate costs, the proposal specified Moscow’s contribution to the grant application process would not exceed $45,000.
Parker is serving as acting mayor while mayor Art Bettge is in Washington, D.C. Bettge issued a proclamation, read by Parker, that Sept. 17-23, 2025, would be designated Constitution Week 2025 in Moscow. Sept. 17 marks the 238th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution.
Dakota Steffen can be reached at [email protected].