Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
County population growth dependent on infrastructure
DAVENPORT—Those who live in Lincoln County typically tout their personal advantages of living here: Small-town life, getting away from the city, friendly communities and affordable cost-of-living rates. But can the county support growth as more people seek those values, and if so, where?
The answer, many stakeholders feel, is yes…if the county can support the infrastructure. “We have to look at the age of the infrastructure to see if it could handle more development,” retired Lincoln County commissioner Mark Stedman said last month.
Lincoln County is already growing. Census data doesn’t seem to think so, as 2020 counts indicated the county grew from just 10,570 to 10,876.
However, school enrollment growth and voter registration totals tell a different story.
“I think our growth is more than the census actually indicates,” commissioner Scott Hutsell said. “There’s more kids here than there’s ever been.”
The Davenport School District set records with full-time student projections this school year, while the Reardan-Edwall School District expects to have over 1,000 students enrolled by 2028.
Registered voters in Lincoln County grew from 6,616 in the 2008 general election to 8,243 in the 2022 general election, with growth in each two-year cycle in that 14-year period aside from a slight decrease between 2012 and 2014. That discrepancy could be attributed to the fact that voter registration historically tended to be higher in a presidential election year compared to a midterm election year prior to the 2016 cycle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Registered voters and growing schools indicate growth is happening here, but where can it be supported? Hutsell said the answer is undoubtedly in the northern part of the county by Lake Roosevelt.
“The real growth that’s going to happen is in the northern tier,” Hutsell said. “Hansen Harbor, Seven Bays, Lincoln and Deer Meadows.”
Hutsell said NoaNet did a projection build showing the capacity for 1,250 more people in the Seven Bays area, with about 400 building sites possible in the surrounding locations.
“The key piece is getting municipal water,” Hutsell said.
He added that if growth continues near Lake Roosevelt, talks will have to commence about the viability of building infrastructure such as a clinic, heliport and ambulance services. Presently, the nearest hospital is 30 minutes away in Davenport, and helicopter access is not easy in some of the wooded areas.
“But what is the cost of that, though?” Hutsell questioned.
Broadband internet access will be another key piece of whether the county will be able to support significant growth.
“Broadband will bring more remote work to the area,” Stedman said. “We also have to look at demographics. A lot of people move to the North slope to retire.”
Stedman noted that population growth up North doesn’t necessarily lead to more local businesses because of the large retiree population in that area.
Growth in cities and towns could be less drastic. Davenport mayor Brad Sweet noted the build of three houses near the municipal airport earlier this month, but said he hasn’t heard of any progress on a potential Hillcrest development farther northwest of the city.
In an article that ran in last week’s Record-Times, Sweet noted his desire for apartment expansion in the city, both for higher and lower income families and residents. He also discussed the possibility of broaching the subject of land swaps with the Department of Natural Resources, which owns about 300 acres of land north of the city near the sewer lagoons.
“We would possibly need to expand the sewer lagoons,” Sweet said when commenting on potential builds in that area near the Northridge neighborhood.
Other Davenport growth would be dependent on available sewer capacities. The city isn’t sure whether it wants to spend the money on a new sewer tank, which can be quite a spendy purchase, Sweet said.
Drastic may also be difficult in Reardan town limits, despite a $3,435,000 the town received to improve the sewer system this summer. However, small growth is quite viable.
“Reardan legally cannot annex at this time,” Reardan mayor Gail Daniels said.
Daniels is optimistic about future growth, however. Several small lots in town are available for home construction and two homes are being built right now.
“I think we can get more development once we get the infrastructure,” Daniels said. “At this point, we can only take care of the land within the city limits.”
Daniels noted the town has enough hookups to support land within city limits right now, but no infrastructure to expand further.
She was more optimistic about the county’s growth opportunities.
“I’m sure the county can handle quite a bit of growth,” Daniels said.
Infrastructure issues are also present in Harrington.
“Looking at the infrastructure in Harrington, it would financially be difficult to put in 5-10 houses because of its age,” Stedman said.
Reporters Ashley Parkinson and Byrne Bennett contributed to this report.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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