PULLMAN: Project Downtown is behind schedule

PULLMAN: Project Downtown is behind schedule

Main Street in Pullman slated to open in November instead of anticipated October date

By Emily Pearce Moscow-Pullman Daily News Sept 28, 2024

PHOTO A crew works to prepare a segment of the sidewalk for cement pouring along Main Street on Thursday in Pullman. Another portion of the sidewalk across the street was poured earlier this month. Liesbeth Powers/Moscow-Pullman Daily News file

PHOTO Construction equipment lays along Main Street on Wednesday in downtown Pullman as the project nears its estimated halfway point. Liesbeth Powers/Moscow-Pullman Daily News

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The city of Pullman’s project to revitalize downtown is running behind schedule.

Mayor Francis Benjamin said the city’s consultant Welch Comer, a Coeur d’Alene-based engineering firm, notified staff the project’s completion date has been delayed to November. It was anticipated the six-month construction period would finish in October.

The project is a city-led initiative to fully upgrade downtown’s utilities, streets, sidewalks and more. The venture encompasses all of Main Street, from Grand Avenue to Spring Street.

Since April, the area has been closed to traffic while crews from Apollo Inc., a Kennewick, Wash.-based construction company, rebuild downtown.

Benjamin said the contract stipulated Main Street would reopen to at least one lane of traffic by Oct. 15, but is now pushed to Nov. 1. The project should be fully completed by Nov. 22, which he said is two days behind the agreed upon timeframe.

The delay was mainly caused by contaminated soil and underground work. Benjamin said many utilities haven’t been touched since being installed around a century ago. And over the course of Pullman’s life, a few gas stations, car repair shops and fertilizer stores have been housed downtown.

Soil contamination was anticipated, he said, and a plan was put in place to address the pollutants. Early this summer, crews sampled and treated the area while properly disposing of the contaminated soil.

Benjamin said the contract specifies Apollo would face fines from the city for being over schedule, however change orders have been put in place that may prevent this. He said the Pullman City Council approved the new timeline and may consider adjusting the contract during its next meeting.

Other than the delay, Benjamin said construction has gone well. Crews have run into a few issues, but he said there hasn’t been any significant crisis.

According to past Moscow-Pullman Daily News reporting, a gas line ruptured in May which caused an outage to downtown customers for a day. A water line rupture in June caused a couple businesses to lose service for a short period of time.

The city ran into more hiccups while planning the project. It was anticipated the rebuild would begin in the summer of 2023, however inflated construction market costs led the council to push back the start date.

When the city first sent out the project to bid in the fall of 2023, it received no contractors willing to do the work for an initially anticipated four-month construction timeline.

Early this year when Apollo accepted the city’s bid, the council was informed the project was over budget. According to past reporting, the project was first estimated to cost $9.4 million total. Apollo agreed to rebuild the area for $8.7 million, and the project ended up at nearly $11.7 million total after contracting Welch Comer to create the design.

The project was funded by $9.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. Earlier this month the Whitman County Commissioners gave the city $200,000 to help fund Project Downtown.

Francis said the city plans to make up for additional costs by using money from local city tax dollars like the city’s water and sewer utilities fund along with other options. Taking from these reserves won’t negatively affect the city’s operations or delay any future projects.

Some downtown business owners have voiced frustrations, saying business is hurting because of the construction project.

Pam Dabolt, owner of Palouse Country Candy, said while downtown sidewalks have stayed open, she’s seen a significant decline in customers.

She saw a 25% decline in business when the rebuild began, which dropped further to 50%. Dabolt said she’s been forced to take money out of her personal accounts to cover the bills of the store.

“I’ve never been against this project,” she said. “But it’s just made life challenging. I think, you know, people just don’t like to be around the construction zone.”

She’s not alone. Michelle Kelly, owner of Michelle’s Closet, said her business is struggling to operate because of the project. She and other retail businesses anticipated sales to fall 30%, but she said they have seen anywhere from a 40% to 80% decline.

Kelly said there aren’t a lot of options for loans or financial relief, either. She said many businesses already used COVID-19 relief funds, and there isn’t much else to apply to.

“We all knew that the construction needed to be done,” she said. “But it’s hitting everybody a lot harder than all of us anticipated.

Dabolt and Kelly said they hope construction will wrap up as soon as possible and not run into the holiday season.

“The only redeeming thing this year will be the holidays,” Dabolt said. “We just want to get back to some degree of normalcy.”

Benjamin said he’s heard owners’ concerns, and encourages people to visit downtown and to support businesses.

More information about Project Downtown Pullman is available at projectdowntownpullman.org

 

Not in Pullman, but Domini Sandwiches of Spokane is an 'institution' patronized by many Pullmanians

 Not in Pullman, but Domini Sandwiches of Spokane is an 'institution' patronized by many Pullmanians

 

Downtown institution Domini Sandwiches closing in December

By Thomas Clouse, Spokane S-R, Sept. 15, 2024

The most famous sliced meat of the Lilac City, and a side of free popcorn, will soon vacate downtown Spokane.

 

Domini’s Sandwiches, a family-legacy business that has served generations of customers, will officially close on Dec. 6, owner Tom “Tommy” Domini said.

 

“It’s going to be sad,” said Domini, 67, who has been looking to sell for some time. “I’m sure I will be crying and hugging everybody. I’ve been here for 50 years.”

 

Domini’s built an institution through customer service, a sandwich that will stretch any stomach and a menu that changed slower than glacial melting.

 

It’s anchored the spot at 703 W. Sprague Ave., on the first floor of the Washington Trust building, for more than 60 years.

 

But Domini has been looking for someone to buy his business for more than a year.

 

He said he couldn’t go into details about the potential buyer, who has his permission to carry the Domini name and its signature sandwiches.

 

The next owner, however, won’t be operating at the current location in the Washington Trust building.

 

“The bank decided they wanted to keep that space, so we couldn’t continue operating in this location,” Domini said.

 

Despite the uncertainty, Domini said he’s ready to leave the early mornings and long hours behind.

 

“It’s time. You’ve got to do something with the rest of your life,” Domini said. “I feel bad for my employees. They have been with me through thick and thin. I’m going to treat them well, too. It’s just a shame.”

 

A legacy meeting place

Domini’s dining room just before noon on Friday mostly had empty booths.

 

But the one in back was patronized by Mike and Mike, both retired Spokane bankers.

 

“My first job interview was with (AgWest) Farm Credit in 1979,” said Mike Palmer. “For lunch, they brought me here.”

 

Palmer has been meeting Mike Ekins once a week since then. For a long time, the Mikes joined a group of five who always took a corner booth.

 

“It’s that familiarity – it feels like home,” Ekins said.

 

One of the Domini’s employees knows the Fiat that Palmer drives, which she refers to as the “clown car.”

 

Just like most regular customers, their favorite sandwiches are already being prepared as they enter the restaurant.

 

“I brought a client here and they ordered a small. (The client) said, ‘Geez, that’s a big sandwich,’ ” Palmer said. “We started coming here when Al ran it. Then Joe (Domini) was here for a while, cousin Bobby (Bruce) and Tom. The room always smelled like fresh popcorn.”

 

Over the years, the “Mikes” have seen changes, not only to Domini’s, but the overall logistics of downtown.

 

“It used to be, you had to be here no later than 11:30 a.m. to get a place to sit,” Ekins said. “There used to be more people working downtown. But it’s good for us. We always get a seat. But in the old days? No way.”

 

He noted that Domini’s had a unique way of shaming customers who wrote a bad check. They simply taped the returned check to the post above the cash register with the name showing for all the other customers to see.

 

“You couldn’t hold your head up in Spokane,” Ekins said of those who bounced checks.

 

The “Mikes” were unaware until Friday of Domini’s pending closing on Dec. 6.

 

“It will be the second ‘Day of Infamy,’ when Domini’s closes” Ekins said, referring to the Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack.

 

Gerrit Kischner, an educator from Seattle who was in Spokane to take a class at Washington State University Spokane, said he knew nothing of Domini’s lore. He just needed lunch on Friday and saw the place.

 

“I did not expect it to be that big,” Kischner said of his Reuben sandwich. “The bread is great.”

 

Kischner mostly eats a vegetarian diet.

 

“I did look for a salad on the menu. I didn’t see it. I didn’t ask any further,” he said.

 

Michelle Petretee was getting her regular – roast beef and cheddar on French bread with mayonnaise – and had a bag of sandwiches for others on Friday. It was her second visit to Domini’s this week.

 

“I’ve been coming here since I got my driver’s license when I was 16,” she said.

 

Petretree, a manager and a member of the family that owns Trudeau’s Marina, said the two businesses have been linked by history.

 

“We were founded in 1948. They’ve been here since we’ve been there,” Petretee said. “My parents ate here. My son eats here. My grandson eats here. You can’t get roast beef like this. It’s made fresh every day.”

 

Petretree said few places anywhere can see a customer and start the order.

 

“When they see me, they start making it,” she said of her sandwich.

 

‘Spokane’s loss’

The restaurant was founded in 1947 as the Stockholm Bar on Howard Street by Tom’s father, Al Domini, and uncle Fred Domini. That business competed with another set of Domini brothers, who ran the New Deal around the corner.

 

A fire in 1962 at the business next door ended Domini’s tavern. It reopened in 1963 as Domini Sandwiches at 703 W. Sprague Ave.

 

It moved for a couple years to the Davenport Hotel, which coincided with Expo ’74, but returned to West Sprague in 1975 after a major renovation to the Washington Trust building.

 

Brother Joe Domini left Spokane in 1970 and earned a psychology degree at the University of Washington before returning home in 1992 to help run the sandwich business. He retired in 2013 and moved to Phoenix.

 

Joe Domini said he was waiting to play tennis about six months ago in Phoenix when he overheard a woman in the group ahead of him talking about how she often visits Spokane and always goes to Domini’s.

 

“I’m standing around listening to this lady’s conversation. I said, ‘I’m part of the family.’ She was shocked,” Domini said. “She thought it was funnier than hell.”

 

He said it was a reminder of all the customers who have come through, including movie stars, former Seattle Supersonics player Jack Sikma and even the late Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who patronized Domini’s when he was in Spokane managing the Dodgers’ farm team in the early 1970s.

 

The restaurant would stay open for Hoopfest, Lilac Parades and even take orders for the University of Washington band. The biggest order topped 2,000 sandwiches, he said.

 

But Joe Domini said he’s happy for his little brother.

 

“Yeah, he needs a break,” Joe said of Tom. “I think he would have rather sold it and had someone keep it going. It’s Spokane’s loss, too.”

 

Passing the bun

Domini said the new owner has his blessing to carry the name and signature sandwiches that customers have embraced over the decades.

 

Before that can happen, however, the prospective owner needs to find a location.

 

“I don’t think it will be downtown,” Tom Domini said. “It’s just too hard to find a location that is safe enough, and it’s expensive.”

 

He’ll help the new owner get set up and work with them to learn the processes.

 

In the meantime, customers only have until Dec. 6 to order Domini’s signature sandwiches.

 

“Hopefully, people will come in to say, ‘Thank you.’ Some have been coming here for 40 or 50 years. It’s incredible,” Tom Domini said.

 

“I love my job. It’s been a great experience.”

 

 

Lewis-Clark Valley College at Linfield JV Football Sept. 8, 2024; Wildcats win, 36-0

Lewis-Clark Valley College at Linfield JV Football Sept. 8, 2024; Wildcats win, 36-0

“Loggers” of Lewis-Clark Valley College football played a game Sun. afternoon, Sept. 8, 2024, on Maxwell Field in McMinnville, Ore., on the Linfield University campus versus the Linfield “Wildcats” Junior Varsity team.

Note: All “Loggers” are full time students at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.

 

 

Pullman is ‘such a small town that everybody kind of bumps into each other’

 

Story provided more because of its description of Pullman and WSU than for the Pulllman High 2024 football preview

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Pullman is ‘such a small town that everybody kind of bumps into each other’

Trib headlines: Pullman prepares for new season with new coach; Kevin Agnew, the Hounds’ baseball coach, takes football reins

By Sam Taylor, Lewiston Tribune Sports, Sept 5, 2024

Following six days of two-a-days, the Pullman Greyhounds drove up College Hill and watched the other Pullman-based football team play.

The Greyhounds were treated to a 70-30 Washington State Cougar win over Portland State.

They also got to tour the Cougar Football Complex, a place where some of the Hounds had been before.

“We walk through the coaches’ offices, and a young lady that I have in class is sitting there in her dad’s office,” Pullman coach Kevin Agnew said. “She knows all the kids, so it’s kind of funny. And then the other two boys ... they’re like, ‘Well, can we go sit in our dad’s office now?’”

That is the quirk of a high school in a town of about 34,000 where the majority of the population is connected to an R1 research institution with a Division-I college athletics program.

“It’s such a small town that everybody kind of bumps into each other,” Agnew said.

The Hounds appreciated the opportunity to see the Cougs after a tough week of preseason prep.

“They were blown away by the size of the players on the field when we got to be at pregame,” he said.

Agnew, who has also coached Pullman baseball for the past five years, enters his first season as the Greyhounds’ football coach. He served as the Hounds’ defensive coordinator for the past three seasons and as an assistant coach the year before that to former coach David Cofer.

The first-year football head coach graduated from WSU, where he met his wife. The two lived in Seattle before striking on an opportunity to move back to Pullman. Agnew’s wife, Kate, teaches physical education at Pullman High School and Agnew taught at Lincoln Middle School before starting a new job as Pullman’s career choices and leadership teacher.

His path to coaching follows his father’s, who also coached baseball and football at Woodinville High School in Washington. His father coached baseball for 28 years and coached football for 12 of those, Agnew said.

“This has always been a kind of a calling to me,” Agnew said. “I enjoy it, you know. I just love the competitiveness of it. I think the thing that drew me to football was just, you know, this is one of the last kind of areas in public schools where we can really take a young man and change his life for the better.”

Agnew replaces Cofer, who is now Colfax’s coach.

The Hounds had a couple of kids who got hurt over the summer or otherwise did not return. They have a core group of upperclassmen, such as Ryan Anderson, who played before, but mostly on the defensive side of the ball.

Leading the Hounds is sophomore quarterback Connor Stewart, who made a handful of starts at the end of last season. Stewart possesses a good arm, solid decision making and the ability to spread the ball out to different levels of the offense.

“(Stewart) wants to be a good player,” Agnew said. “He works at it. He’s a football guy first, and wants to be a good quarterback, and takes a lot of pride in that.”

Protecting Stewart and rushing opposing quarterbacks are a pair of linemen poised for success.

Sam Sears and Ahmad Alssalem return to Pullman with a chance at imposing their will as two of the biggest and strongest Hounds around.

“They’re kind of big boys on campus, and they kind of push guys around in practice and stuff and in our drills,” Agnew said. “So just that tone, that intensity, aggressiveness up front, I think, is what we’re looking for from those guys.”

Returning to the starting center role and playing some defensive line for the Hounds is Lucas Clark.

The Greyhounds compete in a tough Greater Spokane League, playing some of the finest teams in eastern Washington along with local rivals Moscow and Clarkston.

Moscow has outscored its first two opponents 97-0. Clarkston is the reigning 2A GSL regular season champion.

“Every week presents a challenge in year one, trying to create your own culture and build on the positives from the past,” Agnew said. “Pullman football has got a proud tradition. It’s been a good football program for a long time, and we’re trying to kind of just build off of that and leave our own legacy during the time that we’re here.”

In Year 1 of his tenure, Agnew wants his team to be accountable, consistently intense and relentless.

Off the gridiron, he wants the Greyhounds to have an indelible reputation.

“We want our community to say, ‘There’s a Pullman football player right there. I can trust that kid. I know he’s going to show up, he’s going to be on time, he’s going to work hard, he’s going to be honest, he’s going to be respectful,’” Agnew said. “I want people to look at that and just be proud of the work these kids are putting in and the effort that they’re putting in.”

3 things to watch

• Kevin Agnew is Pullman’s new coach. The Hounds’ baseball coach of five years takes on the role of head football coach after serving as the team’s defensive coordinator for three years. How will Pullman look in Year 1 of the Agnew era?
• Pullman returns two talented linemen — Sam Sears and Ahmad Alssalem who figure to anchor the Hounds’ offense and provide a boost to Pullman’s defensive efforts. How many winning moments will the pair create?
• Pullman’s quarterback, Connor Stewart, got a handful of starts under his belt at the end of last season. How good can the Hounds be with Stewart under center full-time?

PULLMAN

COACH — Kevin Agnew (First year)

LAST YEAR’S RECORD — 5-5 overall, 3-3 2A Greater Spokane League

RETURNING LETTERWINNERS — Brady Coulter, sr., RB/LB; Evan Anderson, sr., WR/FS; Connor Stewart, so., QB; Ahmad Alssalem, sr., DT; Lucas Clark, sr., C/DL; Sam Sears, sr., NG; Will Focht, sr.; Hunter Recknagle, jr., LB; Caleb Ratfliff, sr., DB.

SCHEDULE

9/5 — vs. Lakeside, 7 p.m.
9/13 — at Moscow, 7 p.m.
9/20 — vs. Deer Park, 7 p.m.
9/27 — at West Valley, 7 p.m.
10/4 — vs. East Valley 7 p.m.
10/11 — at Rogers 8 p.m.
10/17 — at North Central 5 p.m.
10/25 — vs. Clarkston 7 p.m.