SPOKANE, Wash. — The owner of Bark, A Rescue Pub is growing more frustrated with the level of property crime his business is seeing. Josh Wade wants the Spokane City Council to step up and address the problems.
"Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be as much attention as there could be,” Wade said.
He’s had gas siphoned from his commercial van and another gas tank drilled into.
“About a month prior to that we had one of our vans stolen and then recovered the next day thanks to Spokane police," Wade said.
Wade woke up Friday morning to an e-mail from his staff reporting one of their outdoor igloos had been slashed overnight.
“I think there’s just a general sense in District 2 that there is not much of a problem as there actually is," Wade said.
Wade also owns Nectar Wine and Beer in Kendall Yards. He doesn’t regret starting businesses downtown, he just wants conditions to improve. He sent an e-mail to council members, including council president Breean Beggs who shared with KREM 2 the e-mail he sent back to Wade.
Beggs said the city council has not been quiet on the issue, highlighting the fact that council members approved funding for a new downtown precinct, added additional officers, and increased pay to attract more law enforcement.
Adding to that, Beggs said “Still we have crime, including at my home where my vehicles are regularly get broken into. This is frustrating for all of us and we have more work to do.”
Wade certainly agrees with the last sentence.
“I drive downtown daily, same route almost daily and nothing seems to improve," Wade said.
Even though he is frustrated, Wade said he still believes in downtown and is planning to invest in another business but is not quite ready to share details.