Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about.
Ballots are out and election season is in its final lap! Some things that stick out to us this week include:
- Plugging TRAC’s budget black hole with American Rescue Plan funds will be discussed at a council briefing session
- A possible ballot resolution for park improvements in February
- New code enforcement standards for junk vehicles in Spokane Valley
- MAKE SURE YOU VOTE!
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council Briefing Session (regular meeting is canceled)
- Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee (Spokane city)
- Spokane City Council Study Session
- Spokane Valley City Council
- Spokane Housing Authority Board
- Central Valley School District Board of Directors
- Board of County Commissioners
- Parking Advisory Committee
- Plan Commission
- Spokane Regional Health District Board
Monthly Tenant Union Meeting
The Spokane Tenant Union’s October meeting will be held at the Central Public Library this week. They will have voter registration resources, as well as education on candidate positions and ballot measures that will impact renters. They will also look at broader state policies, share information on tenant protections passed in other Washington cities and discuss upcoming 2024 State Legislation to protect tenants from rent hikes.
Wednesday, October 25 at 5:30 pm
Central Public Library
906 W Main Ave, Spokane, WA 99201
Virtual attendance here.
Ballots, baby, ballots
Ballots have all been mailed out, so if yours hasn’t made an appearance in your mailbox yet, it might be time to check in with the Spokane County Elections Office. The election date is November 7, which is also the cut-off point for voter registrations. You can register and vote in-person until 8 pm on November 7 at the office, address below.
Spokane County Elections Office
1033 W Gardner Ave, Spokane, WA 99260
Covenant Homeownership Act survey
Washington State recently passed the Covenant Homeownership Act, which is aimed at addressing past and ongoing racial housing discrimination — researchers from the University of Washington found more than 40,000 examples within the state of racist neighborhood covenants that excluded people of color — and the role of government institutions in that discrimination. Part of that legislation is a study aimed at documenting and addressing these discrimination issues. Three fair housing organizations have created a survey to support this study. You can share your story of housing or rental discrimination through the survey here, and learn more about the legislation, story gathering process and upcoming virtual statewide town halls here.
Spokane City Council
The regular 6 pm Legislative Session of City Council was canceled due to a lack of legislative agenda items. However, the one big item from the agenda will now be considered in an abbreviated Legislative Session immediately following the 3:30 pm Council Briefing Session. While the Council Briefing Session does not take public comment, this abbreviated Legislative Session will, so interested community members can plan to share their perspectives on the following item.
Briefing Session: The budget black hole that is TRAC
We are fast approaching winter, and the Trent Resource and Assistance Center (TRAC) is lacking a permanent/ongoing source of funding for 2024 — among other issues. At today’s Briefing Session, council will discuss taking $6 million dollars of American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds that were unallocated or had previously been allocated to different programs and funneling them into TRAC to bridge the funding deficit. The long term future of TRAC is uncertain — mayoral and city council candidates have shared differing opinions on whether it should be shuttered or altered, as some see it as a persistent and inefficient siphon of city budget.
Some of the programs that are seeing their previously allocated funding redirected towards TRAC are the Mobile Medical and Eviction Defense programs, both of which the City deemed failed searches after posting RFPs. The agenda item also says that the funding was allocated for unspecified administrative and legal support that the city says it no longer needs, a community engagement coordinator position that was absorbed by current council staff, and $4 million from the affordable housing project Liberty Park Terrace II, which will now be funded by HB 1590 dollars.
The original council agenda notes that because of the high level of need, “an urgency and emergency exists for the passage of this ordinance,” meaning that if it’s passed, it will take effect immediately, guaranteeing the future of the shelter for as long as $6 million dollars will buy (not that long.)
Agenda here when available.
Monday, October 23 at 3:30 pm
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane City Council Study Sessions
The agenda was not available to read yet, but per last week’s study session, the Spokane Regional Homeless Authority will be discussed.
Agenda here (when available)
Thursday, October 26 at 11 am
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee
Keeping the Waste-To-Energy facility going
The committee has lots of funding for maintenance of the Waste-to-Energy facility on their agenda this week. They’ll be voting on contract and value blanket renewals for repairs on mechanical elements like pneumatic cylinders, cranes, and grapples; purchasing hydrochloric acid; leasing semi-trucks; and more for the facility.
Park improvement ballot resolution incoming
The city council will discuss a possible ballot resolution to fund a $225 million citywide neighborhood park investment for the February 2024 election. The Parks Board in October voted to adopt the citywide plan and request the council to put it on the ballot.
The city developed a ‘neighborhood park improvement program’ from community outreach done between February 2021 and June 2022 and it recommends capital projects and operational enhancements designed to improve current parks and add parks in neighborhoods that don’t have walkable park access. The vote would be for or against a single-year levy lid lift to fund the improvements over 20 years, which equals about $225 million. The “Healthy Parks, Healthy Neighborhoods” improvement program would increase the regular property tax levy of $0.29 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in 2025.
According to the resolution, annual city funding for parks and recreation has declined from 2.63% of all city expenses in 2000 to 2.32% in 2021 and there has been no substantial citywide investment in the City’s neighborhood parks since 1999.
Agenda here
Monday, October 23 at 1:15 pm
Council Chambers in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Valley City Council
One man’s junk…
Is another man’s code violation? There will be a first reading of an ordinance outlining the Valley Code Enforcement’s standards for junk vehicles. Following an administrative report on junk vehicles in the city, council formed a consensus to amend the original junk vehicle code. Currently, a maximum of two junk vehicles can be visible on a property. If the new ordinance eventually passes, that will be reduced to one. Other changes to previous code includes minor grammar edits and makes language granting exceptions to licensed repair and dismantling businesses clearer. With Spokane Valley’s big legislative push for a Tourism Promotion Area and new branding, one has to wonder if this is yet another step in beautification and tourism efforts. There will be an opportunity for public comment on this ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting.
Regional homelessness plan to be adopted by Spokane Valley?
Spokane Valley could follow suit and adopt the region’s 5-Year Continuum of Care Plan through 2024. The plan was created to identify those experiencing homelessness, prioritize housing for those with the highest need, operate an effective and efficient response system that quickly moves people into stable, permanent housing, collect impact data and address racial disparities amongst those experiencing homelessness. The agenda states that while the region’s plan may not reflect all of Spokane Valley’s priorities and goals, it would be a starting point and give them time to develop their own city plan for the five-year cycle of 2025-2029.
Note: this is not the Spokane Regional Homeless Authority, but a copied 5-year plan that meets federal requirements to get Housing and Urban Development grants.
Agenda here
Tuesday, October 24 at 6 pm
CenterPlace Great Room
2426 N Discovery Place, Spokane Valley, WA 99216
Virtual attendance here.
Board of County Commissioners
School zones, big trucks and helicopters, oh my
There’ll be public hearings galore at the Board’s November 7 meeting. It’s your chance to speak out about any of three public hearing topics: changes to certain school zones, weight restrictions on Lincoln Road and a proposal for the Sheriff’s department to sell its helicopter.
As for school zones, commissioners are considering creating a new 20 mile per hour school zone on Farwell Road, extending a school zone down Freya street, and changing the signs on Wellesley Avenue and 63rd Avenue to ones that read “20 mph when flashing.”
After repaving a section of Lincoln Road in North Spokane last year, commissioners want to lift the restriction on trucks over 16,000 pounds on that stretch of road.
The final public hearing on November 7 is for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department to auction off its Bell Helicopter in order to purchase a new helicopter.
Agenda here
Tuesday, October 24 at 2 pm
Public Works Building
1026 W Broadway Ave. Spokane, WA 99205
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Plan Commission
Notice of Plan Commission Public Hearing
On Wednesday at 4 pm, after the regularly scheduled Plan Commission meeting, there will be a public hearing to discuss changes to the City’s General Facilities Charges (GFC). A GFC is a one-time fee paid by property owners to connect their property to the city’s utility system. Because the link they give for more information has approximately one million links and documents associated with it, it's very difficult to tell what the proposed amendments to the charges are, but public comment will be taken in person and digitally.
Agenda here
Wednesday, October 25 at 2 pm
Council Briefing Center
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
Attend virtually here
Spokane Regional Health District Board
Growing and changing the board
The Spokane Regional Health District Board of Health is considering a resolution to restructure itself. The resolution includes making all five county commissioners members of the board, removing the city/town elected representative board seat, and adding an additional appointed board member and a tribal member to the board. These requested changes and additions are an update to the board structure laid out in a 2021 resolution made by the Board of County Commissioners. The 2021 resolution only accounted for three county commissioners, but since there are now five commissioners, SRHD wants all of them on the board. Other elements were part of the 2021 resolution, but were never implemented. That resolution called for a board member representing tribes, but no one ever filled that seat. With the new resolution, the Board of Health will make another formal written request to a tribal body to send a representative to fill that seat.
Agenda here
Thursday, October 26 at 12:30 p.m.
Auditorium, First Floor
Spokane Regional Health District
1101 West College Avenue
Central Valley School District Board of Directors
Agenda here
Monday, October 23 at 6:30 p.m.
Learning and Teaching Center (district office)
Board Room at 2218 N Molter Rd, Liberty Lake
Watch via Zoom here.
Spokane Housing Authority Board
Agenda here
Monday, October 23 at 3:30 pm
Meeting Room 25 W. Nora Ave, Spokane, WA 99205
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Parking Advisory Committee
Agenda here (once posted)
Tuesday, October 24 at 2:30 p.m.
City Hall Lobby, Tribal Council Room
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd
