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.
Some things that stick out to us this week include:
- Spokane City Council will discuss a four month contract extension — with new guardrails — with the Salvation Army to continue as operators of the Trent Shelter.
- The county commission may vote to allow small meat processing and packing plants in agriculture zones.
- Findings from two rider surveys will be shared at the Spokane Transit Authority board meeting, which will help inform changes to our transit system.
Important meetings this week:
- Urban Experience Committee (Spokane City Council)
- Board of County Commissioners - Briefing Session and Legislative Session
- Spokane Valley City Council
- Central Valley School District Board of Directors
- Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors
- Spokane City Council Study Session
- Housing Action Subcommittee
Interfaith Vigil for Palestine
This Wednesday at 5:30 pm, Jewish Voice for Peace Spokane and Muslims for Community Action are holding an interfaith vigil for Palestine. The vigil takes place on the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, which was the initial mass displacement of Palestinian people in 1948, and the organizers intend to mourn both the Nakba of 1948 and the Palestinians who have been killed and displaced since October 7, 2023 during Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza. The event will feature prayers and practices from Muslim and Jewish faith traditions, but people of all faith backgrounds are invited to attend the vigil in solidarity.
Wednesday, May 15 at 5:30 pm
Rotary Fountain, Riverfront Park
507 N Howard St
Spokane City Council
0/5 peppers
This meeting is canceled, so for all of you looking forward to tonight’s live tweet, you’ll have to keep waiting and enjoy an evening off, like the council members and your local city hall journalists. 0/5 spice, for obvious reasons. Note - City council will still be holding their briefing session at 3 pm, where they will discuss contracts, upcoming consent agenda items and next week’s agenda. These briefing sessions are always open to the public, but there are not usually public comment opportunities.
Agenda here
Monday, May 13 at 6 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
Agenda here when available.
Thursday, May 16 at 11 am
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Urban Experience Committee (Spokane city)
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Footloose and fancy free
An ordinance submitted by Mayor Lisa Brown’s administration could streamline outdated city regulations. Some of the language feels very Footloose, with one of the proposed changes to the code striking out a line that currently requires all entertainment venues with a dance floor to “maintain illumination at a minimum level of three foot-candles at a plane three feet above the dance floor,” (it is unclear if the ordinance means literal candles). The ordinance would also change some language about the allowed size of dance floors, which currently require at least 150 square feet of space for anywhere dancing is permitted.
In reviewing the current city code and the ordinance with proposed changes, we also learned that Spokane currently does not allow “any dancing activity between the hours of 2 am and 6 am” at licensed entertainment venues, unless they receive special permission. Code also doesn’t currently allow entertainment venues to hire employees that dance with customers on “a commission or tip basis.” But if the city council decides to move forward with this ordinance, that too would be struck from the record, which means Spokane bars could soon see go-go dancers.
Emergency shelter recommendations
One of Brown’s first moves in office was to have her team conduct an audit of the city’s emergency services. There was a focus on the homelessness services intended to address emergent needs, like when the temperature reaches dangerous highs or lows, triggering a need to create additional beds in the system. There’s very little information in the agenda, but Sara Clements-Sampson from the Community Housing and Human Services will be presenting recommendations for the emergency shelter system that address findings from the audit.
Two more years of Lime
The city’s contract with Neutron Holdings, Inc. the owners of the infamous Lime scooters, ended last year. Though the contract brought in $186,000 of revenue for the city in 2023 alone, it wasn’t clear if the city would continue the program, but scooter enthusiasts can get ready to rejoice, as the Urban Experience Committee is discussing a two-year contract renewal to keep Lime scooters (and bikes) in Spokane. The scooters — which have been a topic of frequent controversy as they have caused safety hazards and ended up in the river with no clear plan on how to get them out or even whose job it was to remove them — could continue in Spokane through 2026 if this contract moves out of committee.
Trent Shelter contract extension
The Salvation Army could continue as operators of the Trent Shelter through September 30, under a new contract that will be discussed by the council at today’s committee meeting. The four-month contract extension maintains the city’s right to terminate at any time, which council fought for last winter.
The contract is also a move towards more cost-effectiveness, with a shift from paying the Salvation Army to maintain a total number of beds to paying a bed rate of $80 per guest per day. This sets a monthly budget cap of $620,000 for a total contract amount of $2.48 million and requires the Salvation Army to submit monthly invoices with supporting documentation, as all expenses paid will now be based on actual expenses.
These new guard rails could address persistent concerns from council members that the past operations contracts for the Trent Shelter have included no true limits and allowed the operator to frequently go over budget.
Agenda here
Monday, May 13 at 1:15 p.m.
Council Briefing Center in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Central Valley School District Board of Directors
🌶️/5 peppers
Agenda here
Monday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Learning and Teaching Center (district office)
Board Room at 2218 N Molter Rd, Liberty Lake
Watch via Zoom here.
Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing Session
🌶️/5 peppers
County implementing new metrics for affordable housing
Responding to new state requirements implemented as updates to the Growth Management Act (GMA), the county will begin to allocate housing, including affordable housing, based on a household’s income in relation to the area median income (AMI). That metric is defined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development as the “midpoint of a specific area’s income distribution,” set by a four-person household. In the city of Spokane, AMI is $62,300 a year.
Using methodologies created by the Washington Department of Commerce, “BoCC will assign percentages of housing in groups consisting of 0-30% AMI, 30-50% AMI, 50-80% AMI, 80-120% AMI, and >120% AMI to all jurisdictions in Spokane County,” according to the agenda sheet for discussion at Tuesday’s briefing session. It’s unclear in the agenda items how this is different from current practices, but the actions are designed to comply with changes to the GMA.
Agenda here
Tuesday, May 14 at 9 am
Public Works Building Lower Level, Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99260
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Board of Spokane County Commissioners Legislative Session
🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Small-scale meat processing in Spokane County?
Discussions about allowing a small meat processing and packing facility in Spokane County are coming before the BoCC, after the county Planning Commission recommended changing zoning requirements to allow them. The BOCC may vote Tuesday to change zoning requirements in areas of the county currently zoned for agriculture, logging and rural activity centers. The zoning changes were requested by “a constituent,” according to the agenda sheet, which doesn’t specify a particular location. Any facility would be subject to a long list of US Department of Agriculture and other requirements, including:
- Be located outside of a 100-year floodplain or more than 300 feet away from “the ordinary high-water mark” of water bodies
- Be at least half a mile from any city
- Be designed to prevent waste from entering water bodies.
- Not be attached to a feedlot
Agenda here
Tuesday, May 14 at 2 pm
Public Works Building Lower Level, Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99260
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Valley City Council
🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
The Spokane Valley City Council may vote to apply for about $6.6 million in funds from the Washington Department of Transportation to upgrade several school crossings, including at University High, Chester Elementary and Horizon Middle School. The money would also be allocated to improvements to sidewalks near Central Valley High and Greenacres Elementary schools, as well as pedestrian crossings for several large roads across the city.
Agenda here
Tuesday, May 14 at 6 pm
City Hall
10210 E Sprague Ave
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206
Virtual attendance here.
Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors
🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
The Spokane Transit Authority (STA) board has been one of the most politically interesting boards in the region lately, with texting scandals, representation debates and an interesting approach to passionate public commenters. Though this specific meeting doesn’t seem like it will be particularly spicy, we always recommend tuning in (even though they can be really long) not just for potential drama, but also for detailed presentations and information on the region’s transportation infrastructure and future goals.
Survey results
This week, the STA board will learn the results of two rider surveys — the 2023 Fixed Route Rider Survey and the Community Access Pass Program Survey. These data presentations should give information that will allow STA to make more effective policy decisions and empower all transit advocates to make more informed asks of their leaders. We love data, and we’re looking forward to learning what STA’s riders think.
Executive session
Though executive sessions do not allow public or media attendance, we thought it was worth noting that the STA board will be holding an executive session at the end of their board meeting for the purposes of discussing land acquisition, discussing a public employee’s performance and discussing potential litigation.
Agenda here
Thursday, May 16 at 1:30 pm
STA Boardroom
1230 W Boone Avenue, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Housing Action Subcommittee
?/5 peppers
Agenda here
Thursday, May 16 at 9:30 a.m.
Tribal Conference Room – City Hall Lobby
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
Watch via Zoom here.
