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:
- The BOCC will review a resolution that would establish a zoning schedule for data centers in the county, one of the most controversial conversations at the county level this year. It will also formally consider a moratorium on data centers.
- The Spokane City Council, back from vacation, is looking to move quickly on wildfire relief, including approving the Mayor’s emergency declaration and taking next steps on ordinances to accept state grant funding, reduce demolition fees and pay contracts that gave wildfire survivors free meals while they sheltered at the convention center.
- At the Urban Experience Committee, the Spokane City Council members will discuss contracts for $500,000 worth of culturally responsive treatment services for folks dealing with opioid addiction, and a separate ordinance that could breathe new life into vacant commercial spaces.
- The Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees will discuss their 2027 budget, amid uncertainties related to the current projected gap, which board members warn could lead to drastic service cuts.
Spokane City Council Agenda Review
Up for a vote in two weeks:
- An ordinance to extend the interim zoning ordinance that temporarily removed height limits on new buildings downtown
- An ordinance to allow existing funds to be used to expand access to cooling, heating, and weatherization services to individuals who meet the criteria established by the HEART Fund
- An ordinance that would get rid of a city requirement for charitable organizations to get a free “charitable solicitation” license. Because this duplicates state requirements, Spokane could cut this requirement at the city level.
Up for a vote next week:
- an emergency contract with Blessings and Beyond for providing three meals a day for up to 450 residents sheltering at the convention center after the Spokane Complex Fire. The time outlined in the contract has already passed, as service was from August 3 through August 10. The contract was not to exceed $90,562.50 — a daily rate of up to $12,937.50 — and council will be updated soon on the actual costs
- an emergency ordinance to reduce the demolition fees for structures damaged by the Spokane Complex Fire to just $28.50, with no processing or technology fees added
- a contract with the Washington State Department of Commerce, who will be granting Spokane households rapid financial support through the Wildfire Housing Assistance Fund
AND: a bunch of contracts for legal fees to fight ongoing lawsuits, including:
- an additional $100,000 to fight a lawsuit from the ACLU-WA and Jewels Helping Hands alleging the city violates the constitutional rights of unhoused people, bringing the total costs to $250,000
- an additional $25,000 to fight a lawsuit from the former owner of the Wall Street Apartments, who alleges the city violated his rights by issuing a do not occupy order related to poor conditions. This would bring the total costs to $75,000.
- an additional $100,000 to fight a federal lawsuit from the estate of Kerry Jones-Hilburg, who was shot and killed by the Spokane Police Department inside of a local Walmart in 2023. This would bring the total costs to $150,000
If you want to provide public comment on any of these items, you can do so at the city council meeting on Wednesday!
Agenda here when available.
Tuesday, August 18 at 11 am
Council Chambers
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
Spokane City Council
🌶️🌶️🌶️🫑/5 peppers
Like this reporter, the Spokane City Council has been on a planned vacation for the last two weeks — though many of them were working, individually, throughout the Spokane wildfires — which means there has been no council meetings. Tonight, the biggest item on the agenda for their first meeting back is to approve Mayor Lisa Brown’s emergency declarations from the first week of August.
The declarations of emergency allow the mayor’s office to move quickly on contracts to address the needs of wildfire survivors, without needing to go through the usual, more lengthy council approval process. If council approves the mayor’s declarations tonight, Brown’s office will be able to sign contracts and procure resources quickly through October 1, 2026, when the state of emergency would expire. Any contracts signed during the emergency could not obligate the city to spend money beyond October 1, unless approved through the normal council process.
Brown is also required to give regular reporting to the council on projected expenses and recovering the costs from the state or federal grants. She is scheduled to present to council during the August 18 Agenda Review meeting, the September 22 Finance and Administration committee and the October 13 PIES committee.
Council Member Michael Cathcart submitted an amendment to the resolution that would require even more communication from the mayor’s office, obligating the administration to notify the council in advance of “its intent to enter into emergency-related contracts of $50,000 or more.”
Other items likely up for a vote include:
- Reappointing Brian Falteisek and youth member Santiago Cruz to the Bicycle Advisory Board through August 2028
- Approving the Spokane Airport’s request to purchase two properties near the airport
- Passing the $34,425 contract to reserve three shelter beds per night at the House of Charity for folks contacted by the police or the fire department — at a rate of $75 per bed, per night
Agenda here
Wednesday, August 19 at 6 pm
Council Chambers
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Urban Experience Committee (Spokane city)
🌶️🌶️🌶️🫑/5 peppers
Update on the Spokane Complex Fires
Mayor Lisa Brown will be providing a 20 minute overview on the city’s response to the Spokane Complex Fires. No other information is included in the agenda, so you’ll have to tune in and find out for yourself what the city has been doing to address emergent needs after the crisis.
Wildfire Housing Assistance
The Washington State Department of Commerce will be granting the city money through its Wildfire Housing Assistance Fund to help households impacted by the wildfires. The purpose of the funding is to “provide rapid support to households that have been temporarily or permanently displaced from their residence due to wildfires and need assistance with housing-related expenses.” At the committee meeting, the city will discuss the grant.
Culturally responsive services
The city of Spokane identified a lack of culturally responsive treatment services — i.e. services specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of marginalized communities — as a gap in the response to the opioid crisis. To address the gap, the city is contracting with four organizations to provide culturally responsive services: Center for Growth and Empowerment through Compassionate Addiction Treatment, The Native Project, Nuestras Raices and Washington State University and Spokane Tribal Network. The total cost of these services is under $500,000, which was already approved in the 2026 budget.
Commercial activation
The mayor’s administration will brief the council on an ordinance that would create a process for vacant and underutilized commercial spaces to be temporarily activated. That means spaces like, say, the former Rite Aid downtown, could be more easily transformed for temporary commercial events like, say, the Punk Rock Flea Market.
Agenda here
Tuesday, August 18 at 1 pm
Council Briefing Center
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees
🌶️🌶️🫑/5 peppers
Budget discussions
The library budget and projected shortfall, has been an ongoing cause for strife as library staff warn of service cuts and hour reduction. At this week’s Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees meeting, the board will discuss a 2027 preliminary budget. The agenda also includes minutes from a previous meeting, where they discussed the ramifications of the gap, if the city doesn’t approve more funding for them in the 2027 budget.
With a gap of $400,000 to $500,000, potential service cuts would include:
- Closing all locations on Sundays
- Closing the Central Library on Mondays, which would impact the therapeutic courts that currently operate out of the library on Mondays
- Cutting 3.5 full time positions
- Reducing library outreach, advertising and collection resources.
If the budget gap is larger than that, cuts could be even more drastic, the board warned.
Agenda here
Tuesday, August 18 at 4:30 pm
South Hill Library,
3324 S. Perry St, WA, Events Room
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing Session
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Yes, data centers?
The board will discuss a new zoning schedule that would pave the way for developers to build data centers in Spokane County. The proposal is championed by conservative county commissioners Al French and Josh Kerns, who scrambled last month to put together a last-minute resolution after liberal commissioners Chris Jordan and Amber Waldref proposed to pause data center approvals for nine months. The BOCC will formally consider a moratorium resolution at the regular legislative meeting later in the day.
The discussion comes against the backdrop of backroom conversations French held over the last year with data center developers to construct a facility that would consume the same amount of electricity as most of Spokane County. Those activities were revealed when a Spokane woman published documents describing them on Facebook last month.
Last week, French fielded withering criticism from a slate of people who spoke at the regular board meeting, accusing him of being secretive about the discussions and asking him to apologize for implying data center opponents are not patriotic at public meetings. In lengthy remarks after the public comment session, French defended himself, saying his calendar is public record and that he never said data center opponents are not patriotic.
You can see his defense of his activities here and read his comments about opponents here.
Agenda here
Tuesday, August 17 at 9 am
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Board of Spokane County Commissioners Legislative Session
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
No, data centers?
Last month, liberal Spokane County commissioners Amber Waldref and Chris Jordan — following the steps of other governments including the city of Spokane and Kootenai County — proposed the BOCC pause any approvals of new data centers in the county for six months. The commissioners will formally consider that proposal this week, but it’s likely doomed: their three fellow commissioners Mary Brooks, Al French and Josh Kerns, all conservatives, vowed to oppose such a moratorium at the body’s agenda review on July 21.
Brooks said she wanted to move quicker than the original nine months the proposed moratorium would be in place. Kerns said, “We shouldn't be moving at the speed of government. We need to move at the speed of business.” And French suggested opponents of data centers are not patriotic. (See above for how that was received).
Meanwhile, the commission has been getting in earful from constituent opponents in public comments and in emails. They say the moratorium should be at least a year, like the city of Spokane. Some even say large data centers should not be allowed in the county at all.
Data center developers have been courting French for more than a year, and since those discussions were revealed late last month, he has vociferously defended his actions and data centers as facilities that drive economic growth.
You can read more about the saga here.
Agenda here
Tuesday, August 17 at 2 pm
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Airport Board
🫑/5 peppers
Agenda here.
Thursday, August 20 at 9 am
9211 W. McFarlane Road, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Central Valley School District Board of Directors
?/5 peppers
The agenda for Thursday’s meeting had not been uploaded as of Monday morning.
Agenda here
Thursday, August 20 at 6 pm
Board Room at 2218 N Molter Rd
Liberty Lake
Watch via Zoom here.
East Valley School District Board of Directors
🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
What about the budget?
The board of directors is expected to open the meeting with a budget hearing. No details were shared on the agenda about what elements of the budget will be discussed.
Later in the meeting, the board is slated to take a vote to adopt the 2026-2027 budget, which totals about $84.5 million, as well as the district’s “four-year plan budget summary.” Details of the upcoming school year’s budget can be seen here.
‘Obsolete’ books for elementary students
The consent agenda includes a list of books deemed “obsolete” as instructional materials for the East Farms Elementary School. According to the agenda, the board will take a vote on whether to approve the following books as “surplus”:
- Second Steps (grade 5) Violence Prevention Curriculum Kit
- Talking About Touching (age 4-6) Curriculum Kit
- Character is Cool Curriculum Bag
- Youth for Human Rights Curriculum Kit
- Bully Proofing Curriculum Kit
- KNOW HIV/AIDS Curriculum
- Botvin Life Skills Training Level One
- Botvin Life Skills Training Level Two
- Self Esteem in the Classroom
School officials did not give the public a reason through the agenda for why the books would be on a surplus list and deemed “obsolete.”
Leave-sharing policy
The board is expected to take a vote on making updates to the district’s leave-sharing policy, which extends leave benefits. One of the changes is to include employees who have suffered a hate crime under the list of eligible employees under this policy.
The updated policy would also cover absent employees if they, a relative or household member are involved in an immigration enforcement action. The policy does not define what that involvement would be.
A copy of the current policy can be seen here. The updated policy is attached to the agenda.
Agenda here
Tuesday, August 18 at 6 pm
3830 N Sullivan Rd, Bldg 1
Spokane Valley.
Spokane Valley City Council
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Revised legislative agenda
The City Council will formally adopt small changes to Spokane Valley’s legislative agenda, the series of requests it’ll make of the state legislature in 2027. One conspicuous item is a request that Washington “mitigate cities’ sales tax losses as a result of passing” the new 9.9% state tax on income that exceeds $1 million per year. The agenda item does not describe why that tax would impact local sales taxes.
Agenda here
Tuesday, August 18 at 6 pm
10210 E Sprague Ave, Spokane Valley
Virtual attendance here.
Liberty Lake City Council
🫑/5 peppers
Agenda here
Tuesday, August 18 at 6 pm
22710 E Country Vista Drive, Liberty Lake
The meeting is also live streamed here.
