Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can keep track of and fight for the issues you care about.
Here are highlights of what’s coming up:
- Having issues with your landlord? Wondering if your new lease or rent raise is legal? Check out the Tenants Union of Washington’s free Know Your Rights training today.
- The Spokane City Council has a number of first reads on important legislation scheduled for tonight, including homelessness ordinances and a ban on cryptocurrency kiosks across the city.
- The Public Safety & Community Health Committee will discuss the creation of an advisory subcommittee with subject matter experts to decide on how to spend opioid settlement dollars in the region.
- The sheriff wants to waive the competitive bidding process for buying new vehicles because the Ford Motor Company moved up a deadline for purchasing.
- Contracts to manage the sheriff’s body-worn camera program are starting to go out for the Sheriff’s Office, the first of which is a training contract for about $250,000 to CRA Consulting
- The Spokane Valley City Council may settle an open records lawsuit with freshman City Council Member Al Merkel, ending a months-long conflict … or they may drag it out more.
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council
- Public Safety & Community Health Committee
- Spokane Valley City Council
- Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing & Legislative Session
- Liberty Lake City Council
Know Your Rights
Join the Tenants Union of Washington State for a free, virtual Know Your Rights workshop today at 6 pm. You can learn about the protections afforded to you as a renter by both Spokane-specific ordinances and new state rent stabilization laws. You can also get your specific questions on your tenant rights answered at the workshop by one of the Tenants Union’s counselors. Register for the workshop here.
Spokane City Council
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Special spending
There is a slate of special budget ordinances to change budgeted spending for police and fire, including replacing Spokane Police Department’s armored vehicle and increasing a Community Assistance Response Team (CARES) position in the fire department from part time to full time.
Sexual assault settlement
The council is set to approve a $400,000 settlement with one of the women who was sexually assaulted by Spokane Police Officer Nathan Nash, who was found guilty in 2022 of raping multiple women while on duty in 2019. Last year, the council approved a $300,000 settlement for another one of Nash’s victims.
New name for the Post Street Bridge
Also on the agenda is a vote on the new honorary name for the Post Street Bridge: the “Friends of the Falls Memorial Bridge.” The new name is supported by two former mayors and Mayor Lisa Brown, who want the name change to honor the late Senator John Moyer and his group Friends of the Falls, who were instrumental in killing a proposed Lincoln Street Bridge — which would’ve blocked the Post Street Bridge’s beautiful view of the Falls. It’s important to note this is an honorary name change, so Google Map labels and street signs are likely to stay the same.
No more crypto
Currently, there are about 20 “Bitcoin ATMs” located at grocery stores across the city. A new ordinance getting a first read this week would make those disappear, in an effort to protect consumers from cryptocurrency scams. The Spokane Police Department noticed a recent increase in scams from these kiosks, “reporting several scams daily which resulted in three suicides that have been associated with victims losing lifesavings,” according to the agenda. Across the state, victims of cryptocurrency scams, sometimes through kiosks, have lost $141,756,936 as of 2023.
Support for Indigenous community center
Individual council members can decide during the “special considerations” section of the meeting if they want to sign on to a letter expressing support for the new permanent siting of the American Indian Community Center in Highbridge Park, funded by a state grant and individual donations. The community center has had to move 11 times since its establishment and this permanent home would empower them to continue “providing a wide variety of social services including food distribution, employment and training opportunities, rental assistance, child welfare services, alcohol and drug assessments and mental health programs,” according to the letter.
Homelessness ordinances
It’s possible they get deferred during the briefing session, but right now, all of the mayor’s new homelessness ordinances are scheduled for a first read. There have been a number of amendments submitted that would need to be dealt with, and we’ll do a more detailed write-up once we know exactly what’s on the table for a final vote, but here’s the gist of what could be taking public comment tonight: banning “aggressive solicitation,” like intense panhandling citywide, establishing requirements like Good Neighbor agreements for the siting of new homelessness or behavioral health facilities and criminalizing camping and “obstruction” of public spaces (so basically, criminalizing homelessness) citywide — although the legal consequences element will be easier to avoid now as complying with orders to leave is considered a remedy.
Next week’s sneak peek:
- Next week is a District 2 Town Hall-style meeting at the MLK Jr. Community Center (500 S. Stone St., Multi-Purpose Room). There will be discussion on how the city’s 311 number works and an overview of the process for appointing a new council member to temporarily fill Council Member Lili Navarrete’s soon-to-be vacant seat until after elections. There will also be time for discussion and questions from the community, with priority given to residents of the district.
Agenda here
Monday, June 2, at 6 pm
808 W. Spokane Falls Boulevard, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Public Safety & Community Health Committee
Our favorite reports
This committee always serves as an interesting data dump for us. The council (and the press and the public!) get reports today on:
- What the Office of Police Ombuds was up to in April (reviewing three complaints, giving commendations, engaging with the community) and year-to-date.
- SPD will give an update on how many sit-and-lie citations they issued in April and May (10), how many tickets the red light cameras issued in April (1,971, which is up more than 200 from the same period last year) and how many speeding tickets the cameras issued in April (1,737, which is down by about 80 from last year)
- Overtime spending for both police and fire: Police are under budget by $473,092 and Fire are over budget $438,265.
- The outcomes from Community Court
- Police asset forfeiture
Opioid Advisory Committee
The committee will discuss a resolution from Council Member Zack Zappone to create an Opioid Advisory Subcommittee of the Public Safety and Community Health Committee, which would make policy and funding recommendations to council for the use of Opioid Settlement dollars. The subcommittee would consist of 13 Spokane residents — most of whom would be appointed by the council (the other two would be the Public Safety Chair and the City Administrator) — with experience in the fields of “Addiction Studies, Substance Use Treatment, Medicine, Overdose Response, Toxicology, and Peer Counseling and Navigation in the area of Substance Use Disorders.” At least one member would be a member of the Spokane Tribe.
Agenda here
Monday, June 2 at noon
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall
08 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed
here.
Spokane Valley City Council
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Merkel social media saga may be coming to a head
The city council is considering a settlement in the case regarding City Council Member Al Merkel’s social meda use. Last year, his fellow freshman City Council Member Jessica Yaeger accused Merkel of violating open records laws by posting information on his personal accounts about official city business. After an investigation found he’d violated the body’s Governance Manual, Merkel was censured and removed from his sole committee, the Spokane County Regional Opioid Abatement Council. But Merkel continued posting to his Nextdoor account, and the city sued him.
The settlement, which is proposed by Merkel’s lawyer, asks for the following actions, which are listed in the agenda item:
- The city dismisses its case against Merkel with prejudice – “with prejudice” generally means the city would be giving up the ability to pursue the same claims based on events that occurred before the effective date of the settlement.
- An “independent master” be appointed to review Merkel’s personal social media posts, and determine whether and which posts constitute a public record. The city and Merkel would have to agree on who would serve as the “independent master.”
- Merkel would only be legally obligated to produce those personal social media posts the “independent master” determined to be public records as defined by the Washington Public Records Act.
- The city would be responsible for 100% of the expenses charged by the “independent master.”
- The city would reimburse Merkel “for all of his attorney fees, both past attorney fees and those incurred in the future as they pertain to this dispute.”
Agenda here when available
Tuesday, June 3 at 6 pm
City Hall
10210 E Sprague Ave
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206
Virtual attendance here.
Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing Session
Agenda here
Tuesday, June 3 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
Union agreement up for approval
The BOCC is set to approve its collective bargaining agreement with the juvenile court services employee union, Local 492-J, a $989,671.29 agreement that establishes pay rates, holiday, benefits and hours for the next year for juvenile court workers in Spokane County.
Sheriff wants to waive competitive bidding for $1.1M in new vehicles
The Sheriff’s Office will ask the BOCC to waive the competitive bidding process for $1,187,233.67 for new vehicles because the Ford Motor Company moved up a deadline for vehicle ordering, creating a “special market condition” that would make it legal to do away with competitive bids. The Sheriff wants 21 Ford Police Interceptor sport utility vehicles, 19 white and two blue. Each vehicle costs $51,771.92.
New rescue tech available for sheriff’s office
The Spokane County Sheriff has an opportunity to improve its search and rescue technology for free. The BOCC will discuss approving an agreement between the office’s Regional Air Support Unit and a company called RECCO to use its “helicopter detector” — deployed from the bottom of search helicopters — and “handheld detector” — which is carried by on-the-ground search crews. The contract would allow the sheriff’s office to use the technology for two years to find people lost in remote parts of Spokane County. RECCO agreed to train sheriff staff on how to use the technology and replace the units if they break. They work by detecting passive signal-emitting devices manufactured by RECCO that can be sewn into hiking, climbing, skiing and other outdoor gear.
Body-worn camera contract among nearly $1M in federal money
The BOCC is set to award CRA Consulting, LLC $269,200 to help administer the Sheriff’s body-worn camera program. If awarded the contract, the company will do the following, according to the agenda sheet:
- Develop, implement and evaluate the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) curricula as it relates to body-worn camera analysis and de-escalation.
- Facilitate obtaining International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) National Certification for developed content.
- Provide tailored training solutions to meet SCSO’s unique operational challenges.
- Track and document participants' progress throughout the program, identifying areas for improvement and success.
- Evaluate participants' interpersonal and social interaction skills through observations, assessments and feedback sessions.
- Provide constructive feedback and personalized coaching to participants to improve de-escalation efforts.
- Supply participants with relevant resources, materials and tools to support their learning and application of developed curricula.
- Conduct evaluations of the program's effectiveness and compile reports for stakeholders on outcomes and recommendations for improvement.
- Provide relevant data for grant reporting purposes.
The contract is among more than $945,000 to three contractors to provide body camera equipment and services for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Polis Solutions, Inc. is up for $399,172 in federal funds, and the National Policing Institute for $277,148 in federal funds.
Agenda here
Tuesday, June 3 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.
Liberty Lake City Council
🫑/5 peppers
Agenda here
Tuesday, June 3 at 6 pm
22710 E Country Vista Drive, Liberty Lake, WA 99019
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Correction: The Ford Motor Company moved up a deadline for vehicle purchasing, not Wendle Ford, the Spokane dealership.
