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:
- A ruling on rules as Spokane City Council revisits the decorum debate that started the year.
- Spokane City Council committee continues conversation on overdoses with a presentation from Dr. Bob Lutz, the former regional health officer.
- The Board of County Commissioners has scheduled public hearings on potentially extensive changes to the Spokane County stormwater discharge code.
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council (and Study Session)
- Public Safety & Community Health Committee
- Board of County Commissioners - Briefing Session and Legislative Session
- Spokane Valley City Council
- Liberty Lake City Council
- Spokane School District Board of Directors
- Community, Housing, and Human Services Board
- Citizens’ Transportation Advisory Board
- Spokane Human Rights Commission
Documenters Notes
Our Documenters have been out on the town, working hard to create a new public record! We’re really excited about how that program has been progressing. You can read notes written by our Documenters on recent meetings like the Spokane Housing Authority Board and the Spokane City Council Study Session here. If you’re interested in participating, stay tuned, we’ll be announcing new training dates soon!
Spokane City Council
A ruling on rules
The first two months of the year have seen a fierce debate over Spokane City Council’s rules of procedure, a conversation that seems to have been sparked by protests at council meetings at the end of 2023. We’ve given all of this in-depth coverage, which you can read here and here, and listen to here. Since council received a letter from local attorney Natasha Hill threatening legal action on behalf of Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR) if rules forbidding standing and videography were enforced, council has continually voted to suspend those rules, following the January 29 meeting.
Tonight, the open question — what rules will the city council govern themselves by? — could finally be answered as they vote on an updated rules package. The agenda item says that council has “identified both technical and substantive concerns with those rules, and received considerable comment on the public participation elements in Section 2.2. and 2.15,” and that proposed revisions will fix those technical issues, as well as clarify the decorum rules for public participation. Three separate amendments from different council members have all been submitted alongside the full draft version of the new rules, which means that we won’t have complete clarity on what’s up for a vote at the legislative session until the 3:30 pm briefing session, where council will typically decide which amendments make it into the version up for a vote.
First, in the main draft, submitted by Council President Betsy Wilkerson and Council Member Michael Cathcart, Open Forum will be staying at the end of the meetings and visual presentations are still disallowed, which are two of the changes that saw the most community criticism. The section forbidding standing has been deleted, although lines about maintaining compliance with fire codes and the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) have been added, which prevent members of the audience from standing in the aisles or front row. A line that expressly forbids “behavior that intentionally disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes in the attendance and participation,” has also been added. Photography and filming are allowed from the media table and the general audience seating area, but is banned from the center or side aisles, which still leaves us wondering if media will get point-of-ordered for standing and taking photos from other areas of the chambers, which we have been known to do.
Other changes in the main rules packet include forbidding electioneering at the dais, in accordance with state rules, and outlining a process for council to hold “Town Hall” meetings at least once a year, in each council district, which would offer a time for council to hear from that district’s residents and neighborhood councils. If a city council meeting was deemed to be a “Town Hall” meeting, there would be a portion of time added between council and mayoral appointments and the discussion of the consent agenda. The amount of speakers who would be allowed at this new “Town Hall” section would be at Wilkerson’s discretion, with preference given to the neighborhood councils of the district where the meeting is held. Open Forum would only happen at these meetings if time permits, and would not be required after 8:30 pm. There are also a few technical changes, like converting an emergency ordinance that gets only four yes votes to a non-emergency ordinance that will appear on the following week’s agenda and clarifying no public testimony is allowed on oral amendments.
Speaking of amendments, the first was submitted by Wilkerson and Zappone, and seems to be just making some technical changes to the full version, like moving language into different sections. It also clarifies a rule to ensure that getting an item on the council agenda early doesn’t relieve the obligation for that item to go through committee. The biggest change in this amendment would be cutting the requirement for the poor city clerk to read the entirety of the consent agenda, so if this amendment passes, there will be no more 6 minute marathon readings from Teri Pfister.
The second, proposed by Jonathan Bingle, is geared towards financial transparency, requiring any proposed ordinance or amendment to an existing ordinance to include a fiscal impact statement that would outline the “likely specific fiscal impact, if any, on the city, operations of affected businesses and on members of the general public on an individual basis.”
The final amendment was submitted by Cathcart and seems geared toward transparency. It states that an amendment submitted after the deadline — which is 10 am on the Friday before the Monday meeting it will be voted at — will result in the legislative item it’s amending being deferred to the following week, if that amendment is accepted. That sounds complicated, but really, it seems to be slowing the process down by a week to give people additional time to comment on amendments that they may not have seen before.
And that’s the gist on the rules! Stay tuned to our Twitter (X?) for an update tonight on what gets passed.
Council committee re-assignments
A rules package and council committee assignments? We’re getting deja vu! Council may have settled the debate on who is going where and chairing what earlier this year, but after Lili Navarrete was appointed to fill the seat left vacant when Wilkerson moved into the council president role, council has now re-shuffled assignments to get Navarrete onto some boards. Most of Navarrete’s assignments are replacing Wilkerson on boards, including the Equity Subcommittee, the Language Access workgroup and the Housing Action Subcommittee. Navarrete will also be taking Paul Dillon’s slot on the Human Rights Commission, joining Kitty Klitzke on the Sustainability Action Subcommittee and replacing Wilkerson as vice chair of the Public Safety & Community Health Committee, which meets today.
After the reshuffle, we thought it was worth noting how the committee assignments break down by district, since the district representation debate fueled the early fight about these assignments. Wilkerson, who was elected city-wide as president and asserts she represents the whole city, held onto 15 slots, spread across city and county wide boards and committees. District three has a combined 24 slots, with Zappone holding 15 and Klitzke holding 9. District two has a combined 23 slots, with Dillon holding 15 and Navarrete holding 8. District one holds the most board and committee representation, a combined 26 spots between Cathcart’s 14 and Bingle’s 12, though they still hold no seats on the coveted Spokane Transit Authority Board.
City sidewalk settlement
Less than a month after city council settled two large claims — a personal injury because of a tree grate and a couple hit by a police officer driving very fast — they’ll vote on whether or not to give a woman who tripped on a city sidewalk on Spokane Falls Boulevard an $100,000 settlement for her injuries. There’s never much detail in the agenda for these items, but Maryann Bouttu, the woman who was injured, alleges that her injuries were the fault of city negligence.
Finale for the family friendly ordinance?
For weeks, we’ve been writing that the Family Friendly Festivals ordinance is “likely getting deferred.” And for weeks, the ordinance has in fact been deferred. This could be the week that it finally passes. Council has heard community and interest group feedback on the language of the ordinance, and incorporated small technical changes to bring it into accordance with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB). Here’s a few of the changes:
- The phrase “beer garden” has been replaced by “alcohol service area.”
- The permit application requires certification of alcohol service training.
- The fencing requirement, which saw criticism from interest groups like Downtown Spokane Partnership, was removed and replaced with general language requiring compliance with the site requirements of the WSLCB license.
- Language requiring wristbands for entry was replaced by these two sentences: “Event organizers shall employ wristbands or other clearly visible non-transferable identification system to identify persons seeking alcohol service. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require identification as a condition of entering the special event space or the alcohol service area.”
Stay tuned to our live tweets to see if this one finally passes or if we’ll be writing about it again next week.
Agenda here
Monday, March 4 at 6 pm
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Public Safety & Community Health Committee
Overdose convo continues
A few weeks after RANGE published an article on the murkiness surrounding Spokane overdose data, Dillon, chair of the Public Safety & Community Health (PSCH) Committee is bringing in Dr. Bob Lutz, the former health officer of the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD), to give a presentation on state, regional and local drug use trends and overdoses. The presentation is slated for 20 minutes, and while there’s no attached materials in the agenda, we anticipate it being worth a listen, if you have a few minutes this afternoon. Spokane Fire Department (SFD) and Spokane Police Department (SPD) will also give monthly reports, so hopefully the council, who has continuously been requesting up-to-date data on overdoses, will get some of that information from these reports.
A brief update on overtime
We don’t have enough info for a full write-up, but we did notice an interesting little tidbit on overtime. Contrary to 2023 trends, SPD is coming in about $441,000 under budget for overtime costs, while SFD is currently $51,000 over their budgeted allocation. Maybe the council will have ideas for what to do with that extra $441,000 from SPD, like repairs on the Municipal Court Building after funds for that were diverted for new SPD vehicles?
Arrest updates
SPD will provide a slate of updates, including a continued discussion on the after-hours park ordinance and a discussion on camping enforcement, which has been a controversial topic in the news as Mayor Lisa Brown’s administration announced they are not enforcing the camping ban because of legal risk. Other updates include four sit-and-lie arrests, and a brief accountability update on the results from the traffic officers funded by diverting traffic calming funds. SPD attached a graphic in the agenda that breaks down the citations, warnings and arrests made by those officers by race:
Opioid Settlement
There’s a-10 minute presentation by Chris Wright, the council’s policy advisor, on an opioid settlement, but we couldn’t find any corresponding details in the packet, so really, it could be about anything, but it’s most likely about how Spokane will see funds from a statewide settlement against large opioid corporations recently won by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this.
Agenda here
Monday, March 4 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 City Council Study Sessions
Agenda here when available.
Thursday, March 7 at 11 am
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing Session
Agenda here
Tuesday, March 5 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
Down the drain
The BOCC has scheduled public hearings for March 19 on extensive changes to the Spokane County stormwater discharge code. In part, the board will consider requiring property owners to implement “best management practices” for stormwater discharge; increasing misdemeanor fines for failure to cease and desist illicit discharge; and creating new conditional permissions for discharges. One example of a new conditional permission: “Groundwater from springs or other natural or artificial sources, foundation drains, sump pumps, and other means of discharging groundwater to the surface when written permission is granted by the public works director/designee.”
Harvard Road reconstruction
The commissioners will vote whether to award a construction contract to Poe Asphalt to repave a 1.7-mile portion of Harvard Road between the Spokane River and the railroad tracks near Trent Avenue. Poe put in the lowest of four bids at just more than $1.1 million.
Criminal justice diversion grant
BOCC will vote whether to accept a $1.3 million grant from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. The grant is being jointly awarded to the City of Spokane and the county. According to the city’s documentation, the grant’s goal “is to direct individuals to community resources and to divert individuals out of the criminal justice systems into programs better designed to meet individuals’ needs.” The city accepted the grant February 6.
Agenda here
Tuesday, March 5 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
Drama, drama, drama
There’s not much of note on the Spokane Valley City Council agenda this week, although the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee will see two mayoral appointments (everyone who applied is getting an appointment, a change from the last appointment snafu we covered.) There is some off-the-agenda-drama that The Spokesman covered last week: freshman Council Member Al Merkel has been asked to stay away from City Hall, except during meetings, pending a harassment investigation. According to The Spokesman, Merkel does not plan on complying.
Agenda here
Tuesday, March 5 at 6 pm
City Hall 10210 E Sprague Ave
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206
Virtual attendance here.
Liberty Lake City Council
Transparency act?
This is the second early-stage discussion about how to make city information more easily accessible to the public. The first session, video here, took place January 16. No official act is drafted, and the council members are currently writing proposals for what kinds of measures to include in the law. Mark McAvoy, the city administrator, told RANGE that Council Member Chris Cargill initiated discussions about the transparency act.
Agenda here
Tuesday, March 5 at 7 pm
22710 E Country Vista Drive, Liberty Lake, WA 99019
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane School District Board of Directors
Charter renewal for Pride Prep
A few weeks ago, we did a write-up on Pride Prep’s proposal to have their charter renewed. This week, the Spokane School District Board of Directors will take a vote on it. After hearing Pride Prep’s presentation and conducting a site visit, the staff recommendation is for a 5-year charter renewal.
Agenda here
Wednesday, March 6 at 6 pm
Spokane Public Schools Administration Building
200 N. Bernard, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Community, Housing, and Human Services Board
Agenda here when available
Wednesday, March 6 at 4 pm
City Council Briefing Chambers
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
Virtual attendance link included on their agenda when available.
Citizens’ Transportation Advisory Board
Agenda here when available.
Wednesday, March 6 at 5:30 p.m.
In person at the Streets Department Conference Room or Zoom link here.
901 N Nelson Street, Spokane, WA
Spokane Human Rights Commission
Agenda here when available.
Thursday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m.
Council Briefing Center in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
