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 could finally do something with $400,000 in taxes collected for tourism promotion purposes
- An ordinance to increase renter protections will be discussed at the Urban Experience Committee
- Spokane Public Schools could get a Marshallese language and culture program
- A community conversation on opioids and overdoses is being held by Spokane City Council, while the mayor’s administration holds meetings to take input on public safety needs
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council (and Study Session)
- Urban Experience Committee
- Mead School District Board of Directors
- Central Valley School District Board of Directors
- Board of County Commissioners - Briefing Session and Legislative Session
- Spokane Valley City Council
- Liberty Lake City Council
- Spokane School District Board of Directors
- Plan Commission
- Spokane Park Board
- Spokane Regional Transportation Council
Community Conversation: Opioids and Overdoses
As part of the resolution recently passed by the Spokane City Council (which also called for better data), the council is hosting a community conversation on the opioid and overdose crisis in Spokane. The event is free, and all are welcome to join and discuss how the city can best address the crisis.
Tuesday, April 9 from 5 pm - 7 pm
nxʷyxʷyetkʷ Hall, 3rd floor
Central Public Library
Public safety meetings
Spokane city officials scheduled four meetings to seek input on the community’s public safety priorities. These events were announced by Mayor Lisa Brown’s administration as an opportunity for the residents of Spokane to weigh in as the city prepares to hire new Spokane Fire and Police department chiefs.
“Public safety decisions affect all of us, so it is crucial that we hear from people all across Spokane about what is most important to them,” said Deputy City Administrator Maggie Yates. “This input will help us ensure that policies and practices reflect the diverse needs and concerns of the people we serve.”
However, this morning, before one of these meetings could be held (one of which was scheduled at the same time as the council’s opioid and overdose community conversation), Brown sent out a press release announcing she had decided to hire interim Fire Chief Julie O’Berg as the permanent fire chief.
For those who still want to provide input on public safety priorities as the city prepares to conduct a search for a police chief, details of the two public safety meetings happening this week are listed below. People who plan to attend virtually can register online here.
Tuesday, April 9 from 5:30 pm - 7 pm
West Central Community Center
1603 N Belt St, Spokane, WA 99205
Thursday, April 11 from 6 pm - 7 pm
Northeast Community Center
4001 N Cook St, Spokane, WA 99207
re:POWER celebration
This Wednesday, Empire Health Foundation is holding a celebration of 18 local community leaders who participated in a series of national trainings by re:POWER. At the event, the local leaders will share their experiences and what they learned with the larger Spokane community and there will be discussion of how to leverage these lessons to drive change in our region. The celebration is free and comes with a catered dinner. RSVP is required to attend.
Wednesday, April 10 from 5:30 pm - 8 pm
1020 W Riverside Avenue
Spokane, WA 99201
RSVP here
Dog Park Open House
Spokane Public Schools and the Parks & Recreation department are inviting the community to attend an open house on the High Bridge Dog Park Renovation. They are in the process of finalizing a design for enhancements to the existing 9.3 acre dog park at High Bridge Park
and would like to share updates and invite the community to provide design feedback.
Thursday, April 11 at 6:15 pm
Central Library, Conference Room A
906 W Main Ave
Spokane City Council
Council Community Days
Spokane City Council is holding the first of what it’s calling “Council Community Days,” in an effort to welcome members of communities across Spokane to engage with local government. This first event celebrates the Latine community and is in partnership with Nuestras Raices, Latinos en Spokane, Mujeres in Action and Manzanita House.
The community is invited to join the council and local organizations to celebrate the birthday of Dolores Huerta, an influential labor and civil rights leader. The event is kid-friendly, and light refreshments will be provided. Folks are invited and encouraged to stay for the City Council Meeting happening afterwards.
Monday, April 8 from 5 pm - 6:30 pm
Lower level, Spokane City Council Chambers
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd
More housing, continued!
We covered this in a previous edition of CIVICS, but a list of properties applying for the Multiple Family Housing Property Tax Exemption had appeared in a previous consent agenda and been deferred. It’s back on the agenda for a vote tonight.
Housing department gets a leader
After committee discussion of Brown’s appointment of Arielle Anderson to serve as the Director of Community, Housing and Human Services (CHHS) department — a position that has been vacant for quite a while — the council will vote on whether or not to make the final appointment of Anderson to the position. The lack of full staff and leadership in the CHHS department was given as an excuse for a failed Request for Proposals for a new operator of the Trent Shelter late last year, so we’re hopeful that the staff-up will enable more efficient operations in the housing and homelessness sector.
Time for tax committee
Spokane collects lodging taxes, also known as "hotel/motel taxes," on lodging at hotels, motels, short-term rentals, bed and breakfasts (B&Bs), RV parks and other housing and lodging accommodations, for periods less than 30 days. This tax is paid by customers as a sales tax at the time of transaction, and revenue collected by the tax is supposed to be used for tourism promotion activities or tourism-related facilities. The fund currently holds about $400,000, but because Spokane’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee has been defunct for over two years, nothing has been done about that pocket of money.
Brown has been trying to revive the committee by submitting appointments to fill all the open spots — one of the goals listed by her transition team. The council approved those appointments during their first three meetings in March. Now, they’re looking to take the next step in reviving the group: updating the committee description to reflect state law, establishing grant frequency and listing grant evaluation criteria.
If this ordinance passes and the committee gets off the ground, it will review and make recommendations to the city council on any proposal to increase the rate of the lodging tax, repeal an exemption from the lodging tax, or change the use of revenue received from the lodging tax as required. It will also make program recommendations on how the revenue collected by the tax should be spent, with the council holding the power to make the final decisions on those recommendations. More information on this ordinance can be found on page 754 of the agenda for tonight’s meeting.
Agenda here
Monday, April 8 at 6 pm
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)
Parking 2 People Update
Spokane was the first city in the state to take advantage of the Washington State legislature’s 2022 passage of Senate Bill 5755 — which allowed cities to create a tax incentive to encourage redevelopment of “underdeveloped lands” with a focus on parking lots — by creating the Parking 2 People program. At today’s Urban Experience Committee, staff will share updates on the tax incentive, including a list of projects that have been approved for it. So far, a total of five projects have been approved, amounting to about 400 units of housing, 50% of which must be income restricted for the first 10 years after construction.
Rights for people experiencing homelessness
In October of 2023, the Spokane Regional Human Rights Commission sent a resolution to the council concerning the human rights and basic dignity of individuals experiencing homelessness. Nothing ever came of it in 2023, but Council Member Lili Navarrete is looking to bring that resolution back to the council, though the agenda details are a little sparse, so it’s unclear how this resolution would be implemented or when it could be up for a vote. The rights outlined in the resolution are listed below:
(1) Has the right to use and move freely in public spaces, including, but not limited to, public sidewalks, public parks, public transportation, and public buildings in the same manner as any other person, and without discrimination on the basis of their housing status. All individuals shall be subject to the same rules and regulations expected of any other person;
(2) Has the right to equal treatment by all municipal agencies, without discrimination on the basis of housing status;
(3) Has the right not to face discrimination while seeking or maintaining employment in the City of Spokane due to their lack of permanent mailing address, or their mailing address being that of a shelter or social service provider;
(4) Has the right to emergency medical and psychiatric care, free from discrimination based on their housing status;
(5) Has the right to receive documentation necessary to prove identity for voting without discrimination due to their housing status;
(6) Has the right to protection from disclosure of their records and information provided to homeless shelters and service providers to federal, state, municipal and private entities without appropriate legal authority, and the right to confidentiality of personal records and information in accordance with all limitations on disclosure established by local, state, and federal law;
(7) Has the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in their personal property to the same extent as personal property in a permanent residence.
The resolution in its entirety can be read on page 293 of the agenda.
Rent raise notification ordinance
Dillon was a big proponent of the rental stabilization legislation moving through the state legislature this year. Though that legislation ultimately died, Dillon is proposing an ordinance to establish better renter protections in Spokane, including anti-retaliation protections and a minimum of 180 days notice from landlords before a rent raise. The ordinance is up for discussion at today’s UEC meeting, and could be up for a vote by the council as soon as April 29.
Agenda here
Monday, April 8 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.
Public Safety & Health Committee (Spokane city)
Reschedule committee meeting
This morning, the Public Safety Committee held their rescheduled meeting. The big item on the agenda was discussion of a resolution that would propose a regular property tax levy lid lift. This was proposed by Matt Boston, Brown’s Chief Financial Officer. For those wanting to review this meeting, it can be watched here.
Spokane City Council Study Sessions
Agenda here when available.
Thursday, April 11 at 11 am
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Mead School District Board of Directors
Local control resolution
Some of the policy decisions that happen at local school boards are complex because of how these decisions interact with the state organization convening school board directors — The Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA). A couple weeks ago, we covered a proposed policy at the Central Valley School District (CVSD) that would have proposed a position item that, if voted through at the state level, could inform WSSDA’s advocacy and statewide policy.
At CVSD, the position item — which originally attempted to require local school board approval of all curriculum — was edited before it was voted through. The Mead School Board, though, voted through the exact same policy, nearly word-for-word, with no edits.
Now, there’s some new business on their agenda in the same vein: a resolution that would request WSSDA, the statewide organization, add language to their bylaws that would require WSSDA to oppose any legislative policies that would “infringe on local control of curriculum” or “promote an unfunded mandate.”
Both the Mead School Board and CVSD School Board have been notably opposed to recent legislative moves that require queer curriculum in schools and set statewide sexual education curriculum. This resolution at the Mead School Board seems like another move to try and limit the state from setting inclusive curriculum mandates.
Agenda here
Monday, April 8 at 6 p.m.
Union Event Center
12509 N. Market St. Bldg. D, Mead, WA 99021
Watch via Zoom here.
Central Valley School District Board of Directors
Agenda here
Monday, April 8 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
Sewers STEPping toward Mt. Spokane?
The county is looking to extend regional sewers farther northwest into neighborhoods north of Mead, requiring a tunnel boring under Highway 2 and the Burlington Northern Railroad, where the two meet near Moody Road. The project is estimated to cost the city $1.3 million, including a $250,000 to $300,000 consulting contract. $250,000 will come from federal American Rescue Plan dollars and the remainder from the county’s general facilities fund.
No decision will be made at the briefing session.
The project is part of the Septic Tank Elimination Program (STEP), which “began in 1984 to protect the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer,” according to the Agenda Sheet.
Agenda here
Tuesday, April 9 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
Bring in the choppers
The BOCC will vote whether to identify Bell Helicopter, a Fort Worth, Texas-based chopper manufacturer, as the sole source of the aircraft for the county. The Sheriff’s Office is seeking nearly $3.2 million to buy a Bell Helicopter model 505, but the county first has to declare Bell the only outfit capable of providing the right kind of helicopter. That’s because pilots employed by the county only know how to operate Bell Helicopters. The U.S. Department of Justice, which is helping to fund the purchase, has already approved Bell as the sole source, according to emails in the BOCC meeting agenda.
Undersheriff David Ellis wrote in the sole source declaration form: “If sole source is not declared, our pilots and mechanics will need to attend extensive training from a new manufacturer, along with flying over a hundred hours of flight time just to be able to operate a helicopter from a different manufacturer. This would only provide a minimum baseline to operate, not develop the desired level of safety and proficiency that the agency expects.”
$12M for new office space?
The county is looking for approval from the BOCC to purchase the building at 901 N. Monroe Street, an office complex that would provide office space for county employees. The purchase price for the building is $12 million, which the county would pay in cash, according to the agenda sheet for the sale.
Bridge replacement
Razz Construction has placed a bid for nearly $3 million to replace the Little Spokane Drive Bridge near Woolard Road in North Spokane County. The bridge was originally built in 1951. The BOCC will vote whether to approve the bid.
Amendments to funding, including ARPA funds
A bevy of revisions to resolutions approved by the BOCC in the last two years are up for consideration this week. They involve millions of dollars in funding for various infrastructure projects, some funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants. One big revision that caught our eye is a $9.6 million project to expand broadband access in Spokane County.
The proposed revision states: “The reporting and completion timelines which regulate ARPA spending, do not provide sufficient opportunity to align the project with other expected State and Federal broadband grant RFP’s. Therefore, the Board desires to dedicate up to $9,636,329.00 of general fund dollars to Broadlinc for the purpose of primarily serving as matching funds in order to leverage additional state and federal broadband grant opportunities relevant to the County and use the previously allocated Revenue Replacement funds towards County campus facilities and expansion.”
The revision seeks to switch the funding stream for broadband from ARPA dollars to county general fund money and reallocate the ARPA money to other projects, identified as follows in the revisions:
- “Completing improvements or expansion of Spokane County buildings and facilities in need of necessary repair, excluding detention services, for the health and safety of constituents and employees; and/or
- Additional energy efficiency requirements for public buildings in the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA); and/or
- Purchase of new facilities to address county campus expansion needs such as consolidating services and departments to better serve constituents”
Board appointments
The BOCC will vote whether to appoint the following people to two county boards and one commission:
- Dawn Wynne to the Spokane County Historic Landmarks Commission
- Incumbent Ken Garceau to the Spokane County Board of Equalization.
- Ryan T. Smith to the Spokane County Veteran's Advisory Board
Agenda here
Tuesday, April 9 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
Looking to the future?
This week’s Spokane Valley City Council meeting is going to look a little different and start a little earlier — at 5 pm to be exact). While it’s still open to the public, the meeting will be focused on getting a council that has spent much of the first four months of the year bickering back on the same page. The agenda keeps it pretty sparse, listing the brainstorming, consolidation and prioritization of the council’s goals for 2026 as the main chunk of the meeting. It’s unclear why the council is setting goals for two years out, but the agenda is less than a page long, so there’s no additional information there.
More police funding open houses
In our very short CIVICS last week, we covered Spokane Valley’s continued conversations on how to fund a staff-up of their police department. There is a second open house scheduled for tomorrow at 11 am, where staff will be available to answer questions and boards with detailed project info will be displayed for the community.
Agenda here
Tuesday, April 9 at 5 pm
City Hall
10210 E Sprague Ave
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206
Virtual attendance here.
Liberty Lake City Council
Minor library policy change
The Liberty Lake Library Board wants to make extremely minor changes to their “Public Comment at Board Meetings” policy. When we say minor, we mean it. The two changes include striking out a floating “a” to make a sentence more grammatically correct, and removing the word “Board” before “meeting room” to make the policy accurate even in the event they meet somewhere new.
Until late last year, the library board could have voted to make those small edits at their library board meetings. Now, though, after efforts to establish library control — primarily led by Council Member Chris Cargill and former Council Member Phil Folyer — passed, due to a temporary supermajority on the council, all policy changes at the library must be approved by the Liberty Lake City Council, no matter how small.
Opioid Settlement
The State of Washington entered into a settlement agreement with Johnson & Johnson to distribute over $61 million to eligible Washington cities and counties. These funds would be used to help curb the opioid crisis. At this week’s meeting, Liberty Lake City Council will vote on whether or not to join the settlement, which requires all 125 eligible cities and counties to join or the entire settlement is voided and no one gets money. If Liberty Lake (and all the other eligible cities and counties) signs on, the city will receive over $24,000 to spend on opioid abatement.
Agenda here
Tuesday, April 9 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
Multilingual education expansion
On Wednesday, the Spokane School District Board of Directors will see a presentation on the English Language Development (ELD) program, with a review of the program’s goals, description, demographic information and success indicators. That’s all pretty standard, but at this meeting, the board will discuss using a Marshallese Heritage Planning Grant to develop a Marshallese Language Learning program, which would include both cultural and language classes.
If the board decides to approve the program, there could be two classes — Marshallese for Marshallese Speakers and World History from a Marshallese Perspective — at Rogers High School as early as next fall. The school board will also discuss potential expansion into four other high schools.
Agenda here
Wednesday, April 10 at 6 pm
Spokane Public Schools Administration Building
200 N. Bernard, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Plan Commission
Development workshops
The Spokane Plan Commission has a full agenda this week with four workshops scheduled. The first is the Center & Corridor update, which will last for 30 minutes and include an overview of progress to date, focus area development concepts and graphics from a consultant team and feedback from Plan Commission members.
The second workshop is on the Six-Year Street Plan Update, where staff will present a draft of new projects to be included in the 2025 - 2030 plan. If the commission decides to recommend any projects from this workshop for inclusion in the plan, there will first have to be a hearing, and then an official recommendation to the city council. This would just be step one in the process — discussing the potential projects.
The Plan Commission will also have a short conversation on the South Logan Transportation Oriented Development plan implementation and timeline, and a discussion on the rules of procedure for the commission.
Agenda here
Wednesday, April 10 at 2 pm
Council Briefing Center
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Park Board
Agenda here when available
Thursday, April 11 at 3:30 pm
Council Chambers in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed via WebEx,
Call in: 408-418-9388 Access code: 2491 764 3350
Spokane Regional Transportation Council
Transportation Safety
Safety on our roadways has been a major topic at most regional meetings RANGE has attended, and will probably continue to be as crashes continue to have a high impact on Washington families. The Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC) is seeking input from local residents on safety concerns in their neighborhood, “because no one should die or be seriously injured on our roadways.” They’ll use this community feedback in their Spokane Regional Safety Action Plan, which uses the Safe System Approach with “aims to eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes by preparing for human mistakes and reducing the severity of crashes that do happen.”
To contribute feedback, take their survey here and leave comments on their interactive safety map here.
Agenda here
Thursday, April 11 at 1 pm
Spokane Regional Transportation Office
21 W Riverside Ave, Suite 504, Spokane, WA 99201The meeting is also live streamed here.
