(The Center Square) – The City of Spokane approved the creation of a Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board on Monday. The board’s members, who could be as young as 16, could receive a stipend for participating.
The CRSB replaces Spokane’s Sustainability Action Committee, which was largely unutilized by the last two administrations. Mayor Lisa Brown’s office submitted the proposal to the city council, hoping the CRSB would guide their policy and funding decisions moving forward.
However, the 15-member board lacks many of the typical guardrails dictating who can sit on it. The only main requirement for sitting on the board is that the individual be at least 16 years old.
Otherwise, it states that “membership will consist of diverse and broad representation including but not limited to:
members of impacted communities facing disproportionate environmental and health disparities; individuals with expertise in public health, emergency management, climate planning, or sustainability and resiliency initiatives;business leaders and entrepreneurs with experience implementing sustainability and resiliency initiatives; andstudents of secondary and postsecondary education institutions within the city of Spokane.”