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 Spokane Police Department wants to spend nearly $230,000 on new equipment that will help it police World Cup events in Spokane — also, Spokane is hosting Team Egypt!
- Spokane Valley may sign onto a county resolution that would bring it in line with new state standards that reduce caseloads for public defenders.
- The Liberty Lake City Council is developing its hazard management plan — part of its comprehensive long-term plan — which in part spells out how the city will manage wildfires in the next 20 years.
- The Spokane Public Library is considering new policy revisions that govern its security cameras with the aim of improving privacy for library patrons.
- The Spokane Plan Commission will potentially add millions in spending to repaving roads included in the six-year plan for road projects.
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council (and Study Session)
- Urban Experience Committee
- Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees
- Bicycle Advisory Board
- Spokane Plan Commission
- West Valley School District Board of Directors
- Spokane School District Board of Directors
- Spokane Valley City Council
- Liberty Lake City Council
Spokane City Council
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Team Egypt will stay in Airway Heights, practice for FIFA in Spokane
Spokane will host Team Egypt for the FIFA World Cup in June and July, meaning one of the greatest soccer players, Mohamed Salah, will practice at Gonzaga University. The team will stay at the Kalispel Tribe’s Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Airway Heights, according to The Spokesman. Spokane will host several prominent events for FIFA, one of the biggest sporting events in the world, which happens this summer in Seattle.
$230k on police tech for the World Cup and beyond
The council is looking to approve more than $200,000 on police equipment to prepare for the World Cup events Spokane will host. The World Cup will be held in Seattle, but Spokane will host practices and will be the host city for Team Egypt. Some of the equipment is focused on surveillance, some on protecting venues from vehicle attacks, including the Gonzaga University practice sites. The money will come from the police department’s capital budget, and they expect it to be used for future events. The resolution that will approve the purchases is sponsored by council members Michael Cathcart and Kate Telis.
The equipment the department is looking to buy:
- four Skydio X10 drone platforms from Axon Enterprises for $126,924.32
- Meridian Archer Trailer Kit 1000 from Meridian Rapid Defense Group for $99,786.21
Booze ban around parks and schools may continue
The city’s ban on booze outlets near city parks and schools may get a second life in the coming weeks. The temporary Ordinance C36680 was adopted last year and bans the sale of alcohol within 500 feet of places that cater to kids or people who are in recovery from addiction. The extension of the ban, sponsored by council members Kitty Klitzke and Kate Telis, would last until October 28, 2026. But the agenda sheet says the city’s next long-term plan, due to be adopted by the end of the year, will likely make the ban permanent.
Agenda hereMonday, April 20 at 6 pmCouncil Chambers 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, SpokaneThe meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane City Council Study Sessions
Agenda here when available.Thursday, April 23 at 11 amCouncil Chambers808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, SpokaneThe meeting is also live streamed here.
Urban Experience Committee (Spokane city)
🌶️/5 peppers
Cops & World Cup briefing
Assistant Police Chief Matt Cowles will brief the committee on the World Cup equipment purchases the Spokane Police Department wants to make for Spokane’s World Cup events. (Read about it above.)
CBDG funding available
City officials are recommending allocations of nearly $1.8 million in Community Development Block Grant funding that would fund capital projects and neighborhood development. The neighborhood projects would divvy up $400,000 between three projects:
- the Shiloh Hills Friendship Park Sports Court would get $266,667
- the Nevada Heights Just One Neighborhood Project would get $88,889
- Chief Garry Park’s Northeast Youth and Family Services parking lot would get $44,444
And $1,102,484 in capital project funding would be divided between eight projects:
- the Northeast Youth Center Rehabilitation would get $210,000
- Transitions TLC would get $55,000 for a boiler replacement
- the Northeast Public Development Authority would get $199,500
- the Northeast Community Center Association would get $142,320 for air filtration upgrades
- the Catholic Housing Services of Eastern Washington would get $117,205 to make improvements to the Ridpath
- the Salvation Army’s Stepping Stones Rehabilitation would get $150,000
- the Salish School Of Spokane $52,789 for its Salish Cultural Recreation Community Center
- the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center $175,670 for restroom rehabilitation
TIF funding for Broadway Foods and Laundromat
Broadway Foods and Laudromat is requesting a $237,057 reimbursement from the city for construction of public infrastructure — pedestrian, street and utility assets that serve the general public — near its West Central property. The funding would be provided through a tax increment funding district that encourages businesses to improve their surroundings for the benefit of the public.
Agenda hereMonday, April 20 at 12 pmCouncil Briefing Center 808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, SpokaneThe meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees
🌶️🫑/5 peppers
Library revises policy
The board is expected to take a vote on approving revisions to the library’s Security Camera and Video Monitoring Policy (new name). According to the agenda, the goal is to strengthen the privacy protections for library patrons and create clearer access, among other things…