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 purchase of Long-Range Acoustical Devices, which can be used for crowd dispersal in protests, are on the consent agenda for city council, but will likely be taken off. Protesters are still planning on being at city hall.
- Punny “slow down” signs are out, but bird signs might be in.
- An ordinance to ban price-fixing software by landlords is getting a first read.
- The Urban Experience Committee is considering a slate of policies and funding focused on eviction prevention and millions of dollars in city shelter programs.
- The city may extend contracts for service providers that operate the scatter site homeless shelters by three months to avoid a gap in services.
- Spokane County will likely waive the contract bidding process to install well filters for West Plains residents whose drinking water is contaminated with “forever chemicals.” (This will happen Monday during a special meeting because the BOCC is off for Veteran’s Day.)
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council (and Study Session)
- Urban Experience Committee
- Spokane Plan Commission
- Board of County Commissioners – Legislative Session (Special Meeting)
- Spokane Regional Transportation Council
- Spokane County Planning Commission
- Spokane Airport Board
- Central Valley School District Board of Directors
Veterans Day closures
Tuesday is Veterans Day, but not everything is closed:
- Garbage services are on their normal schedule this week, so put your bins out.
- The North County and Spokane Valley Transfer Stations will be open.
- City on-street parking meters and kiosks are free on Tuesday.
- Spokane Public Library branches will be closed.
- The Spokane Municipal Court and Community Justice Services will be closed.
- Spokane County offices will be closed, including Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS).
If you’re an active or retired military member, Riverfront Park is offering complimentary Looff Carrousel rides to you and your families.
Spokane City
Spokane City Council
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Long range acoustical devices, scrapped?
Nestled in this week’s consent agenda is the approval of the purchase of two Long-Range Acoustical Devices (LRADs) for $88,045 “to enhance public safety communication, emergency response, and lawful notification capabilities” for the Spokane Police Department. This item was deferred from the October 27 agenda after growing pushback from the public. Council Member Paul Dillon posted on social media on Friday that he will be requesting it be pulled from the agenda and that Police Chief Kevin Hall agreed. It’s unclear if it will be killed entirely or deferred again.
It will likely not be up for a vote tonight, but the Inland North West Coalition for the Liberation of Palestine is planning a protest Monday night because, had no one noticed the item in the agenda, it likely would’ve gone through, hindering the community’s right to protest…