“Emergency Budget Ordinance” sounds severe but it actually is the term used for any expenditure that needs to be approved by the City Council that wasn’t in the current year’s budget. Most often EBOs are for receiving grant money, which we can’t always budget for since there’s always a chance they won’t come through or their timing cannot be pinpointed precisely. Last night we approved two EBOs for items the City had been saving for–requiring no re-adjustment of budgeted funds–and negotiating to purchase. One EBO was for Fire Department defibillators with money from the small capital portion of the Spring EMS Levy. The other was for a whole new HR/Payroll system to begin installation this fall. Read the rest of this entry »

The Council voted unanimously for my resolution to support the development of the whitewater park in downtown Spokane with proper permitting and environmental considerations. In my mind this is a gut check for Spokane; can we move forward with a project that could have many potential benefits for economic development, outdoor recreation, access, safety, and possibly fish habitat or will we let this issue devolve into a squabble between different user groups? Happily after last night’s testimony we are more likely to see the former rather than the latter. We had many folks argue forcefully for continuing the public process towards the creating the whitewater park that was started 6 years ago. Even testimony with concerns about the park did not argue against passing the resolution, and instead focussed on the details of a likely Environmental Impact Statement and how best to spend a state grant for the whitewater park, specifically on improving access to the river. The whitewater park still faces challenges moving forward including numerous permits and the E.I.S., and additional fundraising, but important new additions to our park system are never easy and now the project can proceed with unanimous support from the City Council. Thanks again to Friends of the Falls for all their hard work on the whitewater park and the entire Great Gorge Park Plan. Read the rest of this entry »

Councilman Snyder at the Fish Lake Trail Ribbon cutting.

Let me count the reasons: 1) The City has adopted a very popular Master Bike Plan that does not have dedicated funding for implementation, 2) diseases of inactivity are of epidemic proportions in Spokane County where at least 20,000 have diabetes, 3) kids lack safe routes to schools, 4) bicycle transportation saves on fuel and puts more money back into local economy, and 5) state and federal transportation funding are more rewarding communities that put in more bike facilities and complete streets strategies. I could go on.

Those are just some of the reasons I am looking to get as creative as possible to find new funding sources for cycling while everyday I also fight to get cyclists their fair share of general transportation dollars. And that’s why I am exploring the possibility of a bike registration fee as reported in the paper today.

Some cyclists get understandably upset when it is suggested that they need to contribute more money than they already do to add cycling facilities to the road. They will rightly point out that they pay real estate taxes (our biggest road funding source), sales taxes (our smallest road funding source), and gas taxes (do you know any cyclists that don’t also own a car?)—yet cyclists do far less damage to the roads than motor vehicles. (This is true; our motor vehicles do more damage to the road every time we drive than our current road funding sources can pay to repair.) Given this sentiment my question to cyclists is this: are you willing to pay $20-30 extra for each new bike to help put the Master Bike Plan on steroids? If so, read on. Read the rest of this entry »

Good news: The City Of Spokane was recognized for its planning work to lessen its impact on climate change and encourage sustainable practices. The city received a 2010 American Planning Association (APA) and Planning Association Of Washington (PAW) Joint Planning award for its greenhouse gas inventory reports and Sustainability Action Plan. This award will be featured by PAW in the Western Planner Journal and APA Washington in the Washington Planner.

The City has done a great job to become more sustainable in recent years. Couple items we’re currently working on:

* Promoting the use of alternative transportation options and complete streets.
* Using re-refined motor oil and adding all-electric vehicles for the City fleet.
* Adding community gardens throughout the City.
* Finding new uses for recycled products, including using recycled glass in street projects.
* Encouraging people to conserve water and offering rebates for making good water choices.
* Adding educational materials at City Hall and our libraries.
*Implementing the latest in technology to save energy, including a new program that turns off our computers when they’re not in use.
* Accepting food scraps in our yard waste carts for composting in the middle of July. For more information about Spokane’s sustainability efforts or to read the greenhouse gas inventory reports, visit GreenSpokane.org.

Read the rest of this entry »

The afternoon council session yesterday was interrupted by the closing of City Hall for a hazmat concern just minutes prior to the meeting. That meant that our afternoon consent agenda, which is an open public meeting, was closed to all members of the public who hadn’t arrived prior to our 3:30 start time. Because the fire department had closed off City Hall as a safety precaution the council did not take a vote on our consent agenda until our 6PM legislative session when City Hall was back open, even though the entire meeting was televised on channel 5. I was a few minutes late to the meeting and had the fire department escort me into the building so that could fulfill my duties for our afternoon session. I’m glad there turned out to be no real danger and I commend the Spokane Fire Department and the Spokane Police Department for their quick and thoroughly professional response to the hazmat concern.

In legislative session we unanimously passed three items; having the City Attorney represent two police officers regarding a lawsuit stemming from action taken in the line of duty, approving a slight lowering of interest rates paid on employee contributions to the Spokane Employee Retirement System, and approval an updating of the priorities for funding for the Human Services Advisory Board, which makes allocations of City funds to local non-profit groups. Regarding this last item, I have had discussions to clarify whether domestic violence related services are eligible for funding under the adjusted criteria with HS Director Jerrie Allard, and she assures me that the criteria is elastic enough to encompass DV.