2014, 09-05 Special Council of Goverments Mtg MINUTES
Special Regional Council of Governments Meeting
Hosted by Spokane County Board of County Commissioners
Friday, September 5, 2014
10:00 a.m.—12:30 a.m.
Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, Conference Facility
404 N Havana Street, Spokane Valley, Washington
Attendance:
Spokane Valley Council Staff
Mayor Dean Grafos Mike Jackson, City Manager
Deputy Mayor Arne Woodard Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
Councilmember Bill Bates
Councilmember Chuck Hafner
Councilmember Rod Higgins
Councilmember Ed Pace
Councilmember Ben Wick
Others in Attendance: Various elected officials and staff members from within the region.
1. Welcome & Review of Meeting Agenda—Spokane Co. Commissioner Shelly O'Quinn
Commission Chair O'Quinn welcomed everyone to the meeting and gave those in attendance the
opportunity for self-introductions.
2. Opening Comments and Welcome to the Spokane Interstate Fair—Rich Hartzell, Spokane County Fair
& Expo Center Director
Mr. Hartzell took a few moments to welcome everyone to the meeting and to the fair.
3. Relationship Between Fairchild AFB and Spokane Regional Governments—Commander McDaniel
Colonel Charles B. McDaniel, 92nd Air Refueling Wing Commander, gave a brief introduction of himself
and explained the mission and vision of the 92°d Air Refueling Wing, as well as some of the received
awards and events.
4. Economic Development Update—Grant Forsyth. Chief Economist, Avista Corporation
Dr. Forsyth went over some aspects of the economy, including comparison and speculation of the GDP
(Gross Domestic Product) Growth and Inflation Outlook from 2013 to 2019, the United States Federal
Funds Interest Rate Future Contracts, the Non-Farm Employment Growth for 2013-2014, Residential
Units Permitted from 2013-2014, and a comparison of existing home prices in Spokane, Kootenai
County, and the United States for 2013-2014.
5. Small Cities/Towns Legislative Priorities/Updates
Several Mayors and Councilmembers from various cities such as Spokane Valley and Airway Heights,
gave a brief update on some of those cities' legislative priorities, with Deputy Mayor Woodard also
mentioning the upcoming groundbreaking of Spokane Valley's Appleway Trail.
6. Upcoming Elections—Vicky Dalton, Spokane County Auditor
Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton, along with Elections Manager Mike McLaughlin briefly spoke
concerning the upcoming election, and of their and their department's work concerning all aspects of
elections, from registering voters,to ballot layouts,to the actual elections.
Special Regional Council of Governments Meeting 09/05/2014 Page 1 of 2
Approved by Council: 10/14/2014
7. STA Moving Forward Project—Susan Meyer
Via their PowerPoint presentation, STA's (Spokane Transit Authority) Chief Executive Officer Susan
Meyer, with Director of Planning Karl Otterstrom, discussed their ongoing "Moving Forward Project,"
which is STA's long-range multimodal transportation plan for the future of public transit, and which
included showing some of the high performance transit networks and conceptual projects.
8. Small Cities/Towns Legislative Priorities/Updates
Several other small cities and towns gave very brief reports on their legislative priorities for their
communities.
9. Destroyed Property Forms—Vicki Horton, Spokane County Assessor
Spokane County Assessor explained that the Assessor's Office offers disaster assistance to Washington
residents and businesses affected by such disasters as the "straight-line windstorm" which occurred July
23, 2014 in Spokane County; she explained that declaring a disaster enables SBA (Small Business
Administration) assistance; and she also mentioned the availability of low-interest federal disaster loans
to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, and that homeowners and renters are eligible for up
to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. She explained that interest rates
can be very low, and that applicants may be submitted online at a secure website; and she welcomed
individuals to contact her office for further information.
10. Public Facilities District(PFD) Update—Mike McDowell
PFD Chair McDowell went over some of the plans for the upcoming Spokane Convention Center
Expansion Project, and showed several photos of the progress taken and planned for this project.
11. Small Cities/Towns Legislative Priorities/Updates
Representatives from Cities, Towns and tribes were invited to give an update on their legislative
priorities.
12. Roundtable Discussion of Topics of Regional Importance—Shelly O'Quinn
There was some brief discussion about having more conversations among the West Plains municipalities
as well as the Air Force Base concerning economic growth, water purveyors, and other economic factors.
There were no other topics discussed.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 12:15 p.m.
ATTES Dean Grafos, .
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Special Regional Council of Governments Meeting 09/05/2014 Page 2 of 2
Approved by Council: 10/14/2014