2017, 10-10 Formal FormatMINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Regular Meeting
Formal Meeting Format
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance:
Rod Higgins, Mayor
Arne Woodard, Deputy Mayor
Caleb Collier, Councilmember
Mike Munch, Councilmember
Ed Pace, Councilmember
Sam Wood, Councilmember
ABSENT:
Pam Haley, Councilmember
Staff
Mark Calhoun, City Manager
John Hohman, Deputy City Manager
Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director
Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney
Mark Werner, Police Chief
Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director
Adam Jackson, Planning/Grants Engineer
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
INVOCATION: Pastor Darrell Cole of Living Hope Community Church gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, staff, and members of the audience stood for the Pledge of
Allegiance.
ROLL CALL City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present except
Councilmember Haley. It was moved by Councihnember Pace, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse
Councihnember Haley from tonight's meeting.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed
to approve the agenda.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS n/a
COMMITTEE, BOARD, LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS
Councilmember Pace and Councilmember Wood had no report. Councilmember Munch reported that he
attended a Board of Health meeting where they discussed the past mumps outbreak and resulting exclusions
and of better ways to handle that in the future. Councilmember Collier said he gave the benediction at the
annual HRC event. Deputy Mayor Woodard said he attended numerous Chamber of Commerce meetings
and ribbon cuttings, including the 10 -year event at the HUB; said he also attended a manufacturing expo
event at the fairgrounds; and attended the meeting here about the Library, which he said was well attended.
MAYOR'S REPORT
Mayor Higgins reported that he attended the GSI (Greater Spokane, Inc.) annual meeting; went to the HUB
breakfast and annual fundraiser and their 10th anniversary and ribbon cutting; said the Washington State
Transportation Secretary conducted a tour of our valley transportation facilities, including rail crossings
and freeway exchanges; he participated in the Spokane Clean Air Board meeting where they are formulating
regulations for outdoor pot growing, and he mentioned the odors associated with pot growing; went to the
KHQ Business interview, and attended the GSI, CEO roundtable.
PROCLAMATION n/a
Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 10-10-2017 Page 1 of 5
Approved by Council: 10-24-2017
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Higgins explained the process, and then invited public comment.
Ms. Renate Fischer, Spokane Valley: she read most of her prepared statement (see attached) wherein she
explained that lately she finds herself more often than not, in disagreement with Council decisions; she
asked what happens when someone at a Council meeting has concerns, and whether those concerns are
followed up; she also questioned the firing of City Manager Mike Jackson; said that decision cost taxpayers
almost half a million dollars and therefore feels taxpayers have a right to know why.
Ms. Petra Hoy, Spokane Valley: read her statement (see attached) about parental rights and school
curriculum and teaching methods; and spoke about Council's use of the term "property" when referring to
parent's children.
Mr. Mark Kartchner, Spokane Valley: spoke concerning the parental rights ordinance; he read an excerpt
from the Spokesman -Review article by Shawn Vestal (see attached); he also mentioned the previously
mentioned letter from the ACLU which addresses legal problems with the ordinance; said if the ordinance
was adopted it would override federal and saw law and promote confusion; said he is not sure why
vaccinations are a controversial issues as they have saved millions of lives.
Ms. Geralyn West, Spokane County: said she is a member of the Baha'i community; she explained a little
about the Bahia's and then extended an invitation to the Councilmeinbers to attend the celebration of the
200th birthday of the founder, which will be held October 22, and she left personal invitations to the event
with the City Clerk for distribution to Councilmembers.
Ms. Colleen Tariff, Spokane Valley: said she is speaking on behalf of the ordinance that is being revised;
said that she is not here to counter arguments about which are reputable organizations to get information
from, such as the Center for Disease Control, or the Washington State Department of Health; and that she
isn't here to talk about science or why people get a heart attack two days after vaccinations and that the
attack is not related to the vaccinations; said there have been cases people might have heard about people
getting blood clots in their leg after getting a vaccination, but in reality blood clots take weeks to form; and
said nor is she here to discuss which websites people hand-pick; said as a pharmacist who works in a critical
care unit at Deaconess, she has seen people with diseases that could have been prevented by vaccinations;
said she is an advocate for health care providers and patients, and that people need to be smart and know
the facts and be vaccinated.
Ms. Nina Fluegal, Spokane Valley: spoke concerning 4th Avenue; she asked why the fire department blares
down her road, which is a 25 mph road; said she feels the fire department assumes 4th is an arterial, but it
is a collector; said that two days ago at 7 a.m., a fire department truck was blaring down the road at 45-50
mph; said there was no fire on that road; that they need to use the arterial on 8th with a speed limit of 35;
and there is a need to re -direct that traffic away from an already busy road.
Rev. Genavieve Heywood, Veradale United Church of Christ, Spokane Valley: said she is taken by how
much time this body puts into a concern about vaccinations and transgender people; said she went to the
Council's governance book to find out the mission statement; and that she called to find out about that
statement and found out there is no mission statement; she suggested a draft mission statement and she
mentioned including such things as Council providing visionary leadership in policy making; promoting
social, economic and cultural well-being of the community, and assuring the community the resources are
used efficiently; said to accomplish this mission, the City government should provide citizens with safe,
clean communities, and adequate infrastructure; and she suggested Council focus on the mission of
governance and not things that would put us in legal jeopardy.
Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 10-10-2017 Page 2 of 5
Approved by Council: 10-24-2017
1. PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed 2018 Budget — Chelsie Taylor
Mayor Higgins opened the public hearing at 6:29 p.m. Finance Director Taylor went over the information
contained in her Request for Council Action form, followed by the PowerPoint giving the budget summary
of funds, and in particular the general fund; she went over the recurring and nonrecurring expenditures;
mentioned other funds such as the motor vehicle fuel tax, and Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) revenues;
and she completed her presentation by discussing the fund challenges such as declining revenues in the
street O&M fund. Mayor Higgins invited public comment. Rev. Genavieve Heywood: said that the budget
comes back to our goals as a city and community, and she encouraged Council to keep in mind that these
not just numbers but represent the quality of life in Spokane Valley, and again encouraged Council to think
about a mission, even with the budget. There were no further comments and Mayor Higgins closed the
public hearing at 6:37 p.m.
2. CONSENT AGENDA: Consists of items considered routine which are approved as a group. Any
member of Council may ask that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda to be considered separately.
Proposed Motion: I move to approve the Consent Akenda.
a. Approval of claim vouchers on Oct 10, 2017 Request for Council Action Form, Total: $3,076,136.83
b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending September 30, 2017: $383,651.56
c. Approval of September 26, 2017 Council Meeting Formal Format Minutes
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent
Agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
3. First Reading Proposed Property Tax Ordinance 17-011— Chelsie Taylor
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded
to advance Ordinance 17-011 levying regular property taxes for 2018, to a second reading. Finance
Director Taylor explained the procedure and requirement for setting the property tax levy; that this
ordinance does not include increasing the property tax allowed by state law; said the figures are still
preliminary estimates and there is no estimate on construction yet; she explained Spokane County is a little
behind due to staffing, and therefore she recommends staying with the estimate as noted; said figures are
based almost entirely on estimates, and we will receive final figures from the County later this fall. Mayor
Higgins invited public comment. Ms. Renate Fischer, Spokane Valley asked if the budget is balanced. Ms.
Taylor said it is, and revenues exceed expenditures. Ms. Nina Fluegal, Spokane Valley: asked if new
construction taxes are the same whether for residential or apartments. Ms. Taylor said the rate is the same
regardless of type of property. Rev. Genavieve Heywood, Veradale United Church of Christ, Spokane
Valley: said in looking at the business mode and the increased income by the new construction, she
encouraged Council to think about the quality of life and City goals. There were no further public
comments. Councilmember Pace said he is happy to vote yes on this as it means voting on not increasing
taxes; said we have not raised the property tax rate now for nine years. Vote by Acclamation: In favor:
Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
4. First Reading Ordinance 17-012 Amending Procurement Code — Erik Lamb
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded
to advance to a second reading, proposed Ordinance 17-012 amending chapters 3.35, 3.40, 3.41, 3.42, and
3.46 SVMC. After Deputy City Attorney Lamb explained the proposal to amend the procurement code, as
noted in his October 10, 2017 Request for Council Action form, Mayor Higgins invited public comment.
No comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
5. Motion Consideration: CenterPlace Great Room Bid — Mike Stone
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to award the CenterPlace Great Room Sound and
Video System Project to Proton360 Communications in the amount of $223,336.96 and authorize the City
Manager to finalize and execute the construction contract. After Parks and Recreation Director Stone
Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 10-10-2017 Page 3 of 5
Approved by Council: 10-24-2017
explained the bid for the sound and video system for CenterPlace's great room, Mayor Higgins invited
public comment. No comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None.
Motion carried.
6. Motion Consideration: TIGER Grant — Adam Jackson
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to authorize staff to apply for TIGER funds for the
Barker Road/BNSF Grade Separation Project. Mr. Jackson briefly went over the information contained in
the Request for Council Action form, and mentioned the letter of support from Washington State
Transportation Secretary Roger Millar. There was brief discussion about the amount that BNSF would be
contributing, 5% of the grade separation project, followed by Mayor Higgins inviting public comment. No
comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
7. Motion Consideration: INFRA Grant — Adam Jackson
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to authorize staff to apply for INFRA funds for the
Barker Road/BNSF Grade Separation Project. Mr. Jackson briefly went over the information contained in
the Request for Council Action form. Councilmember Wood asked how much does it cost to apply for these
grants; and Mr. Jackson said there were several project applications, but an estimate is $200,000 so far from
2014 to 2016; and said this year we will likely spend about $30,000 to $35,000 for both grants together;
adding that he will have to research those exact figures with the consultant; and said here was no submittal
in 2015. City Manager Calhoun said there are lots of numbers as to how much we paid the consultants; and
we can put that information together and send to Council in an e-mail. Mayor Higgins invited public
comment. Mr. Tony Lazanis, Spokane Valley: said funding for Bridging the Valley is supposed to be
coming in; and Pines should be a priority over Barker. There were no other public comments. Vote by
Acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Higgins invited public comment. No comments were offered.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
8. Meridian Construction Change Order — Chelsie Taylor
Finance Director Taylor explained that even with the change orders, there has been no increase in the total
project budget. Building Official Powell explained that change orders are necessary because it is impossible
to design a project and account for every detail, so you inevitably end up with change orders; and said that
by comparison, this is a small amount of change orders. Mr. Jim Paras of Eight31 Consulting Company,
said that the contractor has an established process and follows the contract, and that he is not surprised by
the number of items for a project this size; said typically 5% or more is set aside for a project of this nature;
said the majority of these items were initiated through Community Development and once identified, no
time was wasted in completing what was necessary; and said he has reviewed the pricing on all the change
orders. Councilmember Munch asked if there are still outstanding change orders and Finance Taylor said
she estimates about $100,000, but that they are still in discussion. There was Council consensus to bring
this item back next week for a motion consideration.
9. Advance Agenda — Mayor Higgins
There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS
City Manager Calhoun mentioned a previous meeting with Senator Padden and others regarding the TIGER
and INFRA grants, and they had a bus tour of some of the projects of regional significance, including those
in the City of Spokane Valley, the Central Valley School District, the City of Liberty Lake, and the Airport;
and in connection with that, he mentioned the letter of support for our TIGER and INFRA grants, which
letter was signed by the Washington State Department of Transportation Secretary. Mr. Calhoun also
Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 10-10-2017 Page 4 of 5
Approved by Council: 10-24-2017
reminded everyone of this Saturday's City Hall grand opening, beginning at 9:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.,; and
that there will be a dedication at City Hall, October 25 for the sculptures donated by the Arts Council.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
ATTEST: L.R. Higgins,
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 10-10-2017 Page 5 of 5
Approved by Council: 10-24-2017
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
6:00 p.m. Regular Meeting
GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS
SIGN -IN SHEET
YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES
This sign -in sheet is for making comments not associated with an action item on tonight's
agenda. If you wish to comment about an individual action item on tonight's agenda (such a
a otion to approve an ordinance, resolution, or contract) the Mayor will ask for comme s
on 1 ose items once that item is reached on the agenda.
Please sign in if you wish to make Dublic comments.
NAME
PLEASE PRINT
TOPIC OF CONCERN YOU
YOUR CITY OF RRIDENCE
WILL SPEAK ABOUT
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Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure.
Dear Spokane Valley City Council,
Thank you for allowing me the time to address the members of the board. My
name is Renate Fischer, and I have been a resident of Spokane Valley since 2005.
During that time there have been many changes, not all of them positive. In fact,
lately I find myself in disagreement with the decisions coming out of this council
more often than not. I would like to ask two questions tonight.
When a concerned resident addresses the council they are given 3 minutes to air
their grievances. What happens with that information? Does the council follow
up? Is the person contacted and given the information that they seek or is the
concern merely filed away for later use or to be forgotten if it does not get
followed up on by other citizens?
My second questions goes back to the firing of City Manager Mike Jackson.
While I understand that he is under a gag order that does not allow him to discuss
the terms of the settlement, I'd like to know why this council decided to fire him. I
believe that the $411,000 settlement was paid with taxpayer money, and therefore I
feel that there should be some transparency as to how that money is spent, and
when your actions result in a settlement that the taxpayers end up footing the bill
for, I believe that we have a right to know why.
Specifically I'd like to know what justified a decision that cost us almost half a
million dollars. According to reports I've read, he had excellent work evaluations.
He also was thought to be doing an excellent job by at least three other council
members at the time. In fact the decision to fire Mr. Jackson, and the way in which
it was done caused Council member Chuck Hafner to resign. I highly respected
and trusted him and I am very sorry that he is gone.
I trusted him with my children when he was a principal at Central Valley High
School and later as assistant superintendent of secondary school for Central Valley
School District. I am sorry that I cannot say the same for our current city council.
I'm happy to leave my email address and phone number if you would like to
contact me to follow up with me at a later time.
Renatefischer73@Yahoo.com 509-533-2769
111611 -
Petra Hoy
Spokane Valley
Hi, I have a couple of comments on the proposed ordinance.
First of all in regards to parents being allowed to make all decisions
pertaining to curriculum and teaching methods. I've volunteered for years at
the elementary and middle schools. At Evergreen Middle School I worked
for the Language Arts teacher and I also tutored math. Teachers are
overworked, under paid and under appreciated. They are doing amazing work
and I don't think most of us would last a week in their job. Increasingly they
are being asked to be social workers, counselors and basically fix things that
we should be taking care of as a society. It would be pure chaos to allow the
parents to set curriculum and teaching methods. If you have 30 kids in a
class does each student get to learn whatever, however they'd like? It's
illogical.
Also, I have been seeing wording from the City Council that children are
property. The word "property" always makes me think of the 13th
amendment and I hope we would have learned from our troubled past that
people are not property. Parents do not own their children, but are their
guardians. I don't think there is anything magically transforming about
turning 18 either. We aren't suddenly, to -da, an adult overnight. With my
kids I like to think that when they were little I was their manager. I could
set pretty solid parameters in which to guide them. Now that they're
teenagers I'm basically a consultant. If they want advice they will ask me
because we have a solid relationship and they trust me. Children are people,
just like everyone else. And people are not property.
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SPOKANE
Shawn Vestal: Spokane Valley
parental rights proposal endangers
the rights of others
Sun., Oct. 1, 2017, 5:30 a.m.
Othis Aug. 27, 2010 file photo, a nurse practitioner prepares a flu vaccination in Rockville, Md. (Evan Vucci /
AP)
/t'-- /C% -/Y
10/2/17,7:30 AM
Shawn Vestal: Spokane Valley parental rights proposal endangers t... http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/oct/01/shawn-vestal-spok...
By Shawn Vestal %
shawnv@spokesman.com
(509) 459-5431
f B 0
Should parents who refuse to vaccinate their children be allowed to send
them to school during a disease outbreak?
Under a "parental rights" ordinance being floated by a Spokane Valley city
councilman, the answer is: Sure!
Say there was a whooping cough epidemic. Or an outbreak of mumps.
Parents who had already decided not to vaccinate their kids would "have
complete authority to decide whether or not to keep their children home,"
according to draft language of the ordinance.
If school officials think it's a bad idea, tough. If public health officials
recommend against it, who cares? If the parents who vaccinate their kids
don't like it, they can always exercise their own parental right to keep their
kids home, too.
This proposal envisions total, complete, unfettered parental authority,
after all — an authority so complete it can louse up the education and
health of other people's children.
Welcome home, polio.
The proposal to extend parental rights to the question of school
"exclusion" during epidemics is just one of the bizarre and unworkable
Onundrums at the center of a parental -rights ordinance put forth by Ed
Pace, along with a couple of his fellow Spokane Valley city councilmen.
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The first draft of the "parental declaration of rights" is packed with
assertions that parents — not the government or corporations or unions or
teachers — have control over their children's vaccinations, over school
"exclusion" during epidemics, over all aspects of education and health
care, and over who else is allowed into a public bathroom or locker room
with their child.
"Parents have authority over and responsibility for their children in all
areas of life," it asserts.
Pace, a genial Lutheran pastor and libertarian, calls the proposal more of
a spur to discussion than finalized legislation, and says he's responding to
concerns he hears from parents. Parents who are outraged their teenage
daughters have access to birth control without their say-so. Parents who
object to sex education. Parents who want to police the bathrooms to
"protect" their children from transgender people.
Parents who think they should have the right to send their unvaccinated
kids into the herd.
"Personally, I have been vaccinated, my wife has been vaccinated, we had
our kids vaccinated," Pace said. "I've never known anybody personally
who's had any effects from vaccinations. For me, this is about
representing my constituents. It's just a parent's right to choose."
State law requires vaccinations but also allows parents wide latitude to opt
out. A lot of us do, and the objectors come from the left and right. About 7
percent of kids in Spokane County have personal or religious exemptions
to the vaccination requirement. It's not an exaggeration to say people who
make this choice are helping to make it easier for diseases to take hold,
Dien for those of us who do vaccinate.
In the case of an outbreak, it is up to public health officials and schools to
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establish quarantine requirements — as it should be. Quarantine authority
is based on state law, which the city can't just ignore, as well as the
glaringly commonsense notion that we should not let community health
decisions be made by people who believe in nonsense.
Even if they have reproduced.
The ACLU of Washington has weighed in with a letter to the city attorney,
noting the foundation of state and federal law establishing school districts'
authority to require vaccinations (with exemptions); public health
officials' right to determine quarantine requirements; state and federal
authority over curriculum and graduation requirements; and other pesky
legal, practical and ethical obstacles.
"We write because, as I am sure you recognize, if adopted, this ordinance
purports to override federal and state law, would seriously misinform your
residents, and would sow confusion and promote illegal action," wrote
William Block, a volunteer attorney for the ACLU.
A key issue here revolves around teenage girls and sex, and the desire of
some parents to control their daughters' health care. (When it comes to
the continuing cycle of culture -war sexual panics, there is always less
panic about sons.) Pace cites examples of parents who are outraged that a
teenage girl can get birth control or an abortion without her parents'
permission.
But the ACLU notes that a number of state statutes give older minors legal
control over their own health care — including decisions about whether to
have an abortion or get tested for STDs or undergo mental health
counseling. "Mature minors" have rights, too.
While most of us would agree that we want to make the keydecisions for
g
our children and families — as opposed to the big, bad, sexually permissive
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government — most of us also know that some children need to be
protected from parents. This is just a fact.
We know we should be careful about spreading disease, even if not every
parent believes it. We know that there are older teenagers whose rights
extend beyond those of a 5 -year-old or a to -year-old — that maturing
juveniles have rights of their own, including expanding sovereignty over
their own bodies.
Pace said opponents of the measure seem to think parents have no rights
at all, which strikes me as hyperbolic. Does anyone believe parents should
have no rights at all? Some of the concerns Pace said he'd heard aren't
accurate — for example, he said a mother he knew was told by a high
school official that her child was required to take a sex education course to
graduate. There is no such state or district requirement, and students can
opt out of the single reproductive -health segment of the health
curriculum.
As for parents "protecting" their kids from "transgendered" people in
bathrooms, Pace sees it as straightforward.
"What this is about, is parents, especially parents of young daughters,
their feeling that if their daughter is in the girls' restroom and somebody
comes in who they feel is really a male, they want to be able to say, 'Hey,
would you mind waiting a minute?' " he said.
Pace, as I said, is a genial sort. He imagines very friendly outcomes.
I'm more concerned about the other end of the spectrum: Is there any
check on parental authority? Does a child have rights, independent of a
parent? Any point at which others — whoever they may be — have a right
to determine that a parent's wishes are wrong?
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Pace said abuse is where he draws the line. He said his proposal is not
meant to prevent abuse reporting by school or health care officials. It's so
broadly drawn, though, that it would be hard to see how abuse didn't fall
squarely under a parent's authority — which is described repeatedly as
"complete."
Across the border in Idaho — Spokane Valley's ideological soul mate —
parental rights are a popular political issue, as well. Part of the No -It -
Damn -Well -Does -Not -Take A -Village movement.
Lawmakers there have repeatedly resisted efforts to make it a crime to fail
to obtain health care for a gravely sick child, on the grounds of religious
belief. This is not hypothetical: Children from one religious community
near Boise, the Followers of Christ, die regularly because their parents
believe modern medicine is evil.
So when their children die from simple infections — it's a question of
parental rights. When their kids die from untreated diabetes — parental
rights. If an infant can't breathe and the parents don't bother visiting an
emergency room — you guessed it.
Would Pace go that far? He said it was an extreme example, outside of the
considerations of his proposal.
"When it gets to those extreme cases, I'm really not sure," he said. "I don't
have an opinion on that."
PUBLISHED: OCT. 1, 2017, 5:30 A.M.
Tags: parental rights, Shawn Vestal, Spokane Valley, Spokane Valley City Council
D
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Spokane Valley Draft Mission Statement
Our City Council shall provide visionary leadership in policy making that
supports: Our Mission, Our Vision, and Our Values
OUR MISSION
The City of Spokane Valley
Promotes social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of the
community,
Ensures that resources are used efficiently and effectively as well with
transparency and accountability in decision-making,
Provides the prudent use and stewardship of local community resources,
so that the citizens of Spokane Valley may realize the best quality of life possible
through cost-effective governance.
OUR VISION
To accomplish this mission, city government is committed to provide citizens
with:
• A safe and clean community
• Efficient, effective, transparent, and quality city services.
• Infrastructure of adequate capacity to accommodate present and future needs.
• Diverse opportunities for recreational, cultural, and economic development.
• A well-managed and fiscally sound community.
OUR VALUES
In all respects, city government is dedicated to accomplishing its mission
through:
• Professionalism
• Pride
• Service
• Fairness
• Accountability
This draft mission statement was written using the statements from Marion,
Iowa, Pullman, Washington, and the Spokane Valley Governance manual.
Submitted by
Rev. Genavieve Heywood
Pastor
Veradale United Church of Christ
611N Progress Road
Spokane Valley, WA 99037
� Washington State
�I/ Department of Transportation
October 3, 2017
The Honorable Elaine Chao
Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave SE
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Secretary Chao:
Transportation Building
310 Maple Park Avenue S.E.
P.O. Box 47300
Olympia, WA 98504-7300
360-705-7000
TTY: 1-800-833-6388
www.wsdot.wa.gov
The Washington State Department of Transportation is pleased to support the City of
Spokane Valley's 2017 TIGER grant application for the Pines Road and Barker
Road/BNSF Grade Separation Projects.
The proposed projects would eliminate train -vehicle mobility conflicts, remove
automobile delays, and improve level -of -service. Additionally, both proposed grade
separation projects will help improve the efficiency of rail movements along the
corridor and address environmental, noise, safety, and congestion issues impacting the
City of Spokane Valley's street network. Furthermore, the projects would improve a
transportation key link to business and residents along I-90 and the BNSF railroad that
are critical to support jobs and economic development in the area.
I hope you will give this project serious consideration.
Sincerely,
1
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Roger Millar, PE, AICP
Secretary of Transportation