2019, 09-06 Special Meeting Council of Governments MINUTES
Special Council Meeting
Special Regional Council of Governments Meeting
Hosted by Spokane County Board of County Commissioners
Friday, September 6, 2019
9:30 a.m.— 12:00 p.m.
Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, Conference Facility
404 N Havana Street, Spokane Valley, Washington.
Attendance:
Spokane Valley Council Staff
Mayor Rod Higgins Mark Calhoun, City Manager
Deputy Mayor Pain Haley Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Councilmember Brandi Peetz Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Councilnrenmber Linda Thompson
Councilmember Ben Wick
Councilmember Sam Wood
Councilmember Arne Woodard
Others in Attendance: Spokane County Commissioners Maty Kuney, Al French and Josh Kerns; and
various elected officials and staff from within and around the region, and some members of the public.
(Please note that agenda items are shown in the order taken during the meeting.)
1. Welcome and Review of Meeting Agenda—Spokane County Commissioner Mary Kuney
After Commissioner Kuney welcomed everyone to the meeting, the microphone was passed around the
room for people to introduce themselves;after which she introduced U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris
Rodgers.
2. U.S.Representative for Washington's 5`h Congressional District-Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Representative McMorris Rodgers extended greetings to everyone and talked a little about jobs and
infrastructure on a national level; she extended kudos to Fairchild Air Force Base as a high-functioning
base;and she mentioned the need for broadband in some of the outlying areas such as Rockford, as well as
a need for accurate mapping to show where coverage is needed.
3. 92 ARW Vice Wing Commander-Colonel Gene Jacobus
Colonel Jacobus gave some background on the origin on the Base as well as an update on some of the key
events occurring at Fairchild; said the base is now the largest air refueling base in the world; mentioned
that Mobility Guardian 2019, Air Mobility Command's premier exercise will be hosted by the 92nd and
1415` Air Refueling Wings located at Fairchild, and will take place from September 8 through 28; said
Mobility Guardian is set to be the largest full-spectrum readiness exercise to date; he also noted that
additional aircraft means additional airmen and their families, and said that about 70% of the families live
off-base,
4. City&Town Updates—Priorities from each jurisdiction: Spokane Valley/Kalispel Tribe/Cheney
Spokane Valley Deputy Mayor Pam Haley mentioned some of the City's priorities, such as Bridging the
Valley,which includes the Barker Grade Separation Project,which is now fully funded; said the upcoming
Pines project has received several grants, and funding includes about $5 million in City funds; said the
Appleway Trail is coming along and there has also been recent park land acquisition. Cheney City
Administrator Mark Schuller mentioned that the water restrictions of last year have been corrected; also
mentioned their upcoming levy lid lift for the purchase of a new fire truck; and that they too have seen an
increase in housing.
Special Regional Council of Governments Meeting 09-06-2019 Page 1 of 2
Approved by Council: 09-24-2019
8. Spokane Co. Community Services, Housing& Community Development Dept-Kathleen Torella, Dir.
Ms. Torella went through her PowerPoint presentation explaining the organizational structure of the
department; their impact on the region; the employment and economic development and the economic
multiplier; the composition of the Governing Board, number of FTEs and total funding for the
Developmental Disabilities Division, the Housing and Community Development Division, the
Administrative Services Organization Division, and the Counseling and Recovery Services Division; she
briefly explained the funding cycle and mentioned some of the projects and services.
6. Spokane County Economic Development Update- Spokane County Commissioner Al French
Commissioner French began by quoting RCW 36.01.085 Economic Development Programs; he explained
that the role of government in economic development is to provide infrastructure and a regulatory structure
that encourages economic growth and expansion while simultaneously protecting our quality of life and
environment; he mentioned several areas of industry focus such as aerospace, manufacturing, medical
schools, and agriculture industries;he gave a quick overview of the national economy projection as well as
Spokane County's; and showed several population, and per capital income charts as well as graphs on
countywide taxable sales,number of new housing units, Spokane County's REET figures, and countywide
and unincorporated new construction data. Mr. French briefly discussed the UGA settlement agreement,
and ended by listing a summary of some of the new businesses in the region.
7. City&Town Updates—Jurisdictions' Priorities: Airway Heights, Spokane Tribe/Freeman/Rockford
Rockford Council member Ms. Micki Harnois mentioned Rockford's upcoming fair which has free
admission and free parking;said with Avista's help Rockford will be getting a reader board,and mentioned
that Avista also helps other small communities. Liberty Lake Mayor Steve Peterson mentioned the
Harvard/Henry project and extended thanks to the State legislators; and he mentioned his city's `Storybook
Walk" opens today.
5. City of Spokane Update-Mayor of Spokane David Condon
Mayor Condon announced that the pavilion grand opening will be held today and tomorrow, September 6
and 7; mentioned the City's annual budget process and that they are in stage 3 of that process; and he went
over the highlights of some of the programs in the budget as shown on his handouts, including that they are
proposing to add 20 more police personnel, and that the budget proposal retains 30 firefighters who had
been paid for through federal grant dollars.
9. Spokane Regional Emergency Communications Update-Spokane County FD#3 Chief Rohrbach
Chief Rohrbach talked about the strategic positioning of the West Plains;mentioned the recent Fire District
annexing of the City of Medical Lake; spoke about the Spokane Regional Emergency Communications
Systems where fire and law come together for efficiency; and briefly talked about Fire Storm of October
1991 when 112 homes were destroyed.
10. City&Town Updates—Jurisdictions' Priorities: Medical Lake/Elk/Spangle/Fairfield
This item was handled under#7 above.
11. Agenda Suggestions for Next Council of Governments: Legislative priorities/Transportation Priorities
Commissioner Kuney asked if entities could share their legislative agendas with others so the state would
be aware of all the priorities; she asked if anyone is interested in having the Council of Governments
meetings more often, to please contact her; and if anyone would like a copy of any of the PowerPoint
presentations today,to please contact County Clerk of the Board Ginna Vasquez.
There being no further business,the meeting adjourne t appro/'mately 11:53 p.m.
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Special Regional Council of Governments Meeting 09-06-2019 Page 2 of 2
Approved by Council: 09-24-2019