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Home My WebLink About2025, 07-22 Formal A MeetingMINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Formal Format A Tuesday, July 22, 2025 Deputy Mayor Hattenburg called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. The meeting was held in person by Council and staff in Council Chambers, and also remotely via Zoom meeting. Attendance: Councilmembers Staff Tim Hattenburg, Deputy Mayor John Hohman, City Manager Laura Padden, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Manager Ben Wick, Councilmember Gloria Mantz, City Services Administrator Rod Higgins, Councilmember Tony Beattie, Sr. Deputy City Attorney Al Merkel, Councilmember Kelly Konkright, City Attorney Chelsie Walls, Finance Director Robert Blegen, Public Works Director Absent: Dave Ellis, Police Chief Pam Haley, Mayor John Whitehead, Human Resources Director Jessica Yaeger, Councilmember Jill Smith, Communications Manager Adam Jackson, Engineering Manager Sarah Farr, Accting & Finance Program Manager Justan Kinsel, IT Specialist Jonny Solberg, IT Specialist Marci Patterson, City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor Jeremy Anglin, Valley Real Life gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, staff and the audience stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL City Clerk Patterson called roll; all Councilmembers were present except Mayor Haley and Councilmember Yaeger. It was moved by Councilmember Wick, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Mayor Haley and Councilmember Yaeger. APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS n/a PROCLAMATIONS: Cycle Celebration Deputy Mayor Hattenburg read the proclamation and Peggy Doering with Valleyfest accepted the proclamation and spoke about events coining to the area to celebrate. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: After Deputy Mayor Hattenburg explained the process, he invited comments from the public. Bob West, Spokane Valley; Ben Lund, Spokane Valley; Daryl Williams, Spokane Valley; John Harding, Spokane Valley; Debbie Shrock, Spokane Valley; Al Shrock, Spokane Valley provided general comments. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. 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 Agenda. a. Approval of Claim Vouchers, July 22, 2025, Request for Council Action Form: $1,693,826.05. Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 07-22-2025 Pagel of 3 Approved by Council: 08-26-2025 b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period ending July 15, 2025: $707,576.20. It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. ACTION ITEMS: 2. Motion Consideration: Council Goals & Priorities for Lodging Tax Funds - Sarah Farr Chelsie Walls It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded to approve the Council goals and priorities for the use of lodging tax revenues as written. Ms. Farr introduced the goals and noted the incorporated changes that the council requested at the meeting on July 8th. Ms. Farr went over those changes and the amounts in the funding and in the application process. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg invited public comments. John Harding, Spokane Valley provided comment. Council discussed the incorporated changes and noted that they were pleased with the changes and Councilmember Wick noted that this is just the finding and the process and that the council is not voting on specific projects at this time. Vote by acclamation: in fcm�or.• Unanimous. Oppose& None. Motion carried NON ACTION ITEMS: 3. Admin Report: SREC Update — Erik Lamb, Chief Ellis Lori Markham Mr. Lamb introduced Kim Arredondo, Deputy Director, Lori Markham, Executive Director of Spokane Regional Emergency Communications and Chief Ellis. Ms. Markham presented a PowerPoint presentation that included an agency overview, the governance and member overview, agency highlights, operations overview and a City of Spokane update. Ms. Markham noted all the agencies represented, the ACE accreditation, the new computer aided dispatch (CAD) system, the new facility updates in Spokane Valley, employer recognition awards, WSRB ratings impact in our community, and future technology in emergency communications. Ms. Arredondo reviewed the operations overview and trends that they have been tracking, EMD stats over a four-year trend, and a crime check survey overview. Ms. Markham provided details on the city of Spokane update and their decision to leave SREC and the details of the coordinated transition for Spokane to exit. Ms. Markham detailed the many meetings that SREC had with Spokane and the mediation that they had but ultimately led to Spokane choosing to leave and become their own dispatch entity. Council discussed the amount of funding that the City of Spokane contributed to SREC, the member of representatives from Spokane that currently sit on the SREC Board, changes in fees from SREC, and the CAD platforms being used by all the agencies. 4. Admin Report: Potential Grant Opportunity: Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) — Adam Jackson Mr. Jackson presented a PowerPoint presentation that included an overview of what the Transportation Improvement Board is comprised of and how they operate, the TIB funding and when applications are due, the recommended projects that included Sullivan from 8th to 24th, Barker Corridor (4th roundabout), Barker Cooridor (Sprague -4th), and Sullivan Park (sidewalk connection). Mr. Jackson provided additional details on each of the projects. Council discussed the shared pathway on Sullivan and Mr. Jackson provided a definition of a shared pathway and how it would score with the TIB as it was a unique project. Councilmember Padden noted that the pathway runs adjacent to city owned property and could be good if the city develops that property. Council provided consensus to move forward with a motion consideration for a future meeting with the list of projects as discussed. 5. Admin Report: 5 Year Plan Update — Gloria Mantz, Eric Robison Ms. Mantz and Mr. Robison presented a PowerPoint that included an update on the 5-year homeless housing plan. The details included a background on the CoC Regional 5-year plan and the recoding revenue, the need for the city to adopt a plan by December 31, 2025, the updated commerce request plan objectives, a review of the community feedback received by CoC, details on the priorities identified, details of the plan metrics, plan timelines and what the plan must include. Mr. Robison noted that there is still room for input from council and changes are still taking place with the CoC plan. They detailed the next steps for the plan. Council did not have any additional remarks from the presentation. INFORMATION ONLY (will not be reported or discussed) Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 07-22-2025 Page 2 of 3 Approved by Council: 08-26-2025 6. Department Monthly Reports 7. Fire Dept Monthly Report GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: After Deputy Mayor Hattenburg explained the process, he invited comments from the public; no comments were offered. COUNCILMEM 3ER REPORTS Councilmember Merkel began speaking about comments regarding city management, retaliation and the use of city facilities for campaigning. Councilmember Higgins poised a point of order and stated that this was not the meeting for comments, but for reports on committees. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg agreed with the point of order and Councilmember Merkel continued the same comment speech. Once again, Councilmember Higgins poised a point of order and stated that he can't continue. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg agreed and Councilmember Merkel continued reporting on a court date. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg ruled that Councilmember Merkel was out of order and moved on with reports from Councilmember Wick. Councilmember Wick: attended the AWC committee meeting with OFM and spoke about the increase in cities growth and noted that our city saw quite a bit of growth with a 1400 population increase and that the City of Spokane grew 1700 in population. He noted that the growth was from migration not birth rates. Councilmember Padden: stated that she had nothing to report. Councilmember Higgins:attended the clean air agency meeting and noted the air quality to date has been good to date and that they are preparing for smoke season with a "Smoke Ready Spokane" website to assist with concerns of smoke in the air and how to prepare for it. He also spoke about the future of waste to energy plant and that it depends on the carbon tax. Councilmember Higgins also attended the SRTC meeting and noted that the financial contributions are imperative as a match for grants and other expenses and that the SRTC call for projects 2027- 2029 were active and leading the list was Sullivan project. MAYOR'S REPORT Deputy Mayor Hattenburg provided an update on STA and noted the dollar fares available to multiple people throughout the community and also congratulated Karl Otterstrom on accepting the CEO position with STA. ADVANCE AGENDA There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS City Manager Hohman spoke about last week and the campaigning from the dais and asked City Attorney Konkright to review state law and what council is required to do. Mr. Konkright spoke about the law and noted that it prevents city officials and staff from using city facilities and any city resources for campaign purposes. City staff and elected officials cannot use the city internet, the city facilities directly or indirectly, and cannot use the city websites. They are restricted to providing information regarding ballot measures. Mr. Konkright noted past issues that have come up and reviewed those specific items. He closed with reminding the council that they shouldn't be using city resources for campaigning and that comments that are posted on social media run by the city will no longer be allowed due to comments being posted by a Councilmember. EXECUTIVE SESSION It was moved by Deputy Mayor Hattenburg, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn at 7:49p. m. ATTEST: Um � " �& 1 J Mark Patterson, City Clerk Pam Haley, MaKr Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 07-22-2025 Approved by Council: 08-26-2025 Page 3 of 3 PUBLIC COMMENT SIGN -IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, July 22, 2025 6:00 p.m. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY #1 Please sign up to speak for up to THREE minutes and the Mayor will afford the public the opportunity to speak. The public comment opportunity is limited to a maximum of 45 minutes. You may only speak at one of the comment opportunities, not at both public comment opportunities. NAME TOPIC YOU WILL SPEAK PLEASE PRINT ABOUT YOUR CITY OF RESIDENCE G Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure. Request for Public Records July 22, 2025 Requested by: Bob West 19117 E. Indiana Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99016 Refm_an50 comcast.net 509-992-2939 c I would like the following information for the following: 1. Any and all correspondence, documents, minutes, notes, personal or professional (to include initial contacts and replies) from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2025 (on -going request) between Ben Lund (as a private citizen, investigator, or agent of the city) and the following individuals. A. Spokane Valley City Manager B. Spokane Valley Deputy City Manager C. Spokane Valley City Attorney D. All Council Members between above stated dates E. Any other communication between Ben Lund and Staff 2. This would include: 1) Email correspondence 2) Internal correspondence 3) Social Media Correspondence 4) Telephone communications 5) Communications with 3rd party investigators, or legal entities specifically named Lukins and Annis 6) Contracts between the City of Spokane Valley or Lukins and Annis in regard to Mr. Ben Lund. 7) If no responsive records are located Nisan Affidavits to be signed by all individuals listed in #1 above. Please provide all responsive records to above named requestor digitally or thru City portal. By checking the box below, I certify that if the request is for a list of individuals, the information obtained through this request will not be used for commercial purposes and I understand that I may be required to submit a signed declaration stating my intended use for the documents requested pursuant to RCW 42.56.070(8), Seiu Healthcare 775NW v. State Dept. of Social and Health Services, 193 Wn. App. 377 (2016). Thank you, Bob West.' Bob West, Spokane Valley. 072225 Another episode of the Wizard and pulling the curtain back a little more ... even though one could debate it is off the rails. Let's start with the weekly addition of City Manager commei ls, WI iici i i ias Lur neu Into Mr. nohman rou i iely allowing consensus items during his comment period. This is nothing more than avoiding adding discussions and items to avoid placing them on the agenda for public review. IM%0I the appearance of backdooring items), n01 - transparent, and against governing documents. Next up was the recent court hearing for Council Member Merkel. I have to share the intimidation tactics and bullying by Council Member Higgins and City Manager Hohman towards spectators was very un-professional. As an example, CM Higgins attempting to intimidate me and telling Mike Dolan F.U. Sad leadership! For months now, we've been led to believe that certain individuals coming forward in public comment are simply "concerned citizens." The public is told, week after week, that these comments reflect genuine grassroots outrage or some kind of spontaneous civic engagement. But this week, we learned the truth. A bombshell admission: He has been acting "as requested by city legal staff." That quote says it all. This wasn't a citizen speaking for themselves. This was a self -declared city agent posing as a regular member of the public. Think about that. This entire time, while some of us were being accused, investigated, and dragged through the mud, the city had people planted in the audience used to manipulate public perception and manufacture outrage. This is unethical and a violation of the city's own governance manual. If the city wants to have someone speak on its behalf, there's a process for that: it's called the agenda. No one has sued the City. The arguments are speculative. This has never been about the will of "the people." It was city hall, using taxpayer -funded resources to create the illusion of public opposition —and trying to silence dissent by pretending it was coming from somewhere else. And now, thanks to a very revealing written slip of the tongue, we know that this campaign was coordinated. We know Mr. Ben Lund was not just speaking for himself. He was acting "as requested by city legal staff." Therefore, today I amp/ submitting this letter as a public : iA YN.YA4�AN YAM.. A. X__ All AI.. nil- I N ,A InIVIIIIAIIVII IvgUesL IV[ All VI IVII. Lund communications, messages, and meeting notes with all Council Members, city staff ... to include the City Manager and City Attorney, and City Legal repICtot; tatlVe I-Ul%lIA ll* alld AIIIIIap I 1,-v III%,IUdes all responses and replies or Nisan Affidavits if appropriate. As a self-confessed agent of the city, his communications on this matter are now public record. The curtain is down. The game is up. And the public deserves to know the truth. Al Shrock — Resident of Spokane Valley Spokane City Council, 7/22/25 Deb, If I were that political arson, I would also cause the city officials to overburden themselves with time spent in a lawsuit to force me into compliance of my oath. This would crowd more into their work hours while still attending to important city matters. It would also reduce available funds that had been set aside for citizen's needs. At council meetings I would fan the flames with gestures and eye rolls, shaking my head to try and discredit any truth that was stated. If I were that arson who loved the sound of the crackle and pop of destruction and was determined to burn a sitting government down, I would interlace my deceit and corrupt ideas with bits of silver- tongued articulation while giving compliments to presenters so as to gain credibility and solidarity and to persuade others that I was the righteous one. Then I would claim to be a victim of political persecution by twisting words and meanings, accusing others of doing what I was actually guilty of myself. Then to gain control and enable my plan, I would antagonize and frustrate fellow colleagues to the point of anger. Their reactions then could be deemed irrational and full of hatred, thus causing the vulnerable minds of those watching to question their credibility. Perhaps you say, how preposterous — no one would do all those things... BUT, HERE WE ARE.....anyone smell smoke? I think a drenching bucket of truth is in order. We each must choose what we will represent in life. Good, or evil; peace or chaos. The choice we make will be evidenced by how we live our lives. Our actions speak louder than our words. Do we choose to follow the peaceful rule of law, or do we want to make up our own? Our nation was founded on Judaeo Christian principles under God's guidance. The good news is that despite Satan's plans, God overrules them and He uses faithful people to thwart them. Does God win this local battle? I don't know, but what I do know is that in the end, He wins the war. You have heard it said that the only way evil can prosper is that good men do nothing. All we need is a few of those good men and women. Thank you to all who will stand and DO something against this evil firestorm. I have met several good men and women who I believe have been deceived by that smooth talk. I just hope that deception isn't permanent. Deb Shrock — Resident of Spokane Valley Spokane City Council - 7/22/25 We wish to thank our good leaders of the Spokane Valley Council and other city officials for leading our city with integrity, honesty and wisdom. Since we are all human, we all error at times. Yet, since our leadership is directed by a power greater than themselves. Those mistakes are owned and necessary corrections are made, so, thank you! We believe the city , ley, as proven through its leadership, governs with the constitutional principles of a Higher Power. Unfortunately, not all have that same character of leadership or ethical principles. There is an exception who seems to have a desire to bring about destruction through chaos and deception, as evidenced by their behavior. Showing hostility, an uncooperative attitude toward fellow officials and a show of defiance for what has been adopted as rules to operate a city efficiently, lawfully, and in peace. It has been stated that one official wishes to "burn it down." "It", I think is referring to city government which equates to our God-fearing city leaders. If I were a political arson who wanted to burn down a city government, I would do it this way... Install a person who is intelligent, has a grasp of the political arena, articulates well in conversation, has a charismatic personality, who can smooth talk a good game. One who can undermine existing authority but still come across as the victim when that authority holds to lawful city function. If I were that arson, I would say I was for the safety and well-being of the citizens then disregard my oath and refuse to follow guidelines. And, I would vote no to as many agenda items as I could — items that would be good for the city, just to irritate and cause dissension. If I were that arson, I would say what's good is bad and support what's bad and say it's good. I would then organize a following to support me by telling them how badly I was treated to elicit sympathy. This could be accomplished by showing aggression at the office, yelling and throwing a tantrum, which would cause others to feel unsafe at the work place, make the government institution feel it necessary to provide a space for me to work that was less threatening to others, which now I could use as an excuse to claim mistreatment and victim hood. It would only have to be a small following, yet one who would support me completely and voice it loudly. I would target the ones who already had a chip on their shoulder or would be easy to convince to get one. Ben Lund — Proud 37-Year Resident Title: Everyday Accountability Matters Spokane Valley City Council Meeting — July 22, 2025 Good evening, Mayor and Councilmembers, Deputy Mayor Hattenburg, and City Leadership. On Friday, July 18th, the court case involving Councilmember Merkel officially began. The first article to hit the press came from The Spokesman -Review. Judge Rachelle Anderson stated: "Obviously, I can tell from the declarations and the volume of materials I reviewed for these motions —there really is a lot at stake. I have my work cut out for me. And I'm balancing everything." Judge Anderson ruled on two key motions that day. Her decisions allowed the city's lawsuit to move forward while granting Councilmember Merkel limited privacy protections. Yahoo News described it as a "middle ground," requiring CM Merkel to produce all communications considered public records, along with a log explaining why any materials are being withheld as private. To get to this point has cost the citizens of Spokane Valley over $400,000. That's money we'll never get back pulled from our already tight city budget. My hope is that now, the dozens of overdue public records requests can finally be fulfilled. That would bring peace of mind not just to this Council and city leadership, but to all of us citizens. It would also reduce our legal exposure moving forward. There's something many residents may not know: Councilmember Merkel's Nextdoor account has been permanently banned for nearly two months. That brings up two very serious questions: 1. What happens if Councilmember Merkel cannot meet Judge Anderson's order —if he fails to produce the original copies of his texts, emails, social media messages (Nextdoor, Facebook, TikTok), websites, and more? 2. And if he can produce them —then why wait this long? Why drag Spokane Valley through 19 months of legal stonewalling and rack up nearly half a million dollars in costs? All of this could've been avoided by doing one simple thing: Archiving communications with the public and following the law just like every other elected official in this state is required to do, and already does. We talk a lot about big -picture leadership, but everyday accountability is where trust begins. It's not dramatic. It's not glamorous. It's just right. Thank you to Brad Hohn for posting that press release about me and to Judge Anderson, this really helps the recall. CM Merkel is it time to resign? Thank you nreax puny the people the pric 1n taxpa} is trust. .0 pay