Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about.
Some things that stick out to us this week include:
- The Spokane City Council has its first meeting of the year and it’s going to be a doozy with public protests, new members swearing in and a few key items up for a vote, like council committee assignments, an eviction diversion program and a resolution to honor MLK Day and Juneteenth.
- Urbanists, stay tuned: Spokane city’s Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee is discussing the Spokane Falls Boulevard rebuild project, which could include shifting part of the boulevard from one-way to two-way traffic.
- Spokane County will likely approve a resolution acknowledging its complicity in the “forever chemicals” contamination crisis on the West Plains, stemming from activity at the Spokane International Airport, which it jointly owns with the city of Spokane.
- The Central Valley School District is set to change its sexual education policy to align with state law, ensuring students are being taught “medically and scientifically, age appropriate” materials and prohibiting abstinence-only sex ed.
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council (and Study Session)
- Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee
- Spokane Plan Commission
- Board of County Commissioners – Briefing Session and Legislative Session
- Spokane County Planning Commission
- Mead School District Board of Directors
- Central Valley School District Board of Directors
- West Valley School District Board of Directors
- Spokane Valley City Council
Spokane City
Spokane City Council
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
It’s the Spokane City Council’s first meeting of the new year — and freshman council member Sarah Dixit’s first meeting on the dais — and it’s shaping up to be a big one.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), joined by other groups like Democratic Socialists of America, Veterans for Peace and Spokane Community Against Racism, are holding an action prior to the meeting at 5:30 pm, demanding the city council condemn Trump’s military actions in Venezuela and pass more policies banning compliance between the city and ICE (which is technically already illegal in most circumstances due to the Keep Washington Working Act.)
Separately, other community members are rallying to ask the council to pass the resolution drafted by Spokane NAACP president and council communications director Lisa Gardner to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth after the Trump administration removed them as free national park entrance days.
And at the top of the meeting, council members Zack Zappone, Kate Telis and Dixit are all getting officially sworn into office for their four year terms. Now on to the actual items on the agenda for the night!
Consent agenda: a $1.7 million bike path and grants for cops
There are three big items we noticed on the consent agenda, which is voted on in a batch at the beginning of the meeting. One is forward movement on a federally-funded project to extend the existing shared-use path on the north side of Sunset Highway, west of Government Way from Royal Street west to Spotted Road. The city engineers estimated this phase of the project could cost up to $3,260,888.50, but if the city accepts the low bid of $1,746,222.50 from Corridor Contractors tonight, they could come in way under budget.
Also on the consent agenda are two votes to accept grants for the Spokane Police Department. The first is funding from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, which will be spent on traffic safety patrol hours through September 2026. Our region is receiving $94,500 and Spokane city’s portion of that is roughly $60,000. The other grant is $1 million of federal funding over five years from the Department of Justice to be spent on staffing up officers to “increase SPD’s community policing capacity.” The grant will cover roughly one sixth of the costs of the city’s plan to hire 8 new police officer positions by 2030.
The great seat shuffle
Headed into the new year, council needs to make some key decisions, like which council members are going to represent the city on which boards, who’s on internal committees and who’s chairing public committees. They submitted a draft list last month, which we covered here, but it’s changed slightly since then. Here’s some highlights of the council seat shuffle, which is set to be approved tonight:
- Last time, we noted that senior-most council member and lone conservative Michael Cathcart had been shut out of all committee chair and vice chair positions and all internal workgroups. He’s still likely out of a chairship, but he has now been swapped onto the key internal Council Office Operations Workgroup, replacing Council Member Paul Dillon from the old draft.
- Appointments to the key transportation-related boards and commissions look like they’re staying the same, with council members Kitty Klitzke, Zappone, Cathcart and Dixit headed to the Spokane Transit Authority, and Klitzke and Telis to the Spokane Regional Transportation Commission. Dixit, Telis and Zappone will all serve as liaisons to the Spokane City Transportation Commission.
- Fans of the parks, libraries and arts, your list has changed slightly: your reps will now likely be Dillon to the Parks Board, Telis to the Library Board and Dixit to the Spokane Arts Commission Board. (Note: the name of this board was updated from Spokane Art Board to Spokane Arts Commission Board at the Briefing Session on Jan 12)
- In the first draft, the leaderboard for total number of assignments was topped by Council President Betsy Wilkerson with 15, Zappone with 11 and Dixit with 10. Now, the distribution is a bit more even: Wilkerson has 13 appointments, Zappone 11, Dixit 10 and everyone else 9. When you go district by district, District 3 has the most appointments with 20, District 1 with 19 and District 2 with 18.
The full list can be reviewed on page 498 of the final agenda.
Recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth
Late last year, Trump’s administration released the list of the eight days where admission to national parks across the country are free. One notable change: Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth had been dropped from the list, replaced instead with Flag Day (which just so happens to be Trump’s birthday).
The NAACP spoke out against the changes, with President and CEO Derrick Johnson stating, “Removing MLK Day and Juneteenth from the national parks calendar is more than petty politics — it’s an attack on the truth of this nation’s history. It’s an attempt to erase the legacy of Dr. King, minimize the story of emancipation, and sideline the communities that have fought for generations to make America live up to its promise.”
Locally, Spokane NAACP Chapter President Lisa Gardner, who also serves as the council communications director, has led the charge for continued local recognition of the holidays. She penned a resolution that, if passed, would be a formal statement that the city recognizes MLK Day and Juneteenth as key moments in American history. This resolution, sponsored by Wilkerson and Dillon, is up for a vote tonight and can be read in full on page 543 of the agenda.
Cathcart has also submitted an amendment that looks pretty similar to the original draft, but has a few tweaks. It would change the title of the ordinance from “Resolution recognizing the importance of cultural celebrations, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, as key moments in American history,” to “Resolution recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth as culturally significant milestones in American history,” and changes the fifth whereas recital:
| Original Draft | Cathcart Amendment |
| “both holidays recently have come under federal scrutiny, with the National Park Service reporting that free entry to National Parks on both MLK Day and Juneteenth has now been removed, in what is a clear attempt to dilute history and historical changemakers, and thereby undermine the importance of these holidays in our country’s collective history.” | “both holidays recently have come under federal scrutiny, with the National Park Service reporting that free entry to National Parks on both MLK Day and Juneteenth has now been removed, undermining the importance of these holidays in our country’s collective history.” |
The original draft also commits the city to partnering with a list of “culturally based organizations,” like the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, The Spokane NAACP and the Juneteenth Coalition. Cathcart’s amendment removes the list of organizations to “avoid endorsing specific organizations,” and the potential for excluding other cultural organizations.
Editor’s Note: This section has been edited to reflect more context on the Cathcart amendment.
Eviction diversion
While we’ve heard from a few council members that this is likely to be deferred again, we wanted to include it just in case it’s not: the council is scheduled to vote on an eviction diversion ordinance tonight.
We covered this in December 2025, before it was deferred for the first time, but the gist is that council members Klitzke and Dillon are sponsoring an ordinance that would create a rental eviction diversion program in Spokane to “prevent homelessness, restore the landlord tenant relationship and ensure safe and healthy rental housing in Spokane.”
As evictions due to failure to pay rent continue to climb in the city, this legislation could streamline the process for helping tenants access eviction diversion funds. If passed, the ordinance would require landlords to provide tenants with written notice of all citywide eviction diversion programs both at the time of leasing and during any service of a notice to pay or vacate. An updated list of these programs will also be posted on the city’s website for ease of access for both tenants and landlords.
The ordinance also outlines the city’s goal to create a more permanent, city-operated program that would expedite state funds, handle landlord-tenant mediation, help connect tenants with service providers who can intervene early in the eviction process and work to keep tenants in housing and out of homelessness.
Klitzke and Dillon have both pointed to the need to streamline the eviction diversion process so that service providers can intervene on behalf of tenants facing evictions at the earliest possible point — rather than when a tenant has already received a notice to vacate — which can help people retain stable housing.
First read: Kratom ban
A new ordinance up for a first read could ban the sale and distribution (not the use) of kratom products within city limits.
What is kratom, you ask? According to the agenda documents, it’s “a psychoactive plant containing alkaloids including mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) at low levels that can have stimulant and opioid-like effects.” Google says pretty much the same thing, basically: it’s an uncontrolled substance with potential stimulant and sedative effects, sold as an energy booster or pain reliever. It has potential negative health impacts, like liver toxicity and seizures, and it can also be extremely addictive.
Early debates around the ordinance have revolved around whether kratom is a gateway drug to stronger substances, or a harm reduction tool for people trying to stop using opioids like fentanyl. There’s also an amendment on the table sponsored by Cathcart which would shift the purpose of the ordinance from banning sales to regulating sales, restricting the purchase of kratom for those under 21, banning the sale of “adulterated or enhanced kratom,” and prohibiting products attractive to children. We’ll know after the afternoon briefing session whether the Cathcart amendment has been adopted.
Agenda here
Monday, January 12 at 6 pm
Council Chambers
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane City Council Study Sessions
Agenda here when available.
Thursday, May 16 at 11 am
Council Chambers
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee
🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
A new Spokane Falls Boulevard
Due to aging pavement and underground infrastructure, the section of Spokane Falls Boulevard from Post Street to Division Street is slated to be rebuilt, and the Complete Streets ordinance requires that street renovations consider bike and pedestrian infrastructure. At today’s PIES committee, the council will get an update on the Spokane Falls Boulevard rebuild.
Options currently being studied include adding bike and pedestrian routes, increasing on-street parking and enhancing business frontages, but the biggest change on the table is converting the segment of the boulevard from Washington Street to Division Street from one-way traffic to two-way traffic. The company hired to advise on project design is now in the second phase of their stakeholder feedback process, with official project design scheduled to begin later this year.
Reminder: committee meetings now take public comment, so if you have strong feelings about the Spokane Falls Boulevard rebuild project, you can sign up to provide up to two minutes of comment here.
Agenda here
Monday, January 12 at 12 pm
Council Chambers
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane Plan Commission
🌶️🫑/5 peppers
Agenda here
Wednesday, January 14 at 2 pm
Council Briefing Center 808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane County
Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing Session
🫑/5 peppers
Agenda here
Tuesday, January 13 at 9 am
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Board of Spokane County Commissioners Legislative Session
🌶️/5 peppers
Board appt
The BOCC is set to appoint Bryan St. Clair to the VeraIrrigation District No. 15 (also known as Vera Water and Power) Board of Directors.
PFAS agreement with Ecology up for approval
In August, the Washington Department of Ecology added two to the list of responsible parties in the “forever chemicals” contamination crisis on the West Plains: the city of Spokane and Spokane County, which jointly own Spokane International Airport (SIA). Firefighting drills at SIA and Fairchild Air Force Base accidentally contaminated the West Plain aquifer, which provides drinking water to many rural homes. The BOCC will likely approve a resolution acknowledging its responsibility on Tuesday.
Agenda here
Tuesday, January 13 at 2 pm
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane County Planning Commission
🫑/5 peppers
Agenda here
Thursday, January 15 at 9 am
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.
School Boards
Mead School District Board of Directors
🌶️/5 peppers
Work session
There’s no detail in the posted agenda packet for this work session, so we’ll just highlight the items up for discussion that stuck out to us:
- Special Education Report/Update (Policy 2161) Including Isolation/Restraint Information (Policy 3246)
- Policy/Procedure 3207 (Prohibition of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying) Revision Discussion
- Nurse Staffing Discussion
Agenda here
Monday, January 12 at 7 pm
12509 N. Market St. Bldg. D, Mead
Watch via Zoom here.
Central Valley School District Board of Directors
🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Updates to Sex Ed policy
As part of the district’s periodic policy reviews, the CVSD board will get a presentation on changes to the Health/Human Growth and Development and AIDS Prevention Education policies. The changes stem from a 2020 law that requires all K-12 schools to provide comprehensive sex education (though the law gave a deadline of 2022). The new policy says students will be taught sex ed that is “medically and scientifically accurate, age appropriate, and inclusive of students” and that abstinence-only sex ed will not be taught. Parents will still get an advanced notice and can opt their kids out.
New playgrounds for 3 schools
Some exciting news for the kids in CVSD: Broadway Elementary, Summit School and Progress Elementary are all getting new play structures and site upgrades in the summer of 2026. If the board approves the plans now, construction should mostly be done by the 2026-27 school year.
Agenda here
Monday, January 12 at 6 pm
Board Room at 2218 N Molter Rd
Liberty Lake
Watch via Zoom here.
West Valley School District Board of Directors
🫑/5 peppers
Agenda here
Wednesday, January 14 at 8 am
Pasadena Park Elementary School
8301 E. Buckeye, Spokane
Watch via Zoom here.
Other Cities
Spokane Valley City Council
🌶️/5 peppers
Agenda here
Tuesday, January 13 at 6 pm, Special Meeting at 5:15 pm
10210 E Sprague Ave, Spokane Valley
Virtual attendance here.
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