Recreation center bond goes to ballot

Airway Heights’ proposed recreation center cleared one more hurdle on its way to being a reality by receiving the City Council’s unanimous blessings for a public vote on a $13 million bond proposal to fund the measure.

The council approved the measure after holding a third presentation on the center and unprecedented third reading of the ordinance at its May 2 meeting. The measure will meet the deadline to be submitted to the Spokane County Auditor’s Office for placement on the Aug. 2 primary election ballot.

If the measure passes it will mean an increase of $17.48 per month in property taxes to the owner of a $150,000 home in the city. That amount ranges from $11.56 per month for the owner of a $100,000 home to $23.31 to the owner of a $200,000 home.

According to information from the Spokane County Assessor’s Office, 872 of the city’s 1,072 homes fall into the $100,000 – $200,000 range, meaning roughly 80 percent of homeowners in the city will bear responsibility for paying for the center, at least at the beginning of the proposed bond’s 30-year period.

In an April 2014 survey conducted by the city, 70 percent of the 212 respondents listed a recreation center as either essential or very important. If the bond were approved, it would fund construction of a 35,000 square foot facility on property in the city’s north end south of Deno Road.

At the conclusion of a third presentation to the council, and the first held at a public meeting, ALSC Architect’s Ruston Hall pointed to a proposed timeline for construction should the measure pass. Of particular importance was the August – early November timeframe where validation of the vote, along with schematic design and construction development would take place — with citizen input playing a large part in the process.

“This is where everybody has a say,” Hall said.

Parks and Recreation Director J.C. Kennedy thanked the council after their vote, noting they typically don’t do three readings of an ordinance.

In other actions, the council approved an employment agreement for each of the city’s seven department manager positions. Each agreement identifies duties, salaries and benefits, linking the latter to the most recent adopted salary ordinance.

“It memorializes things that are in place, but individualizes for each department manager,” City Manager Albert Tripp said.

City attorney Stanley Schwartz told the council approving the agreements in such a manner creates certainty in employment for what are essentially “at will” employees. Department managers are not represented by union or labor contracts.

“Council, I applaud you for doing this,” Schwartz said.

“Agreed,” Councilwoman and Deputy Mayor Tanya Dashiell said. “I think we’ve learned a lot in the last couple of years.”

Council also conducted a public hearing and first read of an ordinance amending the city’s municipal code chapter “Livestock, Poultry and Exotic Animals” that would allow the keeping and raising of chickens and similar poultry in the city limits.

The only resident testifying during the hearing, Don Nelson, thanked the council for considering the ordinance, noting his family raises chickens. A second reading and final passage will occur at a future council meeting.

Council also approved an ordinance clarifying the duties and responsibilities of the city’s public defender while also adopting a case-weighting management system for the office, and an ordinance adding two new maintenance workers to the Public Works Department and a detective to the Police Department via the Police Guild.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.