Knox repaving put on hold
A project that will replace the pavement on Argonne Road between Indiana and Montgomery avenues took another step forward Tuesday night with the City Council’s approval of a $384,000 contract to do the work.
Originally the city also wanted to repave part of Knox near the Argonne intersection and rebuild a median there to allow more space for left-turning cars to line up on Argonne.
Bids for the work came in higher than expected, though, and the city opted to hold the Knox repaving for another year, senior engineer Steve Worley told the council at its meeting Tuesday.
“It’s tough bidding projects right now,” he said.
Spokane Rock Products was the low bidder but would have charged more than the $400,000 budgeted for construction if the Knox project were included.
In other city news:
•The council moved another six-month extension of temporary one-acre zoning for the Ponderosa and Rotchford Acres neighborhoods to a second reading.
•The council appointed Councilman Bill Gothmann to a regional task force on homelessness. A 2005 state law added a $10 charge for documents recorded with the county auditor, with the revenue going toward programs guided by the task force that aims to reduce homelessness by 50 percent in 10 years.
It is estimated that about 2,000 people receive homeless services in Spokane County, Gothmann said. About 160 of those are outside the city of Spokane, and half of that number comes from Spokane Valley.