Kendall Yards ad sparks debate
Spokane County Commissioners Mark Richard and Todd Mielke said Tuesday that they see nothing wrong with endorsing a real estate development in a newspaper advertisement before deciding whether to approve public financial support.
Commissioner Bonnie Mager agreed with Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Jim Emacio that it’s a bad idea to join Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession in public praise of the proposed Kendall Yards residential and commercial development before a key vote on the project.
The advertisement would consist of an open letter under the headline, “Welcome, Kendall Yards.” It would be signed by Richard, as chairman of the county commissioners, and Hession.
A draft of the advertisement text begins by calling the 80-acre project on the north bank of the Spokane River just west of Monroe Street, “an incredible opportunity.” The text goes on to explain the tax-increment financing that would help pay for the project.
“Leadership is key, and your City and County will provide it,” the advertisement would state. “… Let’s together be enthusiastic in our support for Kendall Yards.”
That might be interpreted as an indication that commissioners have already decided to allow some of the property taxes generated by the project to be used for construction costs, Emacio suggested.
“You might ask yourself whether it would more properly come before you at another time,” Emacio said of the advertisement.
Mager agreed: “I think it seems ill-advised.”
Mielke said he was “comfortable” as long as no public money was used for the advertisement and its sponsor was named. Commissioners had no details on who would pay for the advertisement or when and where it would be published.
Richard questioned Emacio about whether approval of the tax-increment financing is a quasi-judicial act for which rules of fairness might require him to recuse himself if he signs the advertisement. No, Emacio answered, but constituents might perceive a question of fairness.
“I don’t think it (signing the advertisement) compromises us from negotiating in good faith on behalf of the taxpayers,” Richard said.