Council withholds business bureau membership dues
In an eventful Tuesday night meeting, the Liberty Lake City Council amended its check approvals, unanimously withholding a payment to Greater Spokane Incorporated for the city’s biannual dues. The $6,000 payment on the yearly total dues of $12,000 was withheld after Councilman Josh Beckett brought up a motion to withhold the money contingent on GSI providing more information on the benefits it provides to the city.
“I’m not asking for a certain dollar threshold to say that it justifies our partnership or continued involvement with GSI,” Beckett said. “What I’m asking for is a better accounting of how that $12,000 is linking back to Liberty Lake specifically. That’s all we’re asking for. Nobody here said that there is a dollar threshold they’re looking for; that $10,000 is better than $12,000 or we want to see X number of dollars back to Liberty Lake. I’m not asking for that. Just show us the data to justify us participating in GSI.”
Beckett and the council did not rule out the possibility of continuing the city’s partnership with GSI, but indicated it will take a more impressive presentation than the two previously given over the last several months.
“I’ve sat through two presentations, one last year, and the other one last month, and quite honestly, it was not a compelling case. Hopefully, this will give them the opportunity to use the data they have to answer our questions. I suspect they’ve got it, but we haven’t seen it yet. They’re very proud about their lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., and Olympia; therefore I suspect they have data to suggest that every year they are bringing X number of dollars back to Spokane. OK, they’ve got that number, break it down for us. What did we see here in Liberty Lake? Did we see an expansion or contraction of businesses here in Liberty Lake? We’ve had jobs that have been lost in the last couple of years in the region and jobs that have come back in. Economically the jobs that were lost in the Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, are they in the same salary income bands as to what there was previously? Or are the new jobs paying less money? We need to see a greater breakdown of what GSI is doing as it relates to Liberty Lake for me, and evidently the rest of council, to continue our partnership.”
The council also unanimously accepted a bid from The Solar Stone, LLC to build the solar panel installation project for the Liberty Lake Police Department. The bid of $123,763 will be paid by a grant obtained from the Department of Commerce and Department of Energy.
In a workshop discussion item, the council listened to a lengthy presentation from the HUB Sports Center and the Spokane Regional Sports Commission to have the council look into a feasibility study of helping to operate the facility with public funding from the city. HUB Executive Director Phil Champlin said the facility, which is currently up for sale, can cover its daily operating expenses with the business they do now, but cannot cover the $10,000 a month rent they are currently paying. Champlin indicated the HUB is having difficulty securing business in the coming months because of the uncertainty of the building’s future, and that without secure funding, the facility could face possible closure by the fall.
Eric Sawyer, president and CEO of the Spokane Regional Sports Commission, told the council the HUB and the commission are not seeking funding right now, but “a commitment to the process” of finding funding for the HUB. Council members Odin Langford and Susan Schuler were pessimistic the council would put forth any funds from the city budget for the HUB.
Council members Beckett, Ryan Romney and Mayor Pro Tem David Crump volunteered to join a committee to look into the options available, including the feasibility of whether the city should help to run the HUB, possibly have the city of Spokane Valley and or Spokane County assist in a partnership, or have the HUB find another alternative to run the facility. Mayor Wendy Van Orman notified the council that if the issue is to go to the voters of Liberty Lake for possible funding in November, the council would need to have a proposal ready by August.