Mike Prager

The Spokane City Council apparently cannot place a moratorium on residential construction in northwest Spokane, despite calls from neighborhood organizations to temporarily halt growth in that part of the city until streets are improved. Assistant City Attorney Mike Piccolo told the council this week that they lack sufficient evidence of an emergency to justify a building moratorium under state law.

The Spokane City Council on Monday approved the sale of 22 acres of city property for $1 million in the Grandview neighborhood of southwest Spokane. Greenstone Corp. beat out three other bidders for the property and agreed to install improvements to Grandview Avenue from 17th to 18th avenues as well as add improvements to nearby Grandview Park.

A proposal by embattled Mayor Jim West to sell Joe Albi Stadium was rebuffed on Monday by an increasingly independent Spokane City Council. The vote came as opponents of the mayor gathered signatures for a recall election.

A proposal to replace downtown Spokane parking meters with ticket-spitting pay stations has fallen victim to a cash crisis of sorts. The machines currently on trial along West Main Avenue and at City Hall will not accept paper money – a deficiency city officials said has doomed the plan for now. The machines only accept coins, debit cards and credit cards.

Three city-owned residential properties on the North Side have been renovated by the Spokane Service Team and are now being put up for sale by the city of Spokane. The City Council on Monday approved a resolution providing for the sales of residences at 1027 E. Glass, 1318 E. Glass and 2614 E. Joseph avenues.

Would-be bean counters and amateur policy wonks can take a crack at balancing the city of Spokane's budget woes. The city's official Web site – www.spokanecity.org – includes a device called a "budget calculator" that allows users to electronically write their own city budget.

When all of the dollars involved in the failed River Park Square garage deal are finally counted, the city of Spokane should end up with $1.9 million in cash that could be applied to its general fund reserves. The city's chief financial officer on Monday gave City Council members a proposed budget that reconciles various remaining costs associated with closing the troubled garage deal.

Spokane city officials are figuring that 30 percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing. So, in a bid to raise money, they are proposing a one-time-only partial amnesty for parking scofflaws.

Spokane City Council members on Saturday said they are becoming increasingly impatient with Mayor Jim West for his coziness with Spokane County commissioners. Council members for months have called for city annexation of a prime commercial property north of Francis Avenue on the west side of Division Street. They view the annexation as part of a strategy to shore up the city's ailing budget.

Spending on historic preservation, arts and regional economic development could be cut next year to help balance the city of Spokane's ailing budget. In addition, the city could lose its weights and measures inspection program, which protects consumers and businesses from financial losses due to inaccurate readings on scanners, pumps and scales. Inspectors earlier this year caught a potential $750,000 loss to consumers from an inaccurately weighed frozen fish product, officials said.

Spokane Mayor Jim West's attempt to create an independent Municipal Court has been blocked by a Superior Court judge. The mayor had proposed pulling the city out of a combined city-county District Court in 2007, a move that would allow the city to re-establish its own independent court for misdemeanors, infractions and parking violations.

The Spokane City Council on Monday approved a supplemental agreement with a consultant for additional technical studies on developing a 20-acre site for storm-water handling as well as open space for wildlife and recreation. The Hazel's Creek Regional Drainage Facility is to be located between Freya and Regal streets south of Ferris High School. It will collect and hold runoff during periods of storms or snow melt but also be available to public for recreation.

A burned-out residential hulk left over from a Jan. 11 fire at Knox Avenue and Post Street apparently is going to be torn down by the city. The Spokane City Council is being asked to approve a demolition contract to tear down the remains of the fire at 803 W. Knox Ave. The contract comes up for a vote on Monday. Larson's Demolition is slated for the job at a cost of $9,650.

If you like the beauty and mystery of a shooting star, this is the week to take some time to look up at night. The Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak on Thursday and Friday nights as the Earth passes through a debris trail left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.

Spokane City Council members on Monday approved a $4.25 million settlement with a law firm, one of the last settlements in a massive legal case involving financing of a parking garage at River Park Square. Council members voted 6-1 in favor of the settlement payment from the Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie, which had acted as the city's bond counsel on River Park Square financing as well as on other city projects. Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers, a critic of RPS garage financing, voted no.

Spokane City Council President Dennis Hession on Friday renewed his call for Mayor Jim West to resign in the wake of a report that the FBI searched the mayor's home last week for evidence of public corruption. Council members Cherie Rodgers, Mary Verner and Bob Apple said the FBI search validates the council's unanimous vote in May calling on West to step down over allegations of sexual impropriety and abuse of office.

Two Spokane neighborhood fire stations would be closed next year under budget cuts currently being considered at City Hall. In addition, the police department could lose staffing for its traffic enforcement unit, volunteer services, COPS shops, report writing center and other special services.

Plans to encourage a mix of residential, retail and commercial uses in two neighborhood business areas are expected to go before the Spokane City Council later this month and next month. Both proposals would encourage pedestrian-friendly development and expand business development opportunities. Property owners and neighbors have been involved in writing both plans.

Spokane City Council members voted unanimously Monday to take over a city investigation into allegations of misconduct by Mayor Jim West. The vote came as the fifth – and final – member of a city task force appointed by the city attorney to investigate the mayor submitted a letter stepping down and urging the council to launch its own investigation.

A majority of Spokane City Council members this week said they oppose putting Joe Albi Stadium up for sale, at least for now, and their resistance could block Mayor Jim West's plan to turn the stadium grounds into tax-producing home sites. "Don't sell it. Keep it," said Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers, one of two council members representing the northwest district of the city.

Spokane City Council President Dennis Hession on Tuesday called on the full council to take control of a stalled internal review into potentially inappropriate personal activities of Mayor Jim West. Hession said he plans to introduce a resolution this week that would invoke the council's broad power to conduct investigations of city affairs. A vote could come as early as Monday.

As financial problems deepen for Spokane city government, the mayor is freezing new hiring while the City Council juggles accounts so the city can continue paying its bills. The council Monday approved a $1.7 million budget transfer to cover extremely large medical costs for three retired police officers. The money was taken from sales tax receipts that normally are used to pay for general services, including police and fire officer salaries.