Six Apply For Post Falls Council Seat Vacancy To Be Filled In January; Diverse Group Finds Common Thread In Addressing Growth

As the deadline for accepting applications nears, six people say they want to be Post Falls’ next City Council member.

As of Thursday afternoon, City Hall had received six applications for the open seat on the council. The deadline is today.

On Nov. 7, Mayor Gus Johnson was elected to serve on the Kootenai County Commission. Johnson will leave his mayoral seat in January. Post Falls’ next mayor will be elected by the City Council and will come from the four-member council.

Clay Larkin seems to be the front-runner for mayor. When the council announces its nomination Jan. 16, it also will appoint a new council member to take the vacated seat, City Clerk Chris Pappas said.

All of the applicants say growth is the central issue confronting the city. Post Falls has grown more than 114 percent since 1990 - to a population of more than 16,500. City officials estimate that number will leap to about 22,000 by 2002.

“I definitely support the growth, but we have to support it with good planning and strong infrastructure,” said Tim Bradley, one applicant.

Bradley, 33, has served as president of the Post Falls Volunteer Firefighter Association for the past year. He suggests the city form a citizens’ advisory group, with representatives from local schools, the city and community.

Bradley moved to Post Falls in 1996 from Washington. He is married, has a 3-year-old daughter and is executive vice president of Sound Forest Products. His company makes window components.

“The work (council members) do has direct impact on me,” Bradley said. He also said he feels a commitment to help his community. “Anything I can do to help influence that will help me as a resident.”

Richard Moore said he wants to serve as the city’s next council member because he has more than 20 years of government experience.

Moore, 62, is married and moved to Post Falls seven years ago. He worked as a police chief for 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, and was a city manager for five years. He works part time at the Idaho State Tax Commission as a sales tax specialist, and serves on Post Falls’ Urban Renewal and Urban Forestry commissions. For the past year, Moore has served on the county’s Planning Commission.

“I just fell in love with Idaho, and the small-town environment of Post Falls really attracted me. It’s where government really works for the people,” said Moore, who likes to spend his free time golfing with his wife.

Moore said he’d like to see the council readjust its comprehensive plan to accommodate Post Falls’ growing population.

“Post Falls is growing like wildfire,” said Jim Taccogna. Taccogna, 53, is a North Idaho native, and has spent much of his life around city government. He was raised in Sandpoint and began working for the city when he was 14 years old. He is superintendent of the Hayden Area Regional Wastewater System.

Taccogna spends his free time with North Idaho Classics, where he can show off his red ‘57 Chevy. He also spends coffee time with fellow residents, who seem to be the ears of the town, Taccogna said.

“Post Falls is run pretty tidy,” he said. “I’m not going in there to change one thing.”

Joe Doellefeld is ready to serve as a council member again, he said. With four years of experience, he’s prepared and can make an easy transition, he said.

“I kind of had a break, I guess and I hated getting off the council because I felt my work wasn’t done,” he said.

Doellefeld, 53, said he wants to keep the city’s budget at a minimum and try to recruit more commercial businesses and industries to the area. He previously served on the City Council for four years in the 1990s.

He is president of Stateline Speedway/Stadium, and was president of the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce for two terms. He also founded the city’s annual Oktoberfest, and works with two local charities.

“I understand the feel of the council,” Doellefeld said.

But the time’s right for new energy and a new mind set, said Keith Hutcheson, another applicant. Hutcheson, 32, is a canine deputy for the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.

Hutcheson said he likes what the council has done, and wants to help continue that.

After Hutcheson visited Post Falls, he said, he knew he wanted to move as soon as he returned home to Washington, D.C. Politics intrigue him, and it’s time to give back to the community, he said.

Hutcheson said public safety is important. He wants to see Post Falls’ new fire stations staffed 24 hours - a way to create a system of checks and balances with the department’s volunteers.

Bill Rigoli said he can help provide responsible growth to Post Falls, especially on the Rathdrum Prairie. The prairie would be a good spot to encourage more businesses, he said.

Rigoli, 51, has been in the roofing trade for 30 years, and he works for the Northwest Roofers Local 189. He moved his family to Post Falls in 1996, and applied for the council position because the job sounded personally satisfying, he said.

“I feel I would be honest and fair and come without any agenda,” Rigoli said.

Friends asked Rigoli to run for the state Legislature, but the City Council seemed like an easier step, he said. Rigoli wants to keep taxes low for all residents, but increase the tax base by bringing more businesses to the area.

In the past, the council has interviewed candidates separately, Pappas said. The one-page application included basic questions about the applicant’s involvement in the community.

Five more applications were taken, but they haven’t been brought back yet, Pappas said. Both the appointed mayor and the new council member will face an election next year.

This sidebar appeared with the story: AT ISSUE Growth

All the City Council applicants say growth is the central issue confronting the city.

Post Falls has grown more than 114 percent since 1990 - to a population of more than 16,500. City officials estimate that number will leap to about 22,000 by 2002.