Cda To Start Planning Further Into The Future Judy Gives State Of The City Address

Mayor Steve Judy used his State of the City address Tuesday to announce a new goal of planning 20 years in advance.

Judy spoke to about 180 people at the Coeur d’Alene Area Chamber of Commerce’s Upbeat Breakfast at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

He used a computer-assisted presentation to highlight several milestones of the past year.

“We are entering a strategic planning process,” Judy said. “We are talking about where we want to be 20 years from now.

“There are a lot of demands out there. We should have a plan that integrates all those things. The end goal here is to hopefully bring those young people back where they can make a living and raise a family.”

A group of more than 40 city leaders, business people and residents have been asked to take part in the effort, which is just starting.

The city tends to react to problems and find money to pay for projects after they are needed, he said.

“The idea is to get way out ahead of it and have a large community conversation,” Judy said.

Those conversations will start with focus groups in all areas of the city.

Those ideas will then go through sounding boards for proposals forwarded to a steering committee. That group would then answer to an executive board, he said.

“The overall plan is to get it done in the next year,” Judy said. “It’s an ambitious schedule. We hope to have the first public meeting in February.”

In review of 2000, Judy highlighted the 74-acre Riverstone development, the city’s $5 million reconstruction of Northwest Boulevard, the McEuen Terrace condominiums and other signs that Coeur d’Alene’s economy is strengthening.

“That (downtown) core area is where we need to spend our dollars in the future,” he said. “We need to help the community grow in the center of town.”