Redraw May Shrink Proposed City To Ease Concerns Of Fire Districts

Thu., Sept. 21, 2000

By Lorie Hutson lorieh@spokesman.com (509) 459-5446

The new city proposed for the Spokane Valley is probably going to get a little smaller.

Backers of the incorporation effort are likely to finalize plans today to redraw the city limits after chiefs for two Spokane County fire districts said the plan would cause serious problems for those fire districts.

Chiefs for fire districts 8 and 9 told the city proponents the districts could lose tax dollars if the neighborhoods they serve are included in the proposal. The losses could threaten fire service across their districts, they said.

Philip Rudy, chairman of the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce governance committee, said he will recommend moving the boundaries to exclude neighborhoods in the two fire districts. Fire District 9 serves Northwood. District 8 serves Painted Hills and Pondersa south of 44th Avenue.

“We’ve looked at all of the choices and ramifications of the boundaries,” he said. “We know the choice isn’t easy but we want to do things as comfortably as possible for everyone.”

The chamber’s governance committee, the Spokane Valley Business Association, and a citizen’s group called the Community Action Committee are supporting the plan for the city of Spokane Valley.

Bob Anderson, District 9 fire chief, said if the neighborhoods want to be annexed to the city of Spokane Valley after it is formed there are state laws that would guide the negotiations over continued fire service and the lost tax money.

“I give the proponents high marks for being willing to hear us out and listen to our concerns,” Anderson said.

He addressed the city backers at a public meeting last week before the Boundary Review Board for Spokane County.

After the changes, the proposed Spokane Valley city limits would be the Spokane County interim urban growth boundaries, excluding Millwood, the proposed city of Liberty Lake and any areas that are not served by Spokane Valley Fire District. The city would have about 90,000 people.

Rudy said the governance committee is expected to finalize the changes to the boundaries at its meeting today. Proponents hope to have all the details finished by next week so they can begin circulating petitions. Incorporation supporters have about six months to gather the signatures 10 percent of the registered voters in the planned city of Spokane Valley - about 4,000 people.

When the signatures are turned in, the Boundary Review Board will begin to study the proposal and its effects on Spokane County. It could appear on the ballot as early as May.

This sidebar appeared with story: MEETING TIME The Community Action Committee will hold a meeting on incorporation at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Valley Library, 12004 E. Main. Chairman Ed Mertens said the group will discuss the plan for a new city in the Spokane Valley and anyone who is interested in the proposal is invited to attend.

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