CdA City Council to meet with tribe

Looking for partnership, the Coeur d’Alene City Council will travel to the reservation next week to meet with the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council.

The May 9 summit is the first in recent memory but something both councils want to make a lasting tradition.

“Our goal is to open the communication and see where we can partner and learn from each other,” Mayor Sandi Bloem said.

The agenda includes a conversation about CityLink, the free fixed-route bus service that connects communities in Kootenai and Benewah counties.

Bloem said cooperation between the tribe and the city is even more crucial now that the city was awarded a Kroc Community Center.

The tribe wants to know what partnerships can be forged with the city if it decides to donate more petroleum tax dollars to the transportation system, said Quanah Spencer, the tribe’s legislative and public affairs director.

The tribe is credited with making CityLink possible because it provided $1.38 million in matching funds for a $1.38 million federal grant awarded to Kootenai County for the urban bus service.

Spencer said the tribe also wants to work with the city and North Idaho College to sponsor a candidate debate this fall for the 1st Congressional District race.

Bloem said other possible topics of discussion are water, affordable housing and job recruitment on the reservation.

The idea for the joint council meeting surfaced last month when tribal council members appeared on the city’s new Coeur d’Alene Now show on Cable Channel 19.

Spencer said it’s similar to the meeting the tribal council had with the Kootenai County Commission in January.

“We want to keep it an open forum and as fluid as we can,” Spencer said.