Evans aims to bring foresight to growth

Growing up in Dana Point, Calif. – a coastal paradise in burgeoning Orange County – Jack Evans saw his once intimate hometown grow into a place overrun with residential developments and traffic, but few good jobs.

As a result, the town became a bedroom community for bigger cities, he said.

Evans is concerned the same thing could happen in Post Falls if its growth is not planned well.

One of three candidates for City Council, he said if elected he’d draw on his personal experiences in a boomtown to help the city manage its expansion.

Attracting environmentally cleaner industries – like high-tech companies – is one of his top priorities, he said.

“I want to concentrate on better quality jobs, more industry and commercial businesses. … It’s crucial we bring in business at the same time (as housing). We need the taxes and the jobs” to pay for good schools and roads, police and fire protection, and city infrastructure, Evans said.

With vision, Post Falls can grow to become a community in which people live, work and play, he said.

One of the least of his concerns is bringing in new housing developments.

“Developers will come, I’m not worried about that, they’ll be coming for years,” he said.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Evans said he’s comfortable in the presence of CEOs and other corporate leaders.

“I can assure you I can sit down at the table with them and entice them to (relocate their companies) to Post Falls,” he said.

Three years ago he moved his family to town to escape the impersonal and consumptive atmosphere that pervades Dana Point.

“We like Post Falls’ values, and we love the beauty of North Idaho,” Evans said.

He also agrees with the direction the city is moving, he said.

Coming up, the proposed Greensferry interchange, building more corridors and the future of Old City Hall will be acute issues the community will face, he said.

“The City Hall, that’s huge for me,” he said.

“It’s got to come down. I’m totally buying the city and what they’ve decided to do.”

One of his strengths, he said, is his ability to take in lots of information, analyze it and reach rational decisions that will benefit the city and its citizens.