Fourteen apply for commission

Fourteen Spokane Valley residents have applied for two vacancies on the city Planning Commission.

Mayor Rich Munson said he plans to select replacements for Planning Commission members Fred Beaulac and Gail Kogle for City Council confirmation on Tuesday.

The three-year appointments would be effective Jan. 1. Kogle and Beaulac intend to step down when their terms expire at the end of the year.

An anemic list of applicants swelled after city officials extended the filing period a week, until Nov. 21.

Munson said he was pleased with the candidates.

“It’s a pretty wide group of people,” he said. “We’ve got some people that are very qualified.”

The applicants are:

•Debra Alley, assistant to the president of Spokane Community College. She previously worked in the Spokane Valley Community Development Department and did clerical work for the Planning Commission. Alley is a prolific civic volunteer.

•Retired plastic surgeon Duncan Brown. He has served on a board of the Canadian nonprofit Victorian Order of Nurses.

•Leonard Christian, an Air Force retiree who is now a sales agent for Windermere/Cornerstone. He has volunteered with the Civil Air Patrol and the Life Services Crisis Clinic.

•Allan deLaubenfels, a recently retired Spokane County planner and zoning enforcement officer. He has been chairman of the Tumwater, Wash., city planning commission. DeLaubenfels serves on the local YMCA board and on Central Valley School District and Spokane County Community Action Agency committees.

•Corey Engstrom, a Rosauers pharmacy intern since June. He has volunteered in health-improvement campaigns.

•Matt Knoll, director of business development for Lydig Construction. He has served on the boards of the Spokane City Forum and the Kennewick General Hospital foundation.

•Joe Mann III, an associate real estate broker for Windermere Valley Inc. He has served on the Spokane County Board of Equalization since 2000 and is an adjunct professor of business planning and marketing at Gonzaga University.

•Dean Miles, a former head custodian in the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento, Calif. He has volunteered in domestic violence and PTA programs.

•J. Grant Person, vice president of sales and development at NAI Black, a commercial real estate firm. He is a past chairman of the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and has done volunteer work for Momentum ’87, the Boy Scouts, Central Valley schools and Spokane Valley Partners.

•Marcus Poulin, a former Rosauers employee who has been on a disability pension since 1993. He has been a Republican precinct officer and campaign volunteer.

•Neil Simpson Jr., co-owner of Associated Construction Inc. He has done volunteer work for the the Spokane City/County Construction Review Board, Spokane Community College and the March of Dimes.

•Tom Towey, a retired Washington Trust Bank transaction auditor and longtime Rosauers supermarket manager. He is director of the sheriff’s volunteer Incident Response Team, and has been president of the Central Valley and University SCOPE organizations.

•Jennie Willardson, who lives on investments, serves on the Neighborhood Alliance land-use planning organization and the city cable advisory board. She also has served on Spokane County Library District committees.

•Arne Woodard, president of Woodard Properties & Investment Inc. He is chairman of St. Mary’s Catholic Foundation. He has supported Spokane Valley incorporation and the Valley Center Food Bank.