Mayor to deliver address at free evening event

Spokane Valley Mayor Rich Munson’s State of the City address will be even more accessible than planned this year.

Not only will Munson give his speech in the evening this year, it will be free. Plans for a $40-a-plate dinner have been scrapped.

Instead, the city will provide some light refreshments for a public social hour before Munson’s March 4 address at the CenterPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Place.

The dinner was to have been organized by the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, but Munson and chamber President Eldonna Shaw said a tight timetable and doubts about financial feasibility led to cancellation of the dinner.

“It’s hard,” Shaw said. “We have to make sure we cover our costs, and that’s kind of hard to do on short notice. This just didn’t seem to be something that was going to work for us.”

Still, Munson said he wanted to try an evening presentation.

“We need to make this more accessible,” he said.

If the turnout is poor, Munson said he may revert to giving the first presentation of his message – which he reprises for numerous groups – at a chamber luncheon. But he promises to be entertaining.

“I’ve got great slides, and I’m buying a straw hat and cane so I can tap dance,” Munson said.

No reservations or tickets are required for next month’s Wednesday evening event. The social hour will start at 5:30, and Munson is scheduled to speak from 6:30 to 7:30.

Plans always called for Munson to deliver his address to a chamber luncheon as Spokane Valley mayors traditionally have done.

That event, also open to the public, will be at noon April 9 at the Mirabeau Park Hotel. The Avista-sponsored luncheon will cost $25 a plate, but gallery seating will be available for anyone who just wants to hear Munson’s speech.

Shaw said the chamber’s new “Spotlight on our Cities” program calls for events focusing on Millwood and Liberty Lake, possibly in May or June, that may or may not involve state-of-the-city addresses.

“We’re not quite sure about the format,” Shaw said. “It’s just an opportunity to call attention to what all our cities are doing.”