Jackson new city manager

The Spokane Valley City Council voted Tuesday to give acting city manager Mike Jackson the job he has held since February. The motion to give Jackson the job was greeted by applause from the crowd, which included several city employees who wanted to see who would be their new boss. By a 5-2 vote, Jackson beat out two other candidates for the position – Michael Wilson of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Paul Schmidt of Cheney.

Jackson was hired by the city in 2003 as the parks and recreation director and was promoted to deputy city manager in 2007. He was named acting manager in January after former chief Dave Mercier was asked to resign.

All three were excellent candidates and very professional, said Mayor Tom Towey. “This isn’t an easy decision on our part,” he said. “This particular position is going to have a tremendous impact on our city.”

Each council member was given a chance to make a comment before any motion was made. Most thanked city staff for their hard work and said how impressed they were with the caliber of the candidates. A few made reference to how the sometimes fractious council worked together to make the decision. “This has not been the most collegial body that I have seen,” said councilwoman Rose Dempsey. “I was really surprised we were all together.”

“I think we worked for the common good,” said Councilman Dean Grafos.

Councilman Bob McCaslin announced he wanted to abstain from voting, but the city clerk said he was not allowed to. “I’m going to vote no,” he said, adding that he thought another candidate was better.

City Attorney Mike Connelly said McCaslin should wait for the motion to be made before announcing how he was going to vote. “I know who it is and so do you,” McCaslin said.

Councilman Gary Schimmels made the motion to hire Jackson.

Said Councilman Bill Gothmann, “We got outstanding reports on his ability to work with people from his references.”

Grafos said Jackson was “customer service-oriented” and willing to listen. Jackson was also able to renegotiate the law enforcement contract in six months “after years of posturing and wrangling,” Grafos said.

Grassel said she would support whomever the council chose, but preferred someone with more experience. “I am probably in the minority here,” she said.

Schimmels was joined by Grafos, Towey, Gothmann and Dempsey in voting for Jackson. McCaslin and Grassel voted no.

In a Wednesday morning interview, Jackson said he was pleased to be given the position even though all the council members didn’t agree. “I didn’t have any anticipation about how it might turn out,” he said. “I’m certainly not shocked and surprised that it wasn’t a unanimous vote. Hopefully the longer that we work together the more all of the council might see that I’m the best person for the job.”

Jackson said he plans to go it alone for the rest of the year and not immediately hire a deputy city manager in order to save money. “We’re examining all of the vacant positions as part of the budget process,” he said. “I just want to be consistent and treat this the same way as the other vacant positions in the city.”

In other business, the council voted unanimously Tuesday to take a tougher stand against panhandling by passing an ordinance that makes it illegal for panhandlers to step onto busy arterials to accept money. Having people step into the street causes a traffic hazard. “Our goal was to make our streets safer and function more efficiently,” said Deputy City Attorney Cary Driskell.

The ordinance is legal, but there is some legal risk involved, Driskell said. “We are dealing with First Amendment rights,” he said.

The areas specified in the ordinance include all I-90 on- and off-ramps; Sprague Avenue; Appleway; Dishman-Mica, Pines, Argonne, Mullan and Sullivan roads; Broadway Avenue between I-90 and the western city limits; Evergreen Road north of Sprague; Barker Road between Appleway and I-90; and 32nd Avenue between Best and Dishman-Mica roads.

The restrictions also include the first five feet beyond the edge of a paved shoulder if there is no sidewalk, and panhandlers can’t step into the road if they are on a side street within 100 feet of an intersection with a state highway or principal arterial.

In addition to being banned from stepping into the road, panhandlers also can’t ask for donations with a sign. Dempsey asked if that meant that people couldn’t stand on the sidewalk and advertise a car wash or other fundraiser. “That is not a violation because they are not entering the roadway,” Driskell said.

Grassel asked Police Chief Rick Van Leuven how fast officers would enforce the new ordinance. Van Leuven replied that he would probably give out warnings and information on the new ordinance for a week or two. “We certainly want to be fair,” he said. Violations of the ordinance will result in a misdemeanor charge and a fine.

Several members of the public spoke in favor of the ordinance. Former city councilman Rich Munson cautioned that the council shouldn’t expect the ordinance to completely fix the panhandling problem. “It will be a tool, not a solution,” he said.