Citizen shown door after angry display
Motorcycle club president throws fliers after councilman refers to them as scare tactic
Papers went flying at the Spokane Valley City Council Tuesday evening, before an angry Scott Maclay was escorted out of the meeting by the Valley police chief.
Maclay is the president of Rattlesnakes Motorcycle Club, which has been calling for a full investigation into the death of 15-year-old Ryan Holyk, who was killed in an incident involving a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy last year.
Maclay was in the hallway outside council chambers handing out fliers with a graphic photo of Holyk.
In June, Holyk’s family asked Maclay and the Rattlesnakes to stop using Holyk’s photo and name in what the family called a campaign against Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.
Tuesday evening, Maclay claimed he has the Holyk family’s full support.
Maclay was allotted the usual three minutes to speak during the first public comment period and immediately complained that city staff refused to display the graphic photo of Holyk on the screens in council chambers.
Maclay said the deputies involved in the incident told the truth, but that the Spokane Police Department twisted the truth and the ongoing investigation is a cover-up.
“I’m standing up for what’s morally right,” he said.
When Councilman Chuck Hafner told Maclay that the flier is a scare tactic and inappropriate, Maclay yelled that the council has blood on its hands and threw the remaining fliers at Hafner and the dais.
Spokane Valley Police Chief Rick VanLeuven, who’s usually at the meetings, then escorted Maclay out of City Hall.
“He was advised to leave, and he did,” VanLeuven said after the meeting.
Other matters:
• Mayor Dean Grafos appointed Charles Stocker to fill a position on the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, which became open when Herman Meier passed away on June 9.
• Flashing pedestrian lights will be installed at these intersections: Valleyway and Argonne Road, Valleyway and Mullan Road, on Indiana Avenue near the entrance to Twigs and at 32nd Avenue and Collins Road. The lights as well as other signage, upgrades of pedestrian signals and bike route signage, is partly funded by a Highway Safety Improvement Program. The program covers $400,000 and the city’s share is $103,424 of the total cost.
• President of Greater Spokane Incorporated Steve Stevens gave a presentation to the City Council about a study commissioned by GSI to look into the establishment of port districts as a way of financing infrastructure to make land more attractive to companies looking to relocate.
The Valley’s share of the cost of the study would be $7,500. An informal poll showed council members Ed Pace, Arne Woodard and Rod Higgins opposed to paying for the study, and Bill Gothmann, Ben Wick, Dean Grafos and Chuck Hafner supported paying for the study.
The study will come back as a formal agenda item and be up for a vote at next week’s meeting.
• City Manager Mike Jackson said to expect a presentation on the new City Hall at the regular City Council meeting on Sept. 15. This presentation will include renderings of the new building. The council is expected to discuss the design and there will be opportunities for public input.