 |
It wasn’t a total surprise, but it was a bit of business that needed to be taken care of: Spokane County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to support the upcoming Crime Check/emergency communications ballot measure.
Also not surprising: The board split 2-1 in favor of obligating $4.3 million to purchase 315 acres of property in the West Plains, including the Spokane Raceway Park area.
While on the surface the two items seems unrelated, the commissioners have been dogged by questions regarding the land purchase. Many wonder how the county can afford to buy the racetrack and not fund new radios for sheriff’s deputies or restore the 456-2233 Crime Check number.
Commissioner Todd Mielke said the two numbers don’t even compare.
“The debt service for Spokane Raceway Park is $200,000 or $300,000 a year,” he said. “The (communications equipment and Crime Check) is $8 million a year. So hopefully that clarifies that question.”
No one spoke against the commissioners’ decision to support the ballot measure, which would place .01 of 1 percent sales tax on purchases in Spokane County to pay for the reinstatement of Crime Check, upgrade communication equipment for emergency responders and improve the existing 9-1-1 system.
“Every day we have officers that go into the field who don’t know if their radios are going to work or not,” Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told the commissioners.
The sheriff also added that Crime Check is a “significant component” of incident reporting that has been missed since the city of Spokane ceased funding its portion three years ago.
“How many citizens are in need of help when we’re not providing basic service to them?” he asked.
Ballots were mailed this week for the May 20 election, and voters should be receiving them soon. However, Knezovich issued a statement earlier in the day Tuesday that he was concerned that voters weren’t aware the election was coming up so fast.
“I have heard from several citizen sources that they believed the ballot measure for the communications issue would be next November,” Knezovich said in the prepared statement. “It would be unfortunate if voters failed to act on this critical measure because they thought the vote was six months away.”
While there was no dissent among the commissioners in their support of the upcoming ballot question, Commissioner Bonnie Mager voiced her opposition to the purchase of the Raceway Park land.
“I will not be voting in support of this,” she said. “As most everyone knows, I was not in favor (of the land buy).”
Spokane County was the high bidder for the four parcels of property on April 10. The $4.3 million also includes $1 million in “hold back” funds by the seller for potential environmental cleanup at the property.
A county off-road vehicle park is adjacent to the land, which makes it possible for other future recreational opportunities such as soccer fields or a BMX racing course.
Click
here to...
Subscribe to the Spokane Valley News Herald
|
|
By
Mike Huffman
