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Up until recently, the relationship between Spokane County and the city of Spokane Valley has been chillier than a January night.
But it appears a thaw is on the horizon.
The county may not snowplow Spokane Valley city streets next year, and court services are also getting heavy scrutiny, but county Commissioner Mark Richard said the time has come for the two entities to sit down and work some things out.
“We owe it to our citizens to convene immediately,” Richard said.
That wish has also been expressed by Spokane Valley Mayor Richard Munson, who reiterated last week that the city has been happy with county service on the 17 contracts it currently holds with Spokane Valley. And although he and other city officials are still stinging from the abrupt way commissioners ended a contract for snowplow service for next winter – the mayor received a voice-mail message from Richard last month that the county would be done plowing Spokane Valley roads after Oct. 15 of this year – Munson said there is a deep need to mend fences.
Council Members Bill Gothmann and Deputy Mayor Dick Denenny met with commissioners Board Chairman Todd Mielke last week to begin the process of doing just that. By all accounts, that meeting went well.
“Things are going in the right direction,” Munson said at the Jan. 13 council meeting. “I hope we can develop a closer relationship soon.”
On Tuesday, the commissioners extended the city an olive branch in the form of allowing Spokane Valley to retain District Court services, provided by the county, if an analysis into other potential vendors yields no viable alternatives. The only stipulation is that the city must notify the county by Dec. 1, 2009, if it wants to retain its current District Court contract.
On Jan. 27, Spokane Valley City Council members are planning to vote whether or not to give the county a cancellation notice on the District Court contract. The notification is necessary now if the city wishes to either form its own court or contract with another provider – most likely the city of Spokane, which is forming its own municipal court.
While city officials have repeatedly said they are happy with the current contract and others provided by the county, they say they must analyze potential alternatives to all the contracts with the county in case another instance of a short-notice cancellation occurs.
“We have no difficulties with the District Court,” Council Member Bill Gothmann said at the Jan. 13 meeting. “We just need an alternate analysis.”
On Tuesday, Cary Driskell, deputy city attorney, made the request to county commissioners to allow Spokane Valley to withdraw a request to cancel the District Court contract. While the city would prefer to simply do the analysis, state law requires Spokane Valley to make a contract cancellation notice by Feb. 1 in order to allow for it to be able to create its own court. Otherwise, the city couldn’t get out of the existing contract by Dec. 31, 2014.
If the city does decide to sever the current District Court contract, it could set up its own court or contract with Spokane in January 2011.
Although Commissioners Richard and Mielke agreed to the city’s request – Commissioner Bonnie Mager was not present Tuesday -- they took the opportunity to once again reiterate that snow-plow contract should not jeopardize the remaining contracts between the city and the county. They both said that the city made the choice to begin to phase out the summer road maintenance work, which left essentially the winter plowing.
“We’ve always said we would continue the contract as long as it was mutually beneficial,” Richard said, adding that the city also didn’t want to continue to plow at a service level the county had provided for years. “It was reduced to a level that we, frankly, were not comfortable with.”
Mielke added the county was required to keep on employees for winter plowing that otherwise might not be needed in order to keep up its end of the contract.
“The contract had dwindled down to just the snowplowing,” he said. “We kept permanent employees even if it didn’t snow. If it doesn’t snow, the city doesn’t pay us anything. Without a comprehensive contract, it just doesn’t make much sense.”
Spokane County District Court Presiding Judge Richard White, who was at the commissioners’ Tuesday meeting, said whatever has happened between the county and the city, it shouldn’t jeopardize the existing District Court contract.
Three major studies, he said, support the idea of a consolidated court structure in Spokane County as the best option for the area.
“I would suggest (to the city of Spokane Valley), leave it alone,” White said.
“Fight about your snow removal, but leave the courts alone because it’s in the best interest of the community.”
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By
Mike Huffman
