Feb 24 City Council Recap

Hi folks! Below is a recap of the Cheney City Council meeting from February 24th. You're also welcome to watch the full meeting recording below, and check out the official draft meeting minutes, which are up for review and approval at tonight's Council meeting.

General Notes

We heard five public comments:

• Two residents spoken in favor of reinstating the Pledge of Allegiance, while one spoke against it.
• Two comments addressed the Comprehensive Plan and UGA.

There were also two comments submitted via email to the Council and Mayor which were acknowledged in the record but not read aloud in full.

The meeting included the following 3 resolutions:

• Resolution F-473 - Pledge of Allegiance: At the start of 2026, the Pledge of Allegiance was quietly dropped as a standing agenda item at City Council meetings. There is no legal requirement for it to be included, but following public comment requesting it be added back, Councilmember Hahn spearheaded a resolution to formally require it. The resolution was routed through the Public Works and Utilities Committee, of which she is a member, but it did not go through the General Government Committee before being brought to the full Council for a vote.
  
  As someone who values process, and as we are still actively working through aligning on Council rules, I felt that a resolution of this nature, representing a general procedural change, should have gone before the General Government Committee first. I spoke up and pushed back on moving straight to a vote, which sparked a short but passionate discussion about what the proper process should be. Ultimately, a motion was still made and the resolution passed 6–1. I voted against it, though in hindsight I should have abstained given that my objection was to the process rather than the substance. Abstentions haven't been consistently called for, and I didn't wait for that opportunity.
• Resolution F-474 - MOU Approach to Homelessness: The Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a coordinated regional framework for addressing chronic homelessness and its associated mental health challenges. The MOU reflects a broader Spokane County effort to get ahead of a recent Presidential executive order and shift the regional approach to homelessness away from a "housing first" model toward a "treatment first" philosophy — prioritizing mental health and substance use intervention before placing individuals in permanent housing.
  
  The resolution passed 5–2, with Councilmember Belock and myself voting against. I opposed the resolution on the grounds that there was not yet sufficient evidence to justify Cheney weighing in on such a significant policy shift especially given the substantial amount of evidence supporting the effectiveness of the housing first model.
• Resolution F-475 - West Plains Aquifer Protection Area: The Council authorized the inclusion of Cheney's municipal boundaries in the proposed West Plains Aquifer Protection Area, paving the way for the measure to appear on an August 2026 ballot for voter approval. This resolution passed unanimously. You can see the full presentation that was presented to Council at a previous meeting here (with key slides shown below as well).

City Administrator Todd Ableman's staff report covered two active hiring processes. He shared that the Police Chief search was narrowed to three finalists and the interview plan for March 3rd including a public meet-and-greet which was scheduled for that evening. The new City Administrator search is following a similar process, with final interviews currently targeted for the week of March 16th.

Mayor Martin briefly shared highlights from her recent trip to Olympia for the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Mayors Exchange, noting it was a valuable opportunity to connect with mayors from across the state.

Council reports covered a range of topics. Councilmember Belock, who sits on the Opioid Abatement Council, shared an update on a new dashboard that tracks how opioid settlement funds are being utilized. She also noted that the Public Safety Committee is exploring a partnership with Parks & Recreation to direct some of those funds toward proactive community education. She additionally requested a future Council presentation on our city wells and the West Plains PFAS issue.

Councilmember Nazzaro shared a recap of the recent Coffee with Council event.

For my report, I shared a few slides covering four items: an update on the General Government Committee; a tour of the historic old church on Eastern Washington University's campus, which has generated renewed interest in restoration efforts; my participation in a couple of Fire District 3 strategy sessions as they mapped out regional emergency management priorities for the next two years; and a reflection on how successful our first Coffee with Council event was.

Wrap Up

Thanks for reading along through this recap! I appreciate your engagement and hope to see you at a future City Council meeting!