Notes from Cheney City Council Meeting 2-25-2025
Greetings Cheney Coffee & Civics! My name is Justin and I’m going to share my notes on the Cheney City Council meeting on Feb 25, 2025. I am hoping to sum it up for anyone who wants to know what happened, but didn’t have the ability to go.
The Zoom recording of the meeting can also be watched on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ro77fxiC_I
The meeting officially started with the swearing in of two new Police Officers - Jessica Baken and Riley Nikkola. Welcome to Cheney!
Cheney bought a lot of equipment the City needs; totaling around half a million dollars. The purchases included a replacement backhoe for the rentals division, an excavator for the Water Department, an EV truck, an emergency response vehicle and 2 new police cars. All items were unanimously approved by the City Council.
Sounds like the lease with Ptera (Ziply) is ending in 6 months, after it expired 3 months ago and the City had to issue a threat of termination to get them back to the negotiation table. Currently they lease server rack space and fiber lines from the City. Going forward there will be a reduction in fiber lines from 6 to 2, and it also seems like Ptera is hoping to move their server room out of the City’s rack space. The extended lease is for $3500 a month for 6 months with no expectations it will go past that, but could be switched to a month-to-month contract if extended again for up to another 6 months.
The FLOCK Camera System purchase, which Cheney Police already have approved budget for, came forward for a contract vote. Councilperson Belock had some questions around the contract: data access, ownership and retention. She called out that the contract allows FLOCK to sell Cheney resident’s data to 3rd parties. She also questioned how long the data will be kept on hand, and if it was for an appropriate amount of time. Chief Beghtol says data will be kept on a 21 day window which allows them to review issues as they come up and he thinks that is appropriate. He suggested tabling the vote until he could ask about access to Cheney’s data including for 3rd party access. Councilperson Barthels chimed in that he was in full support of providing the FLOCK cameras. The vote was tabled until this could be reported back.
Justin’s personal note - Thanks for standing up for our digital and privacy rights Councilperson Jacque Belock! Now more than ever, people’s rights to our own data is important to avoid abuse. FLOCK has a history of allowing neighbors to view video, and it can lead to citizen vigilantism. Cheney has always been a safe and welcoming community. Safety and security are important, but it is also important to consider the unintended consequences of surveillance of your own citizens. I’m glad we are asking more questions before implementing this system.
Gillingham Comprehensive Plan Amendment & Zoning. What area are we talking about? This is regarding the piece of land behind Roccanova dentist office and goes to the Cheney Vet Clinic. The vote is to approve the UGA zoning adjustment only; future votes will approve of building plans and city improvements by the developer to handle the increased population in that area.
Quick stats: 96 units, 144 parking spaces (code is 1 space per bedroom). Zoning is changing from commercial to mixed-use and residential development, built as multifamily housing. Public Works Director Todd Ableman calls out that it minimizes the need to expand the urban growth area. Councilperson Belock commented on the plan and thinks it is a really smart move as it is good use of our infill. Councilperson LaBar commented that this piece of land wouldn’t really work for commercial use, as it’s not on 1st Street. The current zoning for this land has been in place since 1989. LaBar also approved of the use change. There were a number of questions around pedestrian crossing and bus stops. Traffic study says 95% of the traffic is expected to go out 1st street, only 5% expected to go out Cheney-Spokane Rd. Councilperson Overhauser recommends the 1st reading of Ordinance Y-84 and the council approved it. It will come before the Council again as plans are developed, and City improvements are required for the developer to accommodate the growth.
Hydrant Flushing program - Begins on March 3rd. It will start at zone 1 and work its way down. In Cheney, this can often result in brown water for residents. Ableman called out they are going to try and make sure it’s a one directional flow to reduce the chances of brown water, but that this process can stir up some ugly water initially.
Big News! Police Chief Rick Beghtol is retiring for health reasons after 46 years of police service. Lt. Oaks will be the new Interim Chief. The City Council thanked him for his service through the years, and his career as a public servant.
A couple shout outs by Council after the agenda seems worth noting. One was that Cheney is known as a “wellness city” which gives them a 2% discount on insurance. Thanks to all public employees that opt in to that program. Another point was that Cheney’s bond rating for the pool is AA+. The rules changed between the two bond sales, but we were able to maintain our rating regardless. This rating is super important for the City’s total cost for the pool, as a strong bond rating keeps our interest payments lower.
City Council ended by retiring to executive session for the following:
- Executive Session As Per RCW 42.30.110 (1)(b) To Consider The Selection Of A Site Or The Acquisition of Real Estate By Lease Or Purchase
- Executive Session As Per RCW 42.30.110 (1)(i) To Discuss With Legal Counsel Matters Relating to Agency Enforcement Actions Or To Discuss Agency Litigation Or Potential Litigation
Thanks so much for reading! Feel free to comment, both on thoughts about what happened or corrections to my notes. Civics isn’t civics without discourse. Looking forward to hearing what y’all think. ~ Justin