COPS TV show could film Spokane Valley sheriffs – RANGE Media

Welcome to CIVICS, where we organize the week's town meetings across the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out on the issues that matter to you.

Some things that stood out to us this week include:

• Juneteenth Celebration at Grant Park
• Community pools and wading pools are now fully open
• COPS TV show could come to Spokane Valley
• The Spokane County Sheriff's Department is receiving a free military-grade infrared helicopter camera.

Important meetings this week:

The swimming pools are open for summer fun

What time is it? Summer time! Spokane County and city pools are open starting today.

The county's Northside and Southside Family Aquatic Facilities will be open to the public seven days a week and will offer two daily swim sessions (11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.). Entrance fees cost between $4 and $7 depending on age and reservations are recommended. Both facilities feature heated activity pools, heated wading pools, umbrellas, water slides and a lazy river.

For Spokane city pools, view free open swim times and paid swim times here.

Additionally, starting today, Grant Park and Nevada Park splash pads in Spokane are expected to be open. The other water games in the parks opened at the end of May.

Juneteenth Community Celebrations

Juneteenth will take place on Wednesday and there will be a community celebration at Grant Park from 11 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is the final event commemorating June 19, 1865, the day slaves in Galveston, Texas finally learned of the Emancipation Proclamation. The free, family-centered event will feature kid-friendly activities, a lineup of vendors offering resources and information from community organizations, food, music, poetry and spoken word.

Spokane County Board of Commissioners Information Session

/5 peppers

Sheriff's requests: $2.5 million infrared helicopter surveillance and emergency vehicle training course

The Spokane County Sheriff's Office is seeking permission to mount a $625,000 FLIR infrared camera donated to it by Teledyne Technologies on a Spokane Valley police helicopter.

The camera, a “Star” system, is “fully ruggedized for fixed-wing and helicopter military operations” and uses high-definition imaging to produce hyper-accurate video. The company is sending similar cameras to the Tehama County sheriff and Modesto police in California. The sheriff's office already owns the camera and needs BoCC approval to use it.

The Sheriff's Office is also requesting to award a construction contract to the lowest bidder, not identified in the agenda item, to construct an emergency vehicle driving course at the regional training center and field small arms range near Medical Lake. The bid quoted is $2,565,784.18.

Agenda here
Tuesday June 18 at 9 a.m.
Lower Level of Public Works Building, Commissioners Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99260
The meeting is also broadcast live here.

Spokane County Board of Commissioners Legislative Session

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Population Growth Expected for Spokane County

A steering committee of Spokane County elected officials focused on population growth is asking the BoCC to approve its projections through 2046, which project an increase of 100,000 people in the county's population. These projections are part of the county's long-range planning process, mandated by the Washington Growth Management Act, which requires local governments to implement comprehensive plans that account for population growth.

COP back in SpoVal

Langely Productions wants to bring its long-running and highly controversial reality series COPS back to Spokane Valley to film its 37th season. The BoCC will vote on whether to allow the production company to film in the Spokane Valley from July 16 to September 10. The company also “offered to promote the sheriff’s office for its recruiting efforts on its website and social media.” The sheriff's department has had a long-standing relationship with the series, although it received some attention from the city in 2019. The series was hugely successful, winning four Emmys in its first five seasons. It was canceled by the Paramount network in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, although other networks continue to air the show. The show depicts a disproportionate number of violent crimes, contributing to the general public's perception that crime is higher than it actually is.

$8 million for asphalt

The BoCC will vote on whether to grant Inland Asphalt Company, Poe Asphalt Paving, Inc. and Shamrock Manufacturing, Inc. $8 million to provide the Spokane County Highway Department with asphalt for paving projects over the next four coming years.

Agenda here
Tuesday June 18 at 2 p.m.
Lower Level of Public Works Building, Commissioners Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99260
The meeting is also broadcast live here.

Spokane Valley City Council

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Transportation Improvement Plan

The City Council will vote on whether to adopt the proposed six-year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), which includes a series of projects ranging from road surface improvements to a controversial stormwater treatment project on Sprague Avenue near Spokane Valley City Hall, which will reduce traffic lanes from four to three on the street. The plan will be in place from 2025 to 2030 and represents expenditures of nearly $250 million.

Agenda here
Tuesday June 18 at 6 p.m.
City Hall
10210 E Sprague Avenue
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206
Virtual presence here.

Liberty Lake City Council

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Transportation Improvement Plan

The City Council will vote on whether to adopt the proposed six-year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), which includes projects ranging from building new transit parking lots to preserving existing roads to The Appleway Trail extension from the western city limits to Kramer Parkway. The plan will be in effect from 2025 to 2030 and represents expenditures of approximately $19 million.

Suspending development changes

The City Council will vote on suspending requests for changes to the annual comprehensive plan development code through 2026. The suspension is proposed by the city's Planning Commission “to allow staff and commission members to devote their attention to the city's 2026 update. Comprehensive Plan, Changes Mandated by State Growth Management Act.

Agenda here
Tuesday June 18 at 7 p.m.
22710 E Country Vista Drive, Liberty Lake, WA 99019
The meeting is also broadcast live here.

Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees

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Quiet in the library

The Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees is pretty quiet this week. In addition to routine reports, he'll hear an overview of the 2024 Summer Reading Club, which offers magazines, free events, and monthly prizes to keep kids (and adults!) learning during the summer.

Agenda here
Tuesday June 18 at 4:30 p.m.
The Beehive
2904 E Sprague Avenue, Spokane, Washington, 99205
The meeting is also broadcast live here.

Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors

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Possible improvements to Route 33 Wellesley

STA staff will seek board approval for a grant request that would provide $7.46 million for improvements along the Route 33 line through Wellesley. If approved, the STA will submit a proposal to create a new high-performance transit line to the National Regional Mobility Grant Program. As one of the busiest STA routes, the approval of the grant application brings the STA one step closer to making improvements to the Wellesley Line. The grant would fund new location adjustments, raised boarding areas at busy bus stops, ADA accessible boarding, new lighting, shelters, benches and real-time route information at main stops.

STA Supercharged Plans

The zero-emission bus fleet transition plan will also be presented to the board of directors for approval. Based on a previous study, the plan contains information on technology improvements, electric and hybrid bus costs, and changes to STA service since the first analysis of alternatives for converting the fleet to zero-emission technologies. The plan also documents a formal transition from diesel buses to battery electric buses (BEBs), which is expected to be completed by 2045. Currently, 40 buses are already BEBs and were introduced in 2020 to analyze early drafts and functionality of the zero emissions plan. The current version of the plan specifically addresses the limitations of the diesel transition, such as bus storage space and electric power availability.

On the way to route 7

At its meeting this week, the board will get updates on developments on Route 7, which will replace current Routes 60 and 74 as a single line connecting Spokane International Airport to Liberty Lake. The new line is expected to open in September 2025, which staff predicted in a draft supplemental report along with plans to make the airport the westernmost point of the new line, potential new locations of bus stops and future plans to integrate the line with Argonne. Park & ​​Ride Station.

Agenda here
Thursday June 20 at 1:30 p.m.
STA conference room
1230 West Boone Avenue, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also broadcast live here.

Spokane City Council Study Sessions

Agenda here when available.
Thursday June 20 at 11 a.m.
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also broadcast live here.