WEEKLY REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL January 12, 2026 Members of the City Council City of Airway Heights, Washington Dear Council Members: ACTION REQUESTED 1. A reminder that City offices are closed Monday, January 19th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 2. A reminder that the next regular scheduled City Council meeting is Tuesday, January 20th at 5:30 p.m. 3. The Public Works Committee is asked to meet the week of January 26-30 to discuss the following agenda items: * Garfield Road Septic Tank Elimination Project * St. Johns Stormwater Agreement * Reclaimed Water Services * CPM, Apricus 4. An Executive Session is requested for Monday, February 2, 2026, to discuss Blue Root Cannabis. TOPICS OF INTEREST 5. City Lobbyist Emily Shay shares the attached January 18, 2026 legislative session report. This legislative session report is the first of several that will be shared during the course of this short legislative session. Emily also includes a schedule of upcoming public hearings on bills moving through the legislative process. Please let me know if you would like to weigh in on any of the public hearings. 6. Avista West Plains Regional Business Manager Michele McCollum recently shared Avista's four-year rate plan to support reliable service and maintain critical infrastructure. The rate proposal has been filed with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. The Commission has up to eleven months to review general rate case filings and issue a decision in late 2026. 7. Court Administrator Kati Dorman, Police Chief Brad Richmond, and City Manager Albert Tripp met with Spokane Valley's Public Safety Committee this week to discuss Airway Heights experience with shifting from a contract model for prosecution and public defense services to an internal model to improve service delivery. We also discussed their questions regarding Courts. COUNCIL REQUESTS /INQUIRIES 8. In response to the City Council discussion about the process for selecting the Council Chair position, City Attorney Dan Gibbons provides the following guidance. Selection of the Chair is governed by Section 9.5 of the council rules (an excerpt of Section 9.5 to 9.8 of the council rules is attached below). Selection of the Chair- Step 1- The election for the chair is conducted by the City Clerk. The City Clerk calls for nominations. Each Councilmember may nominate one person. No second is required. A nominee who wishes to decline must state so on the record. Although the Council rules are silent on the issue, Councilmembers should not nominate themselves to avoid potential conflicts of interest or ethics issues. RCW 42.23.070 prohibits use of a public office to secure special privileges for yourself. The Chair (and Vice-Chair) receives higher compensation than Councilmembers, therefore nominating yourself for Chair could be construed as using your office as a Councilmember to obtain higher compensation. Also, those nominated should abstain from voting for themselves for the same reason. Step 2- Unless there is only one nominee, the vote is by written ballot. Each ballot shall contain the name of the Councilmember who cast it. Selection of the Chair shall be determined by a majority vote of Councilmembers present. The City Clerk announces the results and records the votes into the minutes of the meeting. * If the first round of votes results in no majority vote of Councilmembers present, the voting process shall be repeated no more than two more times. During subsequent votes, Councilmembers do not have to vote the same as they did in the previous vote. If after three attempts, Council is unable to agree on a Chair by majority vote of Councilmembers present, the office of Chair shall be temporarily filled by an Acting Chair, which shall be the Councilmember who just previously served as Chair if that person is still a member of Council, or if the previous Chair is no longer a Councilmember, then by the Deputy Mayor, or if such person prefers not to serve as Chair or if that person is no longer a member of Council, the Councilmember with the next highest seniority. The Acting Chair shall continue in office and exercise such authority until the members of the Council agree on a Chair, which shall be determined at the next scheduled Council meeting, at which time the role of Acting Chair shall cease and terminate. ** At the next scheduled Council meeting voting for Chair shall proceed in the same manner as the initial first round of voting from the previous Council meeting, but Councilmembers shall only vote on the Councilmembers who received the highest number of votes. If after three voting attempts, there is still no majority vote of Councilmembers present, the vote shall be determined by whichever Councilmember has the most votes at the third voting attempt. If at that time, there is a two-way tie of Councilmembers receiving the most votes, the tie shall be broken based on the flip of a coin. The City Manager shall flip the coin. If there are more than two Councilmembers tying with the most votes, that tie shall be determined by another means of chance to narrow the Councilmembers down to two, at which time the outcome shall be determined by written ballot. The part above in bold is obviously a bit open ended. In the unlikely event this mechanism is needed, I will suggest on the record that the nominees draw straws and the Council vote to draw straws to move the voting forward. For the meeting on Tuesday, I will bring ballots. If needed at the subsequent meeting, I will bring ballots, a coin to flip, and straws. PENDING LITIGATION 9. The City recently received a tort claim for Jose Hilario's family. He was a pedestrian killed on Hayford Road during a vehicle collision. The tort claim has been submitted to the City's insurance representative from the Association of Washington Cities. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jul/12/64-year-old-pedestrian-killed-in-airway-heights-cr/ DEVELOPMENT ACTITY REPORT 10. The development activity report is designed to provide information on notable residential, commercial and industrial land uses. Project Name Address/Location Description Tentative Time Frame/Status FEDEX Parcel #15251.0180, 15251.0149, 15251.0112, 15251.0151, & 15251.0150 (south of Cyrus O'Leary along Hayford Road Future site for FEDEX trucking distribution center The rough grading permit has been issued and the site clearing and grading is underway. DEPARTMENT REPORTS 11. Courts - Kati Dorman * Court Administrator Kati Dorman reports the Spokane Tribe awarded Courts a $15,000 Impact Mitigation Fund grant through a recent application submitted. 12. Public Works - Katherine Miller * In October 2025 Public Works Director Katherine Miller proposed an amendment to the City's general facilities connection charge program to help support the development of additional residential housing in the City. Simultaneously she worked with local builders to submit grant applications to help pay for the City's general facilities connection charges. Public Works Director Katherine Miller reports that one of the grant application submitted in partnership with Highland Village for Phase 4 was recently awarded $1 million from the Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program. A second application for Highland Village Phase 3 was awarded $495,344 from the Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program. In total, the City is slated to receive $1,495,344 for utility infrastructure connections. 13. Fire - Mitch Metzger * Chief Metzger reports the Spokane Tribe awarded the Fire Department a $75,000 Impact Mitigation Fund grant through a recent application submitted by the department. * The Fire Department applied for a Leary Firefighters Foundation grant. The grant request was for $11,028.11 to purchase forcible entry door equipment. The Leary Foundation approved the grant fund request. * The Fire Department was awarded a 450kw trailered diesel generator from JBLM. Chief Metzger intends to use the generator to power the department emergency electrical needs during electrical outages until the legislature makes a determination and award on the State grant request for a generator during this legislative session. * Fire Department Weekly Calls for Service 7 Days 14 Days 14 Day Percentage Calls for This Year 92 57 61% Weekly Calls 42 51 -18% MVA 3 5 -40% Structure Fires 0 2 -100% HazMat 1 0 - Brush Fire 0 0 - AFA 3 1 200% Service Call 1 0 - Aid Calls 34 43 -21% Spokane Tribe 3 6 -50% Kalispel Tribe 0 0 - 14. Building and Planning - Heather Trautman * Director Heather Trautman reports code enforcement staff is working with residents at 2124 S. Garfield Road to address an unsafe building being used for residential purposes. Some of the violations included an unpermitted residential conversion, stairway hazards, fire hazards, structural integrity concerns and egress deficiencies. Staff met with the tenants and explained the violation letter, a requirement to vacate the building in 30 days, and shared options for alternate housing resources. * Planning and Building staff is conducting stakeholder engagement for an update to the City's transportation impact fee (TIF). The updated TIF is based on the 2026 to 2031 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) approved in June of 2025 and revised land use forecasts developed in support of the Comprehensive Plan update, targeted for adoption in June of 2026. This 2026 TIF replaces a December 2022 update. * In anticipation of the City adopting the Comprehensive Plan updates by June 2026, there will be an increase in documents and chapters coming before the City Council during future study sessions between now and June 2026. 15. Police - Brad Richmond * Chief Richmond reports the Spokane Tribe awarded the Police Department a $100,000 Impact Mitigation Fund grant through a recent application submitted by the department. * In 2022 Police extradited Mandie Miller and her boyfriend for the death of her adopted daughter. This week Mandie Miller plead guilty to abusing and killing her daughter then transporting her body across state line. The guilty plea would not have been possible without the diligent efforts of the Police department. A link to KREM's coverage of the guilty plea is available here: * https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/airway-heights-woman-pleads-guilty-abusing-killing-adopted-daughter-girls-body-across-state-lines-u-haul/293-25ec3972-a08b-4f2c-b4f8-d91a8f504197 * This week the Police department responded to a report of a commercial burglary in progress on S. Garfield Road. During the investigation, officers developed probable cause to arrest a 37-year-old male and his fifteen-year-old son for burglary Second Degree and Theft in the First Degree. The adult and teenager fled the scene prior to officers' arrival. Officers received information that the suspects may be at a residence on S. Lawson Street. Due to the potential presence of a firearm, officers requested assistance from the Spokane County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team. Officers were able to take the fifteen-year-old son into custody at the scene, but his father was not at the residence. The following day Police officers arrested and took the father into custody. * KHQ's coverage of the standoff and arrest is available here: https://www.khq.com/news/airway-heights-police-arrest-burglary-suspect-in-motel-following-saturday-standoff/article_fbd13bb9-1e04-46e6-a926-0e0485d43362.html * Police Department Weekly Calls for Service 7 Days 14 Days 14 Day Percentage Total Incidents 345 363 -5% Traffic Collisions 7 19 -63% Citations 16 27 -41% Welfare Checks 38 35 9% Vehicle Prowls/ Thefts 14 24 -42% Thefts/Malicious Mischief 15 5 200% Assault/Argument/Domestic 17 14 21% Burglaries/Arson/Robbery 7 2 250% Spokane Tribe Properties 35 40 -13% Kalispel Tribe Properties 6 8 -25% 16. Parks & Recreation - JC Kennedy 0. Weekly Recreation Center Memberships Airway Heights Recreation Center Market Share Date Total Memberships All Types Additions Weekly % Market % 1/9/2026 3,133 MARK YOUR CALENDARS 17. You have been invited to the following events: Date Event Address 1/26/26 Spokane Tribe Impact Mitigation Fund Banquet Spokane Tribe Casino Length of Event Audience Contact 1:00 PM City Council Albert Tripp Sincerely, Albert Tripp City Manager