It's ten o'clock.

Do you know where your children are?

So I'm going to have some comments.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Oh, she's here.

Welcome, and uh this is our regular meeting of the Cordelaine City Council.

It is October seventh.

And roll call, please, Joel.

Evans here.

Miller.

Here.

Gabriel.

Here.

English.

Here.

Wood.

Here.

Gooking.

Here.

Thank you, Joe.

Invocation is Leslie here.

Leslie.

We rise, please for Leslie Watson from Northern Idaho Unitarian Universalists.

Thank you for being here.

This was written by our pastor Scott Campbell.

Divine presence that unites us all.

We gather here in this shared space of governance and community, diverse in our backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences, yet bound by a common purpose to serve and uplift the people of Cordelaine with fairness, vision, and care.

As we commence this city council meeting, we pause to reflect on the profound responsibility entrusted to these leaders.

The stewards of our collective future, who dedicate their time and wisdom to addressing the needs of families, businesses, neighborhoods, and the natural beauty that surrounds us all.

We honor the inherent goodness in each person present.

Recognizing that every voice holds value and every effort builds towards a stronger whole.

Blessed be.

And to the republic for one nation, under Godissible justice for all the questions.

Thank you, Dan.

Council, any amendments to the agenda?

Mr.

Mayor.

Yes.

Thank you.

Mr.

Mayor, there's an item on the agenda placed there by you tonight that has caused some political debate in this community.

Before you read it, I want to focus on two areas that unite all of us.

First, I do believe I can speak for all of counsel in that we acknowledge the grief and the trauma experienced by members of this community who were personal friends with Charlie Kirk, who have followed him as a national figure.

We can unite in denouncing the political violence that led to his death in the strongest terms.

The second thing that we can unite around is our unwavering commitment and support to the First Amendment.

We all hear the speech of others from time to time that we may find offensive, and sometimes it'll really fire you up.

But I still want to live in a country where I'm free to speak, and we want that for all of you.

We can unite around that.

Stephanie, I know that you did your best in writing this proclamation to honor your friend and your beliefs.

You didn't have any guidance on development of a city proclamation, and so my comments are entirely directed at us and future proclamations, not at you.

As elected officials, it's critical to unite our entire community after such a horrific event as the assassination of Charlie Kirk, no matter what your political beliefs are.

After seeing the council packet, I asked for a proclamation that acknowledges all victims of political violence, such as the children that were slaughtered in Colorado immediately after the murder of Charlie Kirk.

I want us to properly grieve and address the violent attacks on the Jewish synagogues and the most recent violent attack on members of the LDS Church, as well as the politically motivated attack on a Minnesota State Representative and her husband.

These are just a few examples of the recent political violence in our country that have left many in this community grieving.

It doesn't matter what side of the political aisle you sit on.

The grief for the families is very real.

As council, we're not going to get a chance tonight to acknowledge this and help unite our community.

But Pastor Paul, I believe that you are going to probably do the invocation and lead the remembrance of Charlie Kirk.

And so I'm going to ask you to take the opportunity to unite all of us and to acknowledge all the victims of political violence.

Thank you.

Okay, back to the uh agenda here.

Could you hold on?

Let me read this and get this done.

Thank you, Paul.

I have to do my part.

Whereas the tragic wake of his untimely murder, we solemnly denounce political violence as an abhorred assault on the sanctuary of life and the foundations of our democracy.

Reaffirming our collective resolve to resolve differences through dialogue rather than destruction and pledging to carry forward Kirk's legislation leg legacy, sorry, by violently vigorantly safeguarding the tradition of free speech as a bedrock for free society.

Whereas honoring Kirk's birthday provides an opportunity for reflection, prayer, and action, inviting residents to draw inspiration from his example of living.

Now, therefore, hi, Woody McEver's Mayor of City of Court d'Alene, Idaho, do proclaim October 14th, a day of remembrance for Charlie Kirk.

And I'd like to get this to Mr.

Mayor, that was not included in our packet.

I got it.

Disgusting.

Absolutely disgusting.

Not my hero.

Are they going to be the reality?

Stephanie, did you want to say anything about that?

Okay.

Got a plan.

Okay.

Yeah, I run the meeting.

Okay.

Pastor Paul, are you going to say a few words?

Thank you.

Well, first of all, let me thank you, Mr.

Mayor, for signing that proclamation and reading portions of it.

All of you, Council members, thank you so much.

I agree with you, Christy.

I think that this is a great opportunity for us to unite.

We have suffered far too much political violence.

We've suffered far too much division.

And we need to unite around those things that we do believe in.

You highlighted the First Amendment and our right to speak.

And I thank you for that.

I commend you for that.

Thank you, Christy.

Thanks, Paul.

Can we pray together?

Father, you know that Charlie Kirk was my personal friend.

And I am greatly grieved that we have lost him.

We know that heaven is enhanced, but the earth has suffered.

We also know that you have many voices in this country and around the world that are willing to have dialogue, to talk with others, even about things that we disagree about, to open our mouths and our hearts toward each other as we come before you and we recognize your truth.

But today and this week and this coming Tuesday night, we ask, Lord, that you would use us to bring a sense of unity to our community around the truth, around the proclamation of the gospel, the good news that Charlie himself not only believed but proclaimed.

It is an honor for us to be here.

It is an honor for us to recognize that Charlie himself went out of his way to cross the aisle.

He went out of his way to have conversations with people with whom he disagreed, and yet he had did it agreeably.

We grieve for those that would not be willing to hear the voices of those they disagree with.

We certainly do.

And throughout this week, the fact that we have the opportunity to celebrate his life, but more importantly, to celebrate you, Lord Jesus, because it was he, Jesus, and Charlie who wanted you, Lord Jesus, to be exalted, not man, not Charlie.

Not turning point, but rather that we all have opportunity to have our own turning point toward you.

We thank you.

I thank you for our mayor.

I thank you for our council members.

And Lord, I am honored to be asked to pray tonight for them, for our community, for our first responders, for those that have suffered in the wake of such disaster, as mentioned by Councilman Christie Wood.

Lord bless her tonight for recognizing the tragedies and the losses, lives that have been taken prematurely.

Lord, this never pleases you.

And so, Lord, we come before you humbly and ask that you would by your grace pour out your spirit upon all of us and bring us to a point in which we recognize truth, dialogue, openness, honesty, integrity, courage in the face of a world in turmoil, where we need a lighthouse, and we look to you and we look to you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you, Paul.

Sorry.

It's been kind of a weird day.

Um I as we set about to honor someone who was murdered for free speech.

I was asked today to quench my speech when I came here tonight.

So to honor that, I will abbreviate, but please bear with me as I say a few words.

Um I want to thank Mayor Woody and all of the council members and fellow communic community members.

It is with profound gratitude that I accept the proclamation for a Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our sponsors, Idaho Truth, Tradfam, Candlelight Christian Fellowship, 208 Ministries, the Kootney County Ministerial Association, Pinkerton, Grooveberries, and Remnant Warriors.

Your support of this proclamation and the upcoming event next Tuesday at 6 p.m.

at the City Park Band Shell, as well as your commitment to our shared values, strengthens the fabric of our community.

Quote, when people stop talking, really bad stuff starts.

When marriages stop talking, divorce happens.

When civilizations stop talking, civil war ensues.

When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group.

End quote.

These words remind us that silence breeds division, but conversation builds bridges.

On October 14th, we will honor Charlie Kirk, a voice for courage, faith, and open dialogue in a time when such virtues are sorely needed.

The Hebrew word, see if I can say this right, Hineni, meaning here I am, captures the spirit of this proclamation.

It is a declaration of presence, of showing up with courage and conviction, ready to serve in whatever way God has called each and every one of us.

Charlie Kirk embodied this spirit, stating, quote, I want to be remembered for courage for my faith, end quote.

His example challenges us to stand firm in our beliefs while extending a hand to those who differ from us.

In Courtaline, we have an opportunity to model this bridge building.

Let us commit to creating spaces where dialogue thrives, where we can disagree, sorry, where we can disagree with respect, seek common ground, and work together for the common good.

As we commemorate Charlie Kirk's legacy, let us pledge to carry forward his courage for faith, not as a monument to the past, but as a living commitment to a stronger future for generations to come.

Let us build bridges that span our differences.

Rooted in the belief that conversation, not conflict, is the path to peace.

Thank you again, Mayor Woody, City Council members.

Thank you, Councilmember Wood, for your words.

Our sponsors and every one of you here tonight, whether you are here in support or not, together let us say Hinene, if you can say it right.

Here we are, Lord.

Use us to create a bright future for Court Olaine and beyond.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Move on to public.

Okay, this isn't a football game, you guys.

Let's just move on to public comment.

I have Craig Paul Bunch up first.

Craig.

Well, I have uh three minutes.

There's a countdown over there for you.

Craig Bunch from 16th and Lakeside.

I'd like to talk about the East Sherman Avenue issue that was brought up in an editorial in the Cordalane Press on this it was the 18th of June.

And they're talking about the fact that there's a lot of potential there.

I sensed the need as a 50-year citizen there to go talk to some of my friends and relatives about the at that time of seven years ago when there was this synergism of trying to get together a group of uh folks to go in and put in the planter boxes and things like that through what we'll call the uh court allane 2030 initiative and those folks.

And I find still a lot of interest of reinstituting that for a revitalization of that whole area down there.

Since the seven years ago when we had what I'm calling the block party.

In my opinion, there's been a deterioration even since then.

So I tell the council after talking with the folks at Chamber and Downtown Association in a meeting with with uh somebody down there that there is a lot of interest, and we'd like to revitalize that with the council because those people tell me it has to be top down from you folks.

So I know there's a lot of people out there willing to work with you.

I am one of them, and I just want to let you know that.

Thank you.

So maybe we can get the East Sherman looking a lot better because you've got some hotels that are gonna be uh drawing in some folks and from the East that doesn't look so good.

Thank you.

Thank you, Craig.

You can kind of make that work, huh?

Thank you.

Next up, Erin Bonkley.

It's Aaron Barnard.

Barnard, I was close.

Sorry.

It's okay.

Um I'd like to thank Mayor Woody and Council for their support of this proclamation, honoring Charlie Kirk's legacy, which he said is defined by his Christian faith and his courage in defending it.

Charlie Kirk was a fearless defender of biblical truth, instilling the morals of the Bible into both culture and politics.

Charlie Kirk loved America and thought, like I do, that America is the greatest country in the world.

He knew how much our founding fathers loved God and our country, and how much God was interwoven within our declaration of independence and our U.S.

Constitution.

Charlie knew and reminded us every chance he got that our inalienable rights come from God and God alone.

Some examples from our Declaration of Independence the introduction.

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth that separate an equal station or separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them.

The preamble.

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The conclusion.

John Adams famously said, our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.

It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

One of the reasons we're in a constitutional crisis is we are no longer a Christian nation.

We have a Christian form of government, and when mayors, city councilmen, or progressives want to omit religious undertones from a proclamation honoring someone who was murdered, assassinated, martyred for his faith, and free speech and politics.

They are incompatible with our form of government.

Charlie Kirk's assassination was a tragedy for his family, friends, and the rest of us whom he inspired to be courageous, to stand up for our faith and stand up for biblical truths and politics.

This is why it is my duty as an American to say to you, shame on you to giving in to this pressure of the loud few.

It is my duty as a Christian, however, to say that I forgive you for your actions.

Charlie Kirk once said, we as Christians are called to get go into the public arena to correct error with truth.

We are all sinners and we live in that error.

I forgive you, Mayor Woody and Council members, for cowing to the loud, angry few that do not like what our country stands for and do not want healthy discourse.

We are all works in progress, and I hope you take this opportunity, please, to reflect on our country's principles and how you, as government officials, play a part in these principles.

Thank you.

Thank you, Aaron.

Appreciate that.

Hisania Azoni.

Yes.

Okay, I'm gonna try and zoom through what I wrote to go a little off script.

But good evening, everyone, council members.

Um my name is Cassiana, and I'm here because I believe deeply in the power of remembrance and also the responsibility that comes with it.

I've spent my entire life growing up in Court Elaine.

It's probably like my fourth or fifth meeting through middle school, high school now.

Um I've gone through School District 271, K through 12, Onday U of I for my undergrad, and now I'm working on my master's program there as well.

I love this community and cherish it deeply.

Um I would hate to see it further divided unnecessarily, which is what I feel happened tonight.

Um tonight's proposal to honor Charlie Kirk's birthday as a remembrance is troubling, not because remembrance is wrong, but because it's incomplete.

No community is safe from gun violence.

Our own, obviously, has been wounded, um, family shattered, life stolen, and we know that grief does not belong to one person or one cause.

If we are to remember, let us remember all victims of gun violence, children in schools, public servants, and neighbors right here in Court d'Alane and beyond.

Let us honor the memories together, perhaps on I thought maybe Idaho Day or something else would be a little bit better, but um, I think creating a separate day, a new day rather than his birthday would have been a better remembrance for all victims, Idahoans and honorary ones too, to move forward united, standing not behind one name but beside one another, determined to stop the violence that has hurt too many already.

I personally sat at Lake City High School, knees to my chest behind my teacher's desk for hours, wondering if this it was snipers on the roof or a shooter.

This is not a good norm.

That's why these kids are here, along with myself.

Um I am a Christian, I have always been, and I just it's been really discouraging to see the leaders of our community now feel a little fire under them when we have been the ones to do school shooting drills since we were five.

Um I think that's pretty much all I have to say.

I appreciate your um typical way of going, pretty unpartisan, and it means a lot to the next generation of Cordelaine and Idahoans that may not think as traditionally as some.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hey, Maddie Gilmore, come on down.

Welcome.

Good evening, Council members and valued community members.

Um, my name is Maddie Gilmore, and I am a student of the Cordelane School District.

Um, I'm a high school student.

Um, so I originally came here today to denounce this decision to make October 14th, the Charlie Kirk Remembrance Day.

And I would say, as someone born and raised here in Court Elaine, I believe our city should uphold the values of unity and compassion, whereas this decision represents absurd political division, exclusivity, and a shameful level of ignorance.

If we're honoring one individual in connection to gun violence while ignoring the countless others affected by it, and in our own community, it sends the wrong message.

It is inherently hurtful and it is wrong.

Violence impacts people everywhere, and especially recently in our community.

So recognizing just one person is going to deepen our divide so much further.

And if you think this decision will benefit our community in any way, shape, or form, I am sorry for you.

If we want to remember our victims of gun violence and we want to honor them, we need to do it together, and we need to do better as a community.

Um, like Costellano was saying, I think we need to create another day that represents all lives lost to gun violence.

And that kind of remembrance is what would bring people together and reflect the strength, empathy, and shared responsibility that Cordelane should uphold.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Maddie.

Annika?

Annika Hain, welcome.

Good evening, everyone and members of the Courtleine City Council and Mayor McEvers.

My name is Annika, and I'm a senior in the Court d'Alene School District.

So I came here today as kind of a voice of the younger generation of Court Elaine, and I feel like at some of the meetings that have gone to, there's sort of been a lack of presence of students.

And so I'm really happy to be here, and I'm really happy that I have some of my fellow students here with me to kind of have a presence of those younger minds in these meetings.

First, I'd like to thank Councilwoman Woods for acknowledging the First Amendment and taking time to acknowledge the other political tragedies that have struck this nation.

I'm here tonight to remind the city of Court Elaine what exactly we stand for, and to not let the light of recent political tragedies diminish the desire for unity and community within Court d'Alane.

Let me begin by emphasizing the condemnation this whole entire community holds on the attack at Utah Valley University.

Political violence has no place in this nation.

As those before me have claimed, recognizing October 14th as a day of remembrance for one individual is dishearteningly exclusive, especially due to the impacts of gun violence on our own community.

We lost our first responders, John Morrison and Frank Harward, and almost lost David Tisdall.

Beloved members of our community who had direct positive impacts on our city.

Additionally, if we approach this day and preach it to be an opposition of political violence, then I find it confusing that there was an uproar just this fall, when as Councilwoman Woods mentioned Melissa Hortman and her husband being attacked in their own home.

And it's I find it discouraging that there was just an uproar now, and for us to be preaching against political violence but only recognize it for one political party is a little bit confusing to me and some of the others in our community.

And if we wish to repent political violence, we have to repent it in all forms, not just ones that align with our own ideologies because gun violence does not care about ideology.

This proclamation also feels as it lacks sincere intent for the remembrance of this one man, as we have said, forgets the others who were fighting for those same pol uh individual liberties of political acts activism and civic duty.

Again, the tragedies that have struck this nation are devastating, and I know that everybody in this community has felt that way, no matter your political ideology.

I hope that we take this proclamation and use it to our knowledge to repent ignorance and lack of empathy.

And we we hope that this is not device exclusive and that this will not hurt the community of Courtaline.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Annika.

Deborah Jean.

Deborah Jane.

No, Deborah Jean.

Moving on.

Joel Curtis.

Hello, Council.

Welcome, Joel.

Boy, how do you follow what's happened tonight with what uh what I was gonna say?

Anyway, I believe that the uh proclamation for Charlie Kirk is a good thing, regardless of political viewpoints.

Um he was kind of a standard bearer for a philosophy of love.

And I think it it's admirable that you uh folks uh will set aside this day as a commemorative day, the October 14th.

So I haven't read the memorandum.

Anyway, what I have to say pales in comparison with what's been said at prior.

Um I emailed you all the council members uh, and I got a response from Dan Guken regarding a traffic situation that we have on Linden.

And uh he sent me the calming message, and that's the uh the resolution that the city uses in high speed traffic areas.

And so his response from the city engineer was that Lyndon is currently in the queue to gather speed data, and he's gonna see about getting that done soon.

So I could have easily had eight or ten neighbors show up, but I that would be pointless as it's a petition is not gonna do anything.

Um it says we don't require a written position or petition.

Um so we're gonna gather data to see if it meets the threshold, which is seven miles an hour over the posted speed limit.

So some neighbors have gathered uh some videos, which again is it's gonna be a moot point because you have to do the speed data test of the cars are going 45, 50 miles an hour in a 25 mile an hour zone.

And there's a new family that just moved in with another seven-year-old kid, so there's a few kids on the block, and uh it it really needs to be done.

Somebody is gonna get hurt.

Uh there's been some altercations between motorists.

Fli you try to wave them down speed-wise, and they give you the bird.

And a couple of us are probably gonna take them up on it.

For the baseball bat.

Oh.

Oh, I can't say that, can I?

Sorry, Christy.

Christie's an ex-cop, I can't say that.

But at any rate, um you're gonna do the speed counts.

So I would say if you're gonna do that soon, the times to do that would be weekdays 11:30 to 1230, 3.30 to 515.

And uh, as Mr.

Gabriel knows, we have become an arterial.

And so down below in the in the calming response, which is about 10 pages long, which I read, it says that um the neighborhood.

Yeah, maybe you could maybe you could explain the privately funded traffic calming.

Uh Troy, can you talk to that?

Yeah.

It's in the pr in the traffic calming uh segment, it says that it could be privately funded.

And I'm I'm suggesting maybe consider temporary speed bumps.

So the city would work with a neighborhood once the data is collected for the speed feedback sign if one needed to go in on the partnering, looking for dollars to come in to help pay for that piece of equipment.

It was solar powered and it would send back the speed that they're going.

Does that measure not only quantity but quantity of traffic, but also the speed range?

The data that we collect will do the volume and the speeds, but the speed feedback sign doesn't necessarily have the volume of traffic.

So the data will collect will tell us the volume of traffic.

Okay.

If the city would like to increase its revenue, maybe a suggestion would be to have an unmarked police car with a speed gun, and then another guy down at the end of the block in voila revenue.

Thank you, Council.

Thank you, Joel.

Mary Rodell.

Traffic enforcement.

Thanks, you guys.

Welcome, Mary.

Good evening.

It's Mary Rosedal, and I don't live in the city.

I live in the county, but what happens in the city certainly impacts all of us in the county.

Thank you for allowing me this time.

October 14th as Charlie Kirk Remembrance Day, which I'm sure is very important and dear to those who admired him, but that's not all of us.

And I feel like those of us who've lived here for a long time through all the turmoil that Cordelane has been through because of our really racist past.

Uh feel that this is just another chink in our armor.

It's not a good thing.

Well, we can all agree, as the kids have all mentioned, that assassination is a terrible thing.

It's not a great thing to recognize someone who is so divisive in his public speech.

And it doesn't take very long to go through Charlie Kirk videos to find out.

Some of the things he said were pretty awful.

Um speaking out against the trans community and the churches that supported trans community people.

Uh, about the competency of minority pilot, our Supreme Court justice, and other highly visible minority figures.

Those things are not helpful.

And they're not, they're not going to heal our community or our nation.

So, as he has every right to be speaking, his beliefs, as everyone here does, to endorse that hate speech as a city with an uh proclamation, I believe is the wrong path to go down.

Thank you.

Thank you, May.

Leslie Wyson.

Leslie.

Moving on.

Theresa Sousa.

Who else?

Oh.

Teresa.

Hello.

Welcome.

Thank you for letting me speak.

This is the first time I've ever done anything like this in any kind of meeting.

So I'm pretty nervous.

Uh I used to be a registered Republican, and to be honest, it was just because of what my parents did and how I was taught and how I was raised and in a loving Christian home.

And the things that Charlie Kirk speaks on is not loving, nor is it Christian.

Uh after years of soul searching and spiritual journeys, I now know what the Republican Party stands for.

I cannot abide by the same values, but I do support their choice.

That being said, we need to keep church and state separate.

I used to believe in the love that was taught, and that narrative is going on, is not love, it's not acceptance, it is hate and division.

Charlie Kirk did not stand for anything I stand on.

His teaching was based on bigotry and will practice and I will practice my First Amendment right if this goes through every October 14th.

Hate does not belong here.

Hateful teaching does not belong here.

I dissent, I descent, I descent.

And anybody who stands for this does not represent me.

I suggest you listen to the students because they're the next ones that are going to be voting.

Thank you.

Thanks, Teresa.

Hey, Gary Cooper.

Welcome, Gary.

I feel out of place on my topic here tonight, but uh Mr.

Mayor and Council members, thank you for the opportunity to express my concerns about the pending trail use ordinance as before unite.

Uh six years ago, my wife and I opened tour CDA and obtained city permission to offer small group guided segue tours downtown.

This year we began offering guided tours on rideables, which are four-wheel ADA compliant mobility scooters that are covered with whimsical animal skins, such as a unicorn, a lion of Panda bison.

Probably seen them running around.

I contacted the city before investing a hundred thousand dollars to purchase rideables and was told they were approved if we were used the same route as agreed upon for the segues.

The segues have a maximum speed of just 12 miles an hour, the rideable is only eight.

The ordinance as proposed uses a meat cleaver to fix a problem that should have required a scalpel.

As currently worded, it prohibits all vehicles, including ours, except for human-powered bicycles on the trails.

It then creates confusion as to which areas are bicycle trails and which parts are multi-use.

It appears that e-bikes will no longer be permitted, and I'm not sure if that is even what council intended.

The ordinance is also in conflict with the State Vehicle Code.

In 2002, the state passed House Bill 550, which amended the vehicle code to include a definition of a segue.

Segways are referred to as electric personal assistive mobility devices.

They are not motor vehicles and are considered pedestrians with all the rights and duties as such.

They are categorized along with motorized wheelchairs and are not only permitted to use sidewalks, but they are required to use sidewalks when sidewalks are adjacent to roadways.

In the same definition used in this proposed ordinance, which now defines them as motor vehicles rather than pedestrians as the vehicle code does.

Segways are not vehicles under the vehicle code.

The definitions also do not include what a mobility scooter is anywhere.

So it appears that an ADA compliant mobility scooter now falls under the definition of a motor vehicle since they are electric power.

The ordinance states that a bicycle path is only for non-motorized vehicles.

It appears it now prohibits e-bikes from bike trails as well.

The definition of a trail states it is designated for pedestrian, bicycle, non-motorized vehicles only, and specifically refers to the Atlas, Prairie, and Centennial Trails.

So again, it appears no e-bikes are permitted.

The definitions do not define a pedestrian either.

Does the word pedestrian include motorized wheelchairs and segue, so it comports with the vehicle code?

Under general prohibitions, item A states that no person shall operate a motor vehicle upon any trail.

Electric bikes, mobility scooters, and segways are now defined as electric vehicles and would be prohibited.

Item B prohibits vehicles on pedestrian path.

As currently defined, this would include some of the ADA compliance segues that are permitted by the vehicle code.

Item D states pedestrians are prohibited in bicycle lanes.

Does this mean the centennial trail running the entire length of Mullen and along the Spokane River by NIC that is marked as a bike lane is now off limits to pedestrians.

These trails are poorly marked and create confusion as to whom and where they are allowed.

Finally, there is an exception for motorized wheelchairs called operated by disabled persons.

Who determines what a disability is?

There is no definition.

I don't think it's legal to ask either.

I recently rented a mobility scooter to a woman who had foot surgery and she rented it for a week.

Was she disabled?

I have many older guests that participate with us.

They're in generally good health but cannot walk long distances.

Are they disabled?

The issue on the trails are for people using motorized vehicles at high speeds.

I thank you for your time.

Thank you for pointing that out.

And we are going to direct this later, aren't we?

It's on the agenda.

Mike Fuller, yes.

Okay.

Mike, thanks for hanging in there.

Thank you, Mayor and Council members.

Um I just want to say a few words that uh like several of the folks in front of me uh so eloquently uh spoke about things that I really concur with, beginning with uh Councilman Wood and these young people from the high school.

Um obviously, freedom of speech, uh political violence, no place in this country, no question about it.

Um, I feel like uh this proclamation is divisive in this community.

Court Lane does have a reputation for being in the spotlight and a lot of times not a really good sort of tone.

I think this uh proclamation doesn't go any better to um to break that divide.

So um I think I think we could do it in a different way.

And my uh thoughts and prayers go out to uh Charlie Kirk and his family.

A very sad day in our country.

It's a number of sad days that our country has had uh because of this sort of behavior.

No place in this country.

Thank you very much.

Thanks, Mike.

Randy Neal.

Randy, welcome.

Thank you, Mayor and City Council.

It is my intent to speak against any rhetoric that promotes political violence or intimidation in our community.

Anti-semitism and other forms of hate and intimidation are persistent in our community.

Therefore, it is my intention to commend those who have and continue to fight for human rights here in Cutney County and abroad.

We the people are endowed by a creator with unenable rights.

Now the Lord is the spirit and the spirit is the Lord, and wherever there's a spirit of the Lord, there is freedom.

Freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion to name a few.

Thank you.

Thank you, Andy.

Hey, sir.

Oh my god.

Yeah, you can probably see that.

Thanks for hanging.

Good evening, Mayor, Council members.

My name is Asa Gray, and I am here to talk to you about politics tonight, but not about the political topics that we have been talking about.

I'm the elections director for Cootney County, and as you are all aware of, we have a November 4th election coming up in less than a month now.

So I'm here to promote early voting, which will be starting October 20th at our office just up on 3rd Street here in Court Elaine, and we'll go till October 31st, Monday to Friday, 8 to 5.

I invite anyone here in the city or in the county in general to come in and participate in early voting, especially if you're not sure what your election day looks like.

The process is exactly the same.

It's a just as secure and it's a great opportunity to flex your schedule and also to take some pressure off our poll workers on election day.

I do have some flyers that I will leave with your clerk.

And I would also like to mention that we are still in need of some more poll workers for the November election.

So if you or anyone here or anyone who watches this are interested in being a poll worker, obviously you can't where you are on the ballot, just for those of you who are up this time.

But if you know anyone who's interested in being a poll worker, we would love to train them up and have some more poll workers this election.

You can find more information on KCGov.us, the county's website, and that website's also here on the flyer.

And we also have a post on the Kootenai County Facebook page right now about poll worker recruitment that I would invite anyone who is willing to share and help us recruit more people.

So with that, thank you.

Thanks, Aisa.

Appreciate it.

Ben Towels.

Ben, thanks for waiting.

Thank you, Mayor, uh Council members, I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you tonight.

Um actually sponsored a resolution in the um House Concurrent Resolution 17 in the legislature this last session that I think speaks to the situation that we've been dealing with with Charlie Kirk, and it was before that event even happened.

Um I'm gonna read a part of that resolution, and uh I appreciate your willingness to have us speak up and uh talk about something that I think is very serious in our community.

Um this is a concurrent resolution stating the five findings of the legislature and denouncing acts of political violence and intimidation.

Be it resolved by the legislature of the state of Idaho, whereas the foundation of a free and civil society is the ability to engage in open and respectful political discourse without fear of violence or retribution.

And whereas recent events in North Idaho have involved acts of violence and intimidation, including the disruption of public meetings by pulling a fire alarm, an assault on a trustee, the arson of a legislator's place of business, threats to burn down a legislator's residence, and threats to murder a legislator.

And whereas the these acts of violence and intimidation are unacceptable in a constitutional republic and have no place in the political process of the state of Idaho.

And whereas political disagreements must be resolved through debate, due process and democratic means rather than through threats, destruction, or harm to individuals of prop or property.

And whereas such acts of violence and intimidation do not represent the values of the people of the state of Idaho, who respect the rule of law, the democratic process and the principles of free speech and civil discourse.

That's just a portion of that resolution.

Which I think is more pertinent than ever right now.

Charlie Kirk stood for that healthy dialogue.

Contrary to what you might have heard, even if you don't agree with some of the things he said, he was clearly out there having the conversations that are often stifled, that are often chilled on our college campuses in our society at large.

We need to be able to have these conversations.

We need to be able to have disagreements.

We need to show the next generation, and I'm sorry that they left already.

We need to show the next generation what it looks like to have a healthy debate, to listen to both sides of an argument, and to be okay with disagreeing with each other and still see each other as creations of God.

I'm gonna I respect uh the mayor's um not wanting to read the entire proclamation, but it's really important to me, the proclamation is even the first part.

So I'm just gonna read that with my remaining time.

Proclamation declaring October 14th as Charlie Kirkdy in the city of Court Elaine.

Whereas Charlie Kirk, born on October 14th, 93, 1983, was a steadfast champion of conservative values and Christian principles, founding Turning Point USA in 2012 to equip young Americans with the tools to defend liberty, truth, and faith in the public square.

And whereas Kirk's unwavering commitment to the gospel and the teachings of Jesus Christ guided his life's work, inspiring countless individuals to embrace biblical truths, pursue righteousness, and live out the Great Commission through acts of service, evangelism, and moral courage in a secular age.

And whereas he consistently upheld the sacred importance of marriage as a union between a man and one woman, one man and one woman, as ordained by scripture and celebrated the divine blessing of family life by encouraging the base bearing and raising of children as a cornerstone of societal flourishing.

Thank you, Ben.

May I finish?

Thank you, Ben.

Thank you.

Conrad Wooden.

Welcome, Conrad.

Mayor, Council members, thank you.

I actually want to start by thanking everybody who's here that's going to disagree with me, because that's actually exactly what Charlie would want you to do is come here and speak.

He sat across from an empty microphone and welcomed anybody to come up.

So I sincerely thank you for coming and speaking.

All across the country, I had very little time to prep for this, but I'd be willing to wager that all across the country you're going to find proclamations like this.

This is from our neighbor in Pasco, Washington, and I'm just going to read two of their whereas.

Charlie Kirk boldly proclaimed his faith in Jesus Christ, consistently grounding his public service and civic engagement and biblical values, and a deep conviction that faith must be lived out in both private and public life.

And whereas Charlie Kirk worked tirelessly to equip a new generation of Americans to think critically, engage civically, and uphold the ideals of freedom, family, and faith.

This process of trying to remove faith in God from government is perplexing to me if you really study our history, even modern, I'll cite some past history.

Our past Democratic president, uh Biden, when he was referring to a proclamation 10696 for Martin Luther King Jr.

stated, Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

was born into America when racial segregation was the law of the land.

He had every reason to believe that history had already been written and division would be our nation's destiny.

But Dr.

King rejected that outcome.

He heard Scripture's command to do justice, love, mercy, and walk humbly.

Charlie Kirk said that one of his favorite scriptures was Isaiah chapter 6, verse 8.

Here am I, send me.

That sounds pretty similar to what he just said.

Sounds like a scripture command to me.

The Emancipation Proclamation, which is probably one of our history's most famous proclamations, states towards the end by Abraham Lincoln, and upon this act sincerely believed to be an act of justice warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity.

I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of the Almighty God.

Martin Luther King Jr., one of his most famous speeches, I Have a Dream, mentions the fact that we are all God's children three times.

The first time he says, now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Now is the time to make justice a reality for all God's children.

He goes on, he states, this will be the day when all God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning.

And when this happens, when we all follow freedom ring, allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we'll be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro Spiritual, free at last, free at last.

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.

Charlie Kirk was asked how he wanted to be remembered.

And he said, quote, I want to be remembered for the courage of my faith.

It's an injustice to remove that faith in this celebration.

Thank you, Conrad.

Hey, Tom Myers, please.

Tom.

How about Duncan?

Duncan Murray.

I didn't mean to wake you.

I couldn't sleep.

Good evening.

Mayor Evans and Council Persons.

I'm Duncan Menzies, and I serve on the Court d'Alane Arts Commission.

I'm excited to share tonight a new program that the Commission has launched called Art Spar Art Spotlight Court d'Alane, which supports our local performing arts organizations.

Everything from theater and dance to music and opera.

And also want to give a shout out to Commissioner Tracy Benson for all of her work on getting this program to come together.

The inaugural grant cycle runs from November 2025 to October of next year, with the possibility of second year of funding through October 2027.

A total of 15,000 was made available with awards ranging from 5,000 to 70 7,500, determined by our selection committee, the arts commission, and this council.

On August 25th, uh the meeting, the selection committee, which is made up of knowledge knowledgeable community members and advocates for the arts in the area were assembled and had the privilege of recommending the first three recipients, which are Tremro, the Lake City Playhouse, the Music Conservatory of Courtal Lane, and Courtalane Summer Theater.

Each organization will receive 5,000 to support their upcoming projects.

All of these grants have an educational bent, so I thought that I'd just say what each organization is going to do with those funds.

Lake City Playhouse plans to launch an uh educational program with two core components a middle school after hours program, and then a teen a teen board that develops leadership skills as well as the creation of a student-led production, which where storytelling and imagination can take center stage.

And lastly, Courtalane Summer Theater will enhance their musical theater training institute by partnering with the Butte Boys and Cole Boys and Girls Club for Youth Programming, as well as offering seasonal camps and pop-up uh workshops.

As well, uh those funds will help uh supply them with equipment for piano, sound system, and some stage lighting.

We are thrilled for these awardees and their innovation their innovative organization skills to bring performing arts education to a broader youth in our uh community.

And we're also excited for um this venture of what this program can fund in the future.

Um Art Spotlight Courtalane enhances our cultural arts education in Court d'Alane by providing broader outreach for families, the community, and enriching the lives uh of a youth.

And I guess I'll stop there.

Uh and just a reminder that it's Arts and Humanities Month.

Um, so the commission has a calendar and encourages everyone in the community to take part in that.

And we have the Court d'Alane Arts Awards at the end of the month on October 22nd, and hope to see all of you there.

Thank you.

Thanks, Duncan.

Thank you all for the uh public comments.

Uh, we're gonna move on to announcements, City Council.

Mr.

Gukin.

Thank you.

I have a couple of things.

A few things.

First, I got a letter here from uh Barb Krumpapker, who wanted me to share her thoughts, so I'm going to read her letter.

Uh please lift or modify any existing ordinances and our regulations that require the removal of fallen leaves from residential and commercial landscapes, including outdoor public spaces in our community.

What we do with fallen leaves in the fall in our community can have a huge impact on la wildlife in the spring.

When leaves are collected and thrown away, sent off to the landfill in the fall, we eliminate an important overwintering microhabitat for caterpillars, salamanders, fireflies, and other wildlife in addition to disrupting the ecosystem.

Have you ever wondered where butterflies go in the winter?

The answer is right underfoot.

Butterflies and moths may overwinter in the leaves as caterpillars, chrysalis, or even their adult forms, depending on the species.

When the leaves are raked into a waste bag, a yard waste bag, up to 45% of the yard's butterflies are thrown away.

According to the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, leaves and other yard debris account for more than 12% of the nation's solid waste, with more than a whopping 10 million tons buried in landfills each year.

Without enough oxygen to decompose, the organic matter releases the greenhouse gas methane into our atmosphere.

Fallen leaves can be moved from turf areas to appropriate garden beds and around the bases of trees to create a three to five inches deep natural mulch where wildlife can overwinter and plants can benefit from their nutrients, or they can be composted and returned to help build our soils.

Thank you for taking action to make sure that our local ordinances and our regulations do not prohibit us from leaving the leaves where they fall in residential and commercial landscape and in public outdoor spaces and are used to provide habitat for local wildlife and do not end up in the landfill.

And of course, uh after uh reading that, and I so um and I I knew this a couple years ago, and I actually stopped doing that.

I stopped raking all the the beds and stuff because I knew and and I heard she didn't mention it, but it's the bees too.

If we all love bees, bees like to live in those in those leaves, so don't hurt your bees.

And don't be too quick to clean it up in the spring either, because they're still in there.

Um I also wanted to acknowledge uh Nick Goodwin.

He's our arborist here in the city, and he has announced his retirement effective Friday.

We are Tree City USA, and I think it's very important.

It's a good position.

He was extremely knowledgeable, planted a lot of trees.

I showed up at Arbor Day, and he will be missed, and I hope that the position is filled soon.

Um also wanted to address Joe, I don't know if he's still here who was talking about oh, there you are, with Lyndon.

And uh yeah, that's going to be a process, and there are many options, but first we have to gather the data.

So I appreciate that.

And looking at the map, I can see, yeah, that's an issue.

So thank you for bringing it up, and we'll see what the engineer has to say.

Um I also wanted to.

She's gone, but I also wanted to acknowledge Stephanie who was presenting the original um proclamation, because I know that was not her intention.

She was expecting that it would be edited and modified during a process, and that didn't happen.

So what you heard earlier well, you didn't hear the original resolution, it was in the packet, but it was her intent that that would be a back and forth, which it had been in the past.

So she was she's not a bad person.

She's a good person, her heart's in the right place.

Um that's pretty much it.

Mr.

Goo uh uh English.

Sure.

At the last meeting, and actually I was sitting over in in the mayor's spot where I got uh uh uh host our last meeting, which I was happy to do, but at one point um well, we got to approve our labor negotiation contracts, which um, you know, I was happy with how that went.

Everybody had some give and take, and um and a couple of the council members, you know, had I guess a different take than I did on that.

And um and in my mind, and I am just speaking for myself, you know, seem to kind of discredit or even kind of demean the work of the um the negotiating team and and and maybe the good faith effort or something, and my regret is that I wasn't quick enough on the draw to kind of say something right then.

Um, maybe because I was in that seat versus here, and kind of like here's the agenda and gotta keep moving on, but um but I should have.

So this is my chance now to just say is I feel like our you know, employees and the people who worked on that, you know, made a good solid good faith effort, and uh everybody worked hard, and uh I think it's something that was fair to them and the taxpayers, how it's a balancing act, but um anyway, I just wanted to say that my two cents.

So thank you.

Mr.

Kenny.

This Saturday evening at five o'clock, our VFW is having their annual fundraiser, and it's a spaghetti feed, and I happen to know the cooks real well.

It's Wendy and I who have done it for the last four or five years, and it's their big fundraiser of the year, and they do amazing things helping the veterans of our community.

So if you want a pretty reasonable spaghetti dinner that I promise would be good, come on by the VFW on Fourth Street um later on Saturday evening.

Joel, I feel your pain.

I know.

And I promise, and I didn't get right back to you because I was actually going to walk up to your house and knock on the door and say, let's take a look at this together.

Which we can still do that, but we understand what it looks like.

So Councilmember Goo can thank you, and um I'll get you my phone number and we can talk about this and what we can do a couple of nights.

Just compound on the door and we can have a conversation.

They haven't discovered your street yet.

We're the last street before you have to get on the right.

Right.

So we'll work through that, I promise.

And then last thing is I want to thank everybody for being out here having the courage of your convictions and respectfully speaking to everybody.

It's what makes us tick up here.

So don't stop.

And thank you very much for doing that.

Hearing none of that, I have to kind of clear the air for myself here.

So I was asked to issue this proclamation as I have been many other times.

I almost always say yes.

It's just, you know, if people want to say something, let them say it.

In my time as mayor, though, I've tried to let all sectors of our community know that they have a seat at the table.

I mean, that's who we are.

I don't have to agree with everyone or disagree with them.

To believe in their voice is important.

I want to hear it.

In my years in City Council and now as mayor, I want to bring people together.

I believe in uniting people across the divide and will continue to work at that.

I won't always succeed, obviously.

But that's the person that I am as an elected official official and I'm the mayor.

So I'm doing the best I can.

These are some odd times and interesting moments that isn't in my circle.

So just wanted to clarify that.

And moving on, I'd like to move the appointment of Denise Jessica, John Bruning, and Mike Fuller to the pedestrian and bike committee.

Mr.

Mayor, I'd like to appoint Denise, Jessica, John Brunning, and Mike Fuller to the pedestrian and bicycle committee.

Second.

And moved and seconded.

Thank you.

Discussion.

Bike committee.

Roll call, please.

Wood.

Yes.

Evans.

Yes.

Miller.

Hi.

Gabriel.

Yes.

Gook in.

Okay.

English.

Yes.

All right, moving on.

Consent calendar.

Mr.

Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve the consent calendar as presented, including resolution number 25-054.

Second.

And moved and second discussion, Mr.

Guken.

Yeah.

I was really glad that Duncan came up and gave us our presentation.

And is he still here?

But I I appreciated that because I was going to point out this uh this arts uh spotlight grant.

I was just at Lake City Playhouse um over the weekend.

And um and yeah, I was talking to Brooke, and boy, they uh they have lots of great plans and they really appreciate this.

I appreciate that our arts commission is now reaching out to the performance art.

And uh Duncan looks nothing like Charlie Chaplin.

Thank you.

But you can play them, huh?

All right.

Any of the discussion?

Uh look for a roll call, please.

Yes.

Gook in.

Yeah.

English.

Yes.

Wood, yes.

Evans.

Yes.

Miller.

All right.

Thank you, folks.

All right, moving on to resolution two five oh five five approving community development block grant, C B D G.

And agreements with heritage place apartments.

And Sherry's here.

Take it away, Sherry.

Um tonight we're here to um seek approval of funding and authorization that enter into community development block grant award agreements for plan year 2025 with Lake City Center, Port Elaine School District 271, and Heritage Place Apartments LLC.

Um each year the city manages an annual community opportunity grant which utilizes funds received from the U.S.

Department of Um Housing and Urban Development C D BG program.

Uh Plan Year 25's annual allocation through HUD in CDBG is 290,998, of which 76,099 is budgeted for community opportunity grants.

In addition to that, we have identified approximately $51,973 of additional funds from prior plan years um projects that didn't utilize all of their monies that were awarded.

Um so tonight we're looking to um award uh those dollars to the three um uh in uh organizations and um talk a little bit about how we select uh groups to receive the funding and what some of the requirements are through HUD.

So important thing to note is HUD restricts us to 15% of the annual allocation to be awarded to public services.

So we're really confined to only being able to award a small amount of the annual monies to public service type grants.

Part of the process, we advertise the request for community opportunity grant proposals twice in the Quarterlane Press, and then we held an educational workshop to provide information on CDBG eligible activities.

Again, those funds are capped at 15% of our annual allocation, which allows us to spend up to 43,649 for those types of projects.

Also, activities must be must meet an annual action plan and our consolidated plan goals and be a HUD-approved activity.

Our consolidated planning goals for 2023 through 2027 are to maintain and increase housing stock, both ownership and rentals, public facility and infrastructure projects, public services, homelessness assistance, and economic development.

As part of our annual action plan development, we sent out a survey and we asked survey takers to prioritize or list in their order of priority our consolidated plan goals and the results came back with the first being public facilities and infrastructure and then public services.

Number three was maintain and increase affordable housing, four was economic development, and five was homelessness assistance.

This is a graph of our survey results.

This is our adjusted annual action plan budget for 2025.

After our hearing in August, we moved 10,000 to the Mills on Wills grant, making that a total of 20,000.

And they are recommending and staff also agrees that 100,000 would be awarded to Heritage Place Apartments, LLC, and they will use that money to replace 156 electrical panels at Orchard Ridge's senior independent living apartments.

And then two public service activities, Quarterlaine School District would receive 20,020 to expand the McKinney Vento supports for homeless families, and then the non-competitive Lake City Center Mills on Wheels grant at 20,000.

If there are any funds left, we still have one 2024 project that hasn't been completed.

If there happens to be any funds left after that project is completed, then we plan to come back and maybe partially fund.

We're hoping there might be enough funds to fully fund St.

Vincent DePaul's emergency shelter rehab.

They requested 25,000.

And at this point, we only have about 2500 more dollars available.

So we're waiting to see if we can make that a little more impactful.

And so our recommendation would be for council to approve these awards and authorize us to enter into these grant funding agreements.

Any questions for Sherry?

Look for a motion, please.

Mr.

Mary would move to approve resolution 25056.

No, no, no, that's the wrong one.

Motion to approve resolution 25055, approving community development block grants, CDBG.

Agreements with Heritage Place Apartments LLC in the amount of 100,000, quarterline School District 271 in the amount of 20,002, Lake City Center in the amount of 20,000 using plan year 2025 funds and real allocation of plan year 2020, 21, 22, and 24 funds.

Discussion Mr.

Kenny.

Again, thank you.

Every time you come up here, I just love thanking you because I know it's such an arduous job and the great job you do at the outreach trying to find the people to apply for the grants.

So wonderful job and thank you.

And this is a project we can look at and smile because it is actually making a big difference.

Yeah, it it does.

It's really impactful.

The money are not huge for our city, but they are making an impact.

Well, thank you for everything you do for it.

Appreciate hearing none.

Roll call, please.

Booking.

Yes.

English.

Yes.

Wood.

Yes.

Evans.

Yes.

Miller.

Hi.

Gabriel.

Yes.

Do you want to talk a little about this next one?

Resolution adopting affordable rents.

What explain that?

So again, the uh we manage the annual community opportunity grant, which is funds we receive from HUD.

And all the CDBG projects have to meet a national objective.

So this year we have a new HUD rep as of last month, and she has advised us that it's a best practice in our CDBG program to have adopted affordable rent standards.

And so our one group, the Heritage Place Apartments LLC, the CDBG funds they're going to use will improve a rental property.

So those are HUD subsidized senior living apartments.

But any time CDBG funds are used to purchase or improve property, you have to have affordable rent standards in place, and then the group that receives the funds is agreeing that they're going to keep that affordable for that rent amount for five years, or else they would have to pay back the funds.

And HUD states that it's generally accepted that the standard is that a household pays no more than 30% of their income, and that includes any tenant paid utilities.

CDBG funds to improve real property.

May I like to make a motion to approve resolution 25-056 affordable rent standards for CDBG assisted real property.

Discussion.

Hearing none.

Roll call, please.

English.

Yes.

Wood.

Yes.

Evans.

Yes.

Miller.

Gabriel.

Yes.

Gook in.

Yeah.

Thanks, Sherry.

Another great year.

All right.

We've been waiting for this one, Monty.

Oh, you're pushing it off.

That's pretty good.

All right.

This is uh Council Bill 251019, approving the creation of a municipal code 4.40 entitled trails, bike paths, pedestrian paths.

Multi-use paths.

Repealing sections 10.4.01A and 10.40.05.

Oh, amending section 1040 30.

Welcome.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

I'm bringing to you for your consideration tonight a new chapter of the Quarterline Municipal Code, Chapter 4.40.

As the mayor noted, it's entitled Trails, Bicycle Paths, Pedestrian Paths, and Multi-Use Paths, together with some other code amendments related there too.

The ordinance in your packet apparently isn't up to date.

So I have added that to the ordinance.

Also, uh what had been added apparently after after the packet was prepared, is a is a provision in section 4.40.030, which allows pedestrians on that portion of the Centennial Trail along Rosenberry and where it is designed and built for both pedestrians and bicycles.

So that uh issue has been addressed in the updated ordinance.

I want to go through a little bit of the history of this issue first.

As far back as 2017, information was shared by a member of the public with the city about rec regulations that were popping up such a for to control such things as electric scooters and e-bikes on city trails.

In 2019, the Idaho legislature authorized the use of e-bikes on state trails and authorized cities and counties to regulate those as they saw fit.

The Centennial Trail Foundation endorsed that state legislation soon thereafter.

And about the same time, I add I advised the parks and recreation director that if the city wanted to regulate e-bikes on multi-use or bike trails or other places that bicycles are allowed, the city could do so.

If the city does not regulate or prohibit them, they would be allowed under state law.

At that time, the city was following state law by allowing them on trails and bike paths.

And although a speed limit on bike trails was discussed at the same time at the PED Bike Committee in October of 2021.

It was never enacted by an uh by a ordinance or by any kind of policy.

The concern then, as is now, is how do you enforce speed limits on bicycle trails and multi-use paths.

In 2023, Councilmember Gukin raised an issue about e-scooters.

Uh and staff brought information forward about state statutes and city code.

In August 2024, a press release was issued by the city's trails coordinator explaining the current law on electric vehicles on city trails.

In essence, the release said Court Alane has opted to use the state ruling on our trails.

At an executive team meeting on September 26, 2024, Councilmember Gukin again discussed the speed limit, the 15 mile per hour speed limit.

Uh signs on the trails, uh, and indicated that he was getting a lot of complaints about speed.

Mr.

Greenwood said that the PED bike committee has been talking about signs to get some control, but signs don't always work with some people.

He noted that e-bikes are allowed on trails, and the 15 mile an hour speed limit was based solely on best practices and was consistent with what other cities had done.

On January 21st of 2025, Councilmember English asked about the use of non-motorized vehicles on centennial trail and mentioned e-bikes and scooters.

I provided information the next day about the current state of city regulations on those type of modes of transportation and recommended that council amend the applicable sections of municipal code to make the regulations clear.

What do we want to do with e-bikes, e-scooters, motor electric vehicles of all kinds?

And I indicated that up until that point, up to that point, the legality of the use of those electric vehicles was up in the air, and the public had no clear guidance.

I was told then that the mayor wanted to go forward with amendments to the ordinances and wanted them to go first to the Ped Bike Committee.

Amendments to the ordinances regarding those electric vehicles was first discussed by the Ped Bike Committee on February 5th.

The committee decided to do more research on the issues raised before recommending anything to council.

At its meeting on March 5th, the Ped Bike Committee voted to recommend to the City Council to update the ordinances to match the state rules and regulations.

The committee also recommended at that time an official speed limit for all trails and some other regulations.

That put me on the hot spot to start working on amendments to the various ordinances.

Code related to electric bikes and the use of trails are peppered throughout the city code, and it was decided it would be nice to have them all in one place for the convenience of not only the public but for our law enforcement community.

The Chiefs, the city's chief prosecutor, Chief White and several police officers, and the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation, among others.

We went through several drafts of the amendments, and the Pedbike Committee discussed the amendments at its meetings on June 4th, June 2nd or July 2nd, and August 6th before approving the amendments at its meeting on September 3rd.

The Park and Rec Committee also approved the draft amendments at its meeting on September 15th.

As I noted this morning, after communication with Chief White, I added a definition of electric motorcycle, which I provided to you this evening for the benefit of the public who doesn't see that piece of paper.

It just defines electric motorcycle as every vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, or designed to travel on two wheels in contact with the ground, which is modified by the addition of two stabilizing wheels on the rear and powered by an electrical source, such as lithium-ion batteries and utilizing an electric motor that drives the wheels.

Very similar to the definition of a motorcycle, which comes out of state code.

The amendments proposed to do the following.40.010A and 10.40.050 of the municipal code.

The amendment of section 10.40.3030 and the addition of the new chapter 4.40.

The sections proposed to be repealed deal with motor vehicles on trails, not electric vehicles.

And regulations specific to the centennial trail.

Those sections that we propose to repeal are incorporated in the new chapter.

So we're not just getting rid of them, they're just being moved to a new chapter.

The proposed amendment to section 10.40.030 provides more clarity for riding vehicles on sidewalks along Sherman Avenue between 1st and 6th, which is existing law.

It adds a couple of new definitions to terms that are in that section which weren't defined before.

And finally, the proposed new chapter is an attempt to bring all of the regulations together regarding electric bikes regarding bicycle paths, regarding multi-use paths and trails all in one place to address the concerns raised by the PED Bike Committee and to make the use of trails, bike and pedestrian paths and multi-use paths more safe for all users.

To get specific, there are more many more definitions to help the public and law enforcement understand the various types of vehicles out there and which can be used and where.

What is prohibited on, to address one of the comments from uh during public comment, what is prohibited on trails, bike lanes and bike paths, pedestrian paths or multi-use paths are motor vehicles, not electric vehicles.

So a vehicle that is powered solely by electric is not prohibited from the trail or bike lanes or bike bike paths.

No vehicles of any kind other than bicycles and other non-motor motorized vehicles are allowed on sidewalks or pedestrian paths, which is defined as a path set aside specifically for pedestrians.

Electric motorcycles and golf carts aren't allowed on trails, bicycle lanes, bike packs, paths, etc.

A maximum speed of 15 miles an hour is established for all of those areas.

We set out specific rules of the road uh for the use of bike paths.

We've heard a lot of comments from the public that uh trails are dangerous.

There are electric bikes weaving in and out.

There are uh groups of bikes taking up the entire width of the trail or the path.

So the rules of the road are basically common sense, stay to the right, pass uh only except when you're passing, you know, maintain uh uh do care, yield to yield to pedestrians, don't race, things that are common sense for uh any any area where there are pedestrians and vehicles uh competing for the space.

Uh we have a violation section.

The first violation of the code section is simply a civil uh citation with a civil penalty.

If there's a second or third violation by a person, that becomes an infraction.

Uh beyond that, it can be it could be a misdemeanor, and in addition, uh if there's intentional or criminally negligent conduct in the violation of one of these regulations, it is also a misdemeanor, whether it's the first uh offense or otherwise.

Uh a civil civil offense, a civil citation may be appealed.

Um, and the process for that is set out.

Uh other than that, I would stand for questions.

Uh our trails coordinate coordinator, Monty McCully is here.

If you have any specific questions that he may be able to answer, uh Chief White here uh who can speak on behalf of the police department as well.

Mr.

English.

Um, just to clarify, this really does help.

I, you know, as a regular user of the trail and see um all of the different kinds of things.

Uh there was an article in the paper a week or so ago, and I thought that it might be just targeting, you know, kind of like my my kind of e-bike where you know you pedal sometimes or not or whatever, and uh but uh uh I it sounds like the definitions are fine on that.

I do want to clarify that the speed limit would apply to everything, including plain old pedal bikes, because in my experience on the trail, I have way more fear of people on pedal bikes going too fast than on motorized bikes, especially when you know triathlon seats and and they are just flying by, and there might be three or four of them in a line or something, but and I say a head nod, so if the uh speed limit applies everybody, that's good.

I still have to, you know.

I don't know how we will enforce it either, but it's good to have it.

So thanks.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um well, I do appreciate that you provided a definition, Chief White provided this because law enforcement's got to have a definition.

Um under this definition, if you could tell me, I'm on the trail all the time too.

Uh there are a number of disabled veterans with three wheelers that are electric, and they have their long flag, so you can see them.

They're not going very fast, but they need these vehicles to get transport.

So would that fit this definition under the electric motorcycle?

Uh the electric motorcycle would be something that is uh electric powered.

Um it says two wheels or three three.

That kind of describes what I've seen.

So I that would be that would just a quick concern.

You can you can spend some more time on that in the future if you want.

We certainly can.

Um the other thing is you got you know, why can't people just be considerate?

I I I would much rather focus our time and attention on education.

I we know by moving forward with this ordinance that we don't have the resources to enforce it.

Does it mean we shouldn't have a law?

Well, I I don't have a good answer for that, except that you don't want to you want to manage expectations as best you can.

And you know, I've I've seen all kinds of near misses on the trail, so it's the fears are well founded.

The complaints are well founded.

But is this the solution?

That's what I I haven't quite arrived there yet.

I I saw a woman the other day, um, some little boy was just going by on his scooter.

I mean a wheel of foot powder, Howard, you know, no electric anything.

But he had a boom box, he was playing it loud, and it was music she didn't like, so she started yelling at him.

It's like, why can't people just mind their business and do their thing on the trail?

The other question I have maybe is for Monty's uh group.

Um has there been any discussion of just simply allowing a lane for bicycles, e-bikes, whatever it may be, and the lane for travel, a painted lane all the way down the middle of the trail.

I suppose that would be it depend on how wide the trail is, but I can have Monty speak to that.

As far as like separating pedestrians or um from that note, no, there hasn't.

We have talked about uh striping a center lane on it in busier areas.

The Centennial Trail Foundation is working on that right now, on uh getting a consensus, figuring out the areas that need it that'll help at least keep keep people to the right or to the left, but not separating as far as like bikes e-bikes from pedestrians.

We do have some places like that, hence the definition um of pedestrian pathways as separate because we don't really have any of those right now, except maybe the gravel paths in uh in river uh uh Atlas Park uh and in McEwen, we do have a uh uh concrete and asphalt, so you have bikes and pedestrians, nobody knows the difference.

But one's supposed to be for pedestrians, one's supposed to be for bikes.

So we don't have a lot of them, but this is to cover future problems or future trails that may come up.

So um to address some of the comments that I heard earlier.

Uh there are some exemptions, and that will be like city vehicles, uh emergency response, they'll be allowed to be on the trails.

Somebody that has a permit with the city, like this gentleman does, uh, will be allowed.

It's not gonna be prohibiting uh that, so his business won't be impacted.

So um just wanted to make sure you guys are all aware of that.

Okay, thank you.

Amy.

I just want to take a minute to thank Monty and the bike peg committee because I know with your guys' input back and forth, um, a little bit behind the scenes and what we'd like to do to improve the safety on the trails that a lot of hours and a lot of work has gone into bringing this forward to us tonight.

And thank you, um, Chief White for the addition and Christy, even for catching something we can do to strengthen it more.

But I don't want to underestimate the amount of work that their city team put into this and our volunteers that help us.

Um so thank you.

Mr.

Guken.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

So um I think the real issue here is the speed.

I think that it's it's just speed.

It doesn't matter what you're writing, it's the speed.

And I would prefer fewer regulations and just pulling out all the stuff out there.

I mean, no motorcycles on the trail, yeah, no motorized vehicles.

But these e-bikes and the electric bikes and the assist bikes, I mean, we have pages here describing all this stuff in detail.

And it's just any time you get that detail, there's always going to be something that's going to slip through.

Um, and that the bikes are very popular, but are we effectively outlawing them in the city because if they can't ride them on the trails and they can't ride them on the streets and they can't ride them on the sidewalks, where can they ride them?

You talking about e-bikes?

I'm talking about the stuff that we're describing in here.

So the only thing that's prohibited on trails is motor vehicles.

So e-bike can still go on a trail.

Correct.

All right.

But it has to comply with the speed.

And why why is I don't know, this is a question probably for Bill, but why is their business required a permit?

Uh it I don't remember now why we required a permit other than it was commercial use of public property.

Is that is that the reason Monty is well, traditionally the Centennial Trail Foundation itself is not allowed segues.

They had made their own rule above the state when they came out years ago.

And so I don't know if it was ever adopted into any ordinance.

So it was just uh we got a permit for it because it was a business and because it was segues that the Trail Foundation didn't like.

And so we just uh went that route as far as seguees go.

And our code does not mention segueys, uh either the old code or the new code.

It would a segue would fall under electric personal assistive mobility device, the state definition which is included in this new ordinance, uh which are allowed on trails.

So I I don't uh I don't believe that that was accurate to say that his business would be impacted.

Okay, yeah, that that's a concern of mine.

And I know they don't use the segue's because apparently there's no parts or anything or they're hard to fix or something.

So they s they switch to the good.

Electric vehicles, as long as they're elect electric, they're allowed on the trails, as long as they remain under 15 miles an hour, uh they won't be in violation.

Okay.

All right.

I want to make sure they're good with that.

So I know it was a concern.

But my my biggest concern is not really the uh the type of vehicle, it's just the speed.

I think if we can do something for the speed, and I know talk to Chief White today, um, it seems like that's gonna be really tough to enforce.

Um here's the problem.

So we go ahead and pass this.

We all feel good about it.

You know, it's what the people want, and they've said, oh yeah, we need to do something about this.

Is it gonna really solve the problem or are we going to get more heat because it's like you have a rule and you're not enforcing it.

Why are you guys not enforcing it?

And I guess that's just the question for us because our PD is gonna get the heat, we're gonna get the heat, trail guys are gonna get the heat, but if we can't enforce it, why are we doing it?

That's a question.

That's a rhetorical question for this council.

You don't have to answer that.

I don't have an answer.

Can you work with it?

You know, some parts will be easier to enforce than others.

I was sp speaking with the chief, and if somebody uses a motor vehicle on a trail, that's easy to catch, that's easy to see.

Uh those are those are things that we can enforce.

Uh it's it's education perhaps.

Uh, you know, it's gonna be uh is gonna be public uh pressure to obey there is a law.

It does not affect doesn't affect everybody.

We don't stop all speeders either on this on the streets.

So uh the fact that we can't stop everybody doesn't mean that we can't influence behavior uh in a positive way.

Well, Mr.

Mayor, I think that's a very valid point, Randy, and I appreciate you saying it.

It would be nice to to hear from Chief White and maybe manage our expectations.

Welcome to you.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

Uh I think everybody understands the difficulty uh that we were gonna have in enforcing this.

Uh you've all touched on it.

Speed is probably the largest issue that we have on the trail.

Um, but as Councilmember English pointed out rightly so, uh, we have a whole host of people out there that are training for triathlons or just out exercising that are exceeding this 15 mile an hour limit on a very regular basis.

I don't want anybody to expect that they're gonna see law enforcement officers out there holding a radar gun when people are using the trail and then ticketing those folks.

Um the LIDAR devices that we have, they're about just under four grand a piece, and there's no place to hold them on a bicycle, and so were we to drop one out there we're anyway, that's uh uh problematic for us.

Um I'd really don't see us doing much speed enforcement, even if this passes.

However, um as uh Randi Ann has pointed out, some of the other provisions in the code would be more easily enforced.

For instance, the e-motorcycles that we frequently see on the trail, those would be very easy for us to stop and identify and use an education piece to have them uh not use the trails if this is uh passed.

Thank you for that.

Thanks, Chief.

I may uh I wanted to clarify it seems to be a little bit of confusion as far as like what Randy is calling motor vehicle, is including e-motorcycles, but not e-bikes.

So that would be a a vehicle that has no pedals or their pedals are put on later to look like a bicycle, and they're over I I can't remember what the CCs were, 750, whatever makes them fast, makes them a road vehicle, even though those aren't necessarily licensed for the road.

So those are things we're we're defining and we're not wanting those on the trail at all, because they're not going to go under 15.

They're they they jump over cars when they go flying down the trails.

They're they're they're out of control.

So I wanted to clarify that.

And you'd mentioned earlier about education and the speed limit is part of that.

It might not be enforceable in some ways, but it's getting the conversation started, is getting people to hey, pay attention.

This is everybody's going too fast, things are gonna happen.

You're gonna start getting things uh prohibited if you keep behaving in a way that's not good.

And so we're trying to get we're gonna do a lot more things than this as far as education.

Um we have a lot of ideas coming out of the Pedbike Committee for bike rodeos and and going to bike shops and trying to get the information out there.

So it's just the beginning to get all the ordinances put in one place to get things established, speed limits, what's allowed, what's not, like class one, two, and three bikes are allowed.

Originally we didn't think we wanted bikes that could go without pedaling.

I think a class two you can you can use the throttle alone without pedaling.

Um we decided that the state does allow it, and because they're not they don't go over eighteen miles an hour.

So the issue is speed, like like Mr.

Gukin said.

And so we're trying to focus on getting people to slow down, being safe around other people.

And uh of course, all ADA um mobility devices are allowed.

Those we can't do anything to prohibit those.

That's comes from the Department of Judges uh justice, so um they could still be able to ride their their little rascal if they need it.

And uh Monty, when you go back to your committee, would you at least start the conversation about uh this is just one council member, so I'm just asking for a conversation about um the areas where the trail is quite wide.

You could divide it.

We could have a safe area for bicycles and a safe area for pedestrians.

And just wanted to have the conversation.

And we do have one segment left to complete a commuter trail.

We got a grant for it, but it went away this year.

And the commuter trail, in some uh different cities, they allow the speed limit to be faster, they're straighter, they're more for people getting back and forth to work than they are for recreation.

That's very interesting.

We're getting close to that on the rec on the one trail.

So I have a quick question for Mani, if I could ask.

There's a fellow that rides a single wheel bicycle or uh electric thing really fast.

Does he fit into this at all?

I think it's a good thing.

Because everything relates everything relates to two wheels here.

The single wheel.

The one wheels.

I think we're we talked about that as far as toys and other things besides e-scooters like e-skateboards or the one-wheeled bikes and and uh the consensus was from the Trail Foundation to the City Engineer to um all of us that they would allow um they're not gonna prohibit those on the trails as long as they go under the speed limit.

Okay.

Um just because there's not as many of them.

You sometimes you see those guys going pretty fast.

Um but we the general thought was if you had one that existed uh without a motor, like a skateboard or a scooter, then existing with a uh motor would make it allowable.

Now the one-wheel thing, I don't know, a unicycle, but that's kind of a unique thing.

To me, I would never ride one if I think I'd break my head open in about five minutes.

All right, thank you.

Yeah, they they fall those would fall under the definition of an electric vehicle if it was electric powered, or a motor vehicle if it was not.

Um I also wanted to draw your attention to the fact that this ordinance uh this code does not deal with what you see on the streets, the bike lanes on the streets.

So bikes in the bike lane within the right-of-way have to obey obey the state rules of the road.

Uh so the iron man people who are training for iron men can be in the bike paths uh or bike lanes and go faster than 15 miles an hour.

So uh this is dealing with the the trail system that we have put together.

All right.

Any other questions?

Here comes Dan.

Well, just one more thought is that you know maybe we could look around for a federal grant for I've heard of these cameras and maybe we could mount them about every 40 yards.

Court had to be licensed, a visible license plate and some facial recognition software.

And uh then we could mail them a ticket and uh somebody said about enhancing revenue.

So just my two cents.

And that is illegal.

Right now it's illegal on streets.

And that I'm sure it will soon be illegal on trails.

Mr.

Mayor, I'll make a motion to dispense with the rule and read council bill number 25-1019, one spray title only.

Would call.

Yes.

Yes.

Miller.

Gabriel.

Yes.

Gook in.

Okay.

English.

Yes.

Can you read the title, please?

Council Bill number 251019, an ordinance of the city of Cordelane, Kutney County, Idaho.

Adding a new chapter 440, trails, bicycle paths, pedestrian paths, and multi-use paths to the Cordelane Municipal Code, repealing sections ten forty, ten A, and ten forty fifty of the Cordeline Municipal Code, amending section ten forty thirty of the Cordlane Municipal Code, providing for the repeal of conflicting ordinances, providing for several ability, providing for the publication of a summary, and providing for an effective date.

Second.

Wood.

Yes.

Evans.

Yes.

Miller.

Gabriel.

Yes.

Gook in.

No.

English?

Yes.

Need a motion to move into executive session.

So I'll make a motion to move into executive session pursuant to Idaho Code Section 742061F to communicate with legal counsel for the city to discuss legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation or controversies not yet being litigated, but imminently likely to be litigated.

Second roll call.

Evans.

Yes.

Miller.

Gabriel.

Yes.

Gook in.

Yeah.

English.

Yes.

Wood?

Yes.

We are in executive session.

Thank you.

Okay.