Mayoral huddle exchanges similar woes and wonders

RATHDRUM — Mayors from communities from around North Idaho came together this week for a meeting of the minds.

The semi-annual gathering of the North Idaho Mayors Coalition, which invites mayors from the Canadian border to the tiny bergs beyond St. Maries, provides mayors the opportunity to discuss the successes, issues and challenges facing their towns, cities and citizens. Wednesday’s meeting was at North Idaho College’s Parker Technical Education Center, where mayors took a tour of the facility.

“It’s always a great opportunity for us to come together and discuss how we can help one another,” Hayden Mayor Steve Griffitts said. “It’s definitely an effective use of our time, and the cool part is, within that realm, everybody’s comfortable being able to share the different issues and concerns. We’re like a family that way.”

“I always look forward to going to [the meetings],” added Bill Breen, mayor of Hope. “I’ve always enjoyed going to them. It’s always important to make these meetings and see some of the best practices that are going on within each of these little cities.”

Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer championed the value of each town’s participation each year.

“Everyone brings their own perspective,” Widmyer said. “Everybody brings their own awareness of the issues facing us as a whole. That perspective is very valuable.”

Jessica Harrison, executive director of the Association of Idaho Cities, provided an update of recent Idaho legislation and how it impacts the various municipalities. NIC President Rick MacLennan also spoke to the mayors about the college’s role in the area, about workforce development, and about national pushes toward free tuition.

But the real star of the day’s events was the host facility itself. MacLennan gave the mayors a tour of Parker Technical Education Center, which specifically manages technical programs for building an industrial workforce, from automotive and diesel technologies to computer architecture to welding.

“It’s pretty fantastic,” Plummer Mayor Bill Weems acknowledged. “It’s like a science fiction show in there. But more importantly, it’s an opportunity to see what’s being offered to students.”

One of NIC’s programs in particular struck a chord with Weems during the tour.

“This is timber country, and they have a millwright program,” he said enthusiastically. “It’s an 11-month program, and as soon as it’s over, those kids are hired right out of the gates, making $80,000 a year and up. I heard that and I thought, ‘My God, the lumber mills here and in St. Maries are looking all over for properly trained workers.”

“It’s a state-of-the-art facility,” Hope’s Breen agreed. “We should all be proud of it. It can be a game changer for their students’ lives.”

During the traditional roundtable discussion over lunch, participants were able to share their projects, challenges and concerns. Rathdrum Mayor Vic Holmes told his fellow mayors about the town’s Rathdrum Mountain project, which will offer as much as 540 acres for hiking and outdoor activities and is slated to open its trailhead in August.

The discussion migrated between tax revenue to public safety to infrastructure. Mayors even talked over best practices in dealing with a topic not on the agenda: the dead.

“What Hope is dealing with right now is managing our cemeteries,” Breen said. “The cemetery here is an old one, and we have limited space there. We don’t have many plots, and people are choosing cremation. The view there — like all of Hope — is spectacular, and people want to keep their ashes nearby. Furthermore, there’s a private cemetery nearby. The generation that’s living today, we have to take care of the people that got us here.”

Holmes was able to give his insights and experiences dealing with issues and problems Rathdrum has faced in managing its burial grounds.

But the majority of mayors agreed that the top issue facing North Idaho cities and towns is growth.

“We’re all talking the same thing,” Holmes said. “Growth. It’s something that every town has to deal with in their own way.”

“They’re all dealing with growth issues,” Widmyer agreed. “It’s not just Coeur d’Alene. I think it was our No. 1 topic. How do we deal with it? Just about everybody’s redoing their [comprehensive growth management] plans.”

“Growth is an issue that every municipality will need to address,” Hayden’s Griffitts said. “Growth, when done properly, is important and good, but it has to be done effectively and with the right infrastructure.”

Still, some mayors report their basic challenge is just keeping the lights on and the water running.

“Our infrastructure is falling apart,” Weems said. “Plummer’s pipes are aging. In excess of 50 years, nobody’s done anything about our water system. We have leaks that need to be addressed.”

“With bigger cities and some of the smaller cities, the big issue is growth and how to manage it,” Breen said. “But here in Hope, we’re focused on how to supply our residents all the same services, making sure we have clean water, making sure our roads are plowed, all on a very low budget.

“It’s not a struggle, but it’s something we have to worry about, just like any city.”