Grilled at the grill

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d'ALENE — It didn't take this group of retired and highly educated geezers long to make the most of having Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer on the hot seat of their breakfast club gathering.

"How many of these breakfast meetings do you come to, Steve?" Bob Bennett, a former president of three community colleges including North Idaho College, said even before all the attendees were seated on Wednesday at Elmer's.

Widmyer offered a response that wasn't as specific as Bennett hoped, so Bennett asked the question again, as this persistent bunch tends to do.

The mayor, still being introduced to the group, replied: "At least one a week."

This one was a doozy.

Of Cabbages and Kings breakfast club — named from a Lewis Carroll poem — has been meeting weekly since December 2012 and has grown to a group of 13.

"We like to talk about everything," said Allen Shriver, one of the original members of the group, a former farmer and pastor.

John Strobel, a former newspaper editor and adjunct faculty member at the University of Hawaii, had burning questions about current local issues for the mayor. Those included whether the city has enough money to cover all the potholes left behind by the wet winter and if the city is prepared for flooding should Lake Coeur d'Alene continue to rise.

Widmyer said the city's healthy fund balance and the state possibly making funds available for cities should ensure all those nagging holes will be addressed if dedicated funds run out.

"I agree that roads with potholes are as bad as they've ever been in Coeur d'Alene," Widmyer said.

On the possibility of flooding, Widmyer said the city is prepared to build a wall on the north side of the lake as part of a requirement from the Army Corps of Engineers.

"But maybe we could get someone else to pay for the wall," Widmyer joked.

Coeur d'Alene Press managing editor Mike Patrick added: "Maybe Canada will?"

Retired attorney Harvey Richman didn't let lawsuits he was involved in against the city get in the way of firing away at the mayor.

Richman said he believes the police department is overstaffed and a better approach would be having the sheriff’s office oversee Coeur d’Alene as it does Hayden.

"If there's a topless person on the city beach, eight cops show up," he said.

Widmyer kicked verbal sand back at Richman.

"I could debate you on the numbers," he said. "All the numbers would tell you that the city of Coeur d'Alene is still underpatrolled and understaffed."

Turning to a more cozy suggestion, Bennett asked Widmyer what the city has done to form partnerships with other government agencies on projects.

Widmyer referred to the planned shared parking lot with the county near the courthouse. The project will address both the need for more spaces during the week for those doing business or working at the county, and for the city’s use on weekends or during community events.

Dr. Neil Nemec, president of North Idaho Family Physicians LLC, was curious about the status of giving East Sherman Avenue a facelift.

Widmyer said those types of real estate improvements are market-driven and are all about timing, but some improvements are planned.

Asked what the hardest part of being mayor is, Widmyer referred to property rights issues.

"When you have people who have been living in a house 30 to 40 years, then a building comes that alters their quality of life," he said.

Even after all of the good-natured ribbing, the group gave Widmyer a genuine offer of help. Richman — the same guy who was involved in lawsuits against the city — made the first move.

"This is a very interesting group with a lot of brain power and degrees," he told Widmyer. "If you have issues that are pending and wanted a detached group to analyze anything … ."

Widmyer quickly responded light-heartedly: "Can you define ‘detached?’"