PF mayor merges growth with business stepping up

COEUR d’ALENE — A new Highway 41 is coming.

"We're all excited," Post Falls Mayor Ron Jacobson said Wednesday, speaking before attendees of the Men in Business luncheon in the Best Western Plus Coeur d'Alene Inn.

Jacobson said the process of right-of-way acquisition for Highway 41 will be done in September, the utilities will be relocated from September through March, and roadway construction will begin in March 2020 and go through spring 2021.

However, anticipate pain along the way.

"I always tell people, I bypass Highway 41 anytime I can," he said. "It's going to get worse."

The interchange at Highway 41 and Interstate 90 is slated for construction in 2023.

"That is a disaster of an interchange,” Jacobson said. “The scary thing is, when that went in, that was the best of about nine or 10 different options they came up with … I would have hated to have seen the worst one."

"Yeah, I agree," said at least one attendee among nods and murmurs of agreement.

The need for a reconstructed arterial in Post Falls, the booming housing market and the future of one of North Idaho's fastest-growing cities were all topics Jacobson touched on during the luncheon, which was attended by about 20 members and a couple guests of the Men in Business Network.

“When people come into the city and they want to complain about growth, I say, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet,’” Jacobson said. “One of the best comments I hear is when people are against development or an expansion or whatever. They say, ‘We moved here five years ago for the lifestyle and we want to keep it that way.’ I say, ‘Where were you six years ago when where you live was an open field? Now there’s a thousand homes out there.’

"The Post Falls of today is nowhere near the Post Falls when we moved out there in 1980.”

He said Post Falls needs to develop businesses — "We need to develop the services that are going to help keep people in Post Falls.

"Restaurants in Post Falls have a difficult time making it at lunch time because everybody’s gone."

The Men in Business Network, founded in 2005 by president Andreas John, meets once a month to provide a networking resource for businessmen in the community. Several Best of North Idaho winners are part of the group, including Payne West's Marvin Sears, Craig Zanetti of Amendola, Doty and Brumley, and Jeff Doty of Windermere Real Estate.

Doty, a board member for Men in Business, said the group is trying to step up its game "and really be one of the elitist — if not the elite — networking groups in town."

"We just really want to be recognized as a group of businesses that the community can really trust to go to, where we hold each other accountable where you're going to get really good service and really good products if you come to any of the businesses in the group."

The network comprises representatives of many industries, including publishing, tree services, architecture and financial services, but Doty said openings are available for anything medical related, engineering firms, accountants and restaurant representatives who would like to join.

Information about the Men in Business Network can be found at www.cdameninbusiness.com as well as inside every issue of The Business Journal of North Idaho.