11 lines that defined corridor vote

Tuesday’s vote to approve the Health Corridor urban renewal district brought with it a roar of voices in the Coeur d’Alene Public Library’s community room. Some shouted to vote down the measure. Some sounded off in full-throated support. Some gave dire warnings. Some lambasted the Council with conspiratorial concerns.

All were voices in an out-of-sync choir that sang the hymnal of an epic Coeur d’Alene City Council opera. These were the 11 chronological quotes, one-liners and comments that told Tuesday night’s story — and all its sub-plots — while making the meeting one for the books.

1. “You need look no further…” — Christie Wood

Wood, the second citizen to speak during the Public Comments portion that opened Tuesday’s City Council meeting, came out in strong support for passage of the Health Corridor. The Councilmember-elect and chair of North Idaho College’s board of trustees used the example of Coeur d’Alene’s education corridor to illustrate the benefits of successfully-planned and successfully-implemented projects through urban renewal.

“You need look no further,” Wood told the Council, “than the education corridor to see this kind of strategic planning by elected officials as essential in serving our citizens. But I also want you to deeply understand that the college cannot do this alone. We can provide the degrees, but it’s incumbent upon city leaders and county leaders in our region to also be strategic in their planning and their economic development that brings in higher-paying jobs into the health sector. These jobs will enable our students and our citizens to live, work and play in the city they were born in.”

While Wood was not the only citizen to speak her public piece in support of the Health Corridor—two other residents would eventually cheer for the urban renewal district proposal—her support would be the last words of encouragement project planners and hospital executives would hear for nearly an hour.

2. “You, collectively, are not smarter than the entire population of Coeur d’Alene, collectively.” — Brent Regan

Regan, chair of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, emphasized that funding a Health Corridor was not simply a city matter, but that all Kootenai County taxpayers would pay to support the district. While all county taxpayers must pay for other cities’ basic services such as sewers and police protection, he stressed that pushing economic development was not in keeping with the purpose of local government.

“...It’s not really the role of government to do that kind of economic planning,” he said. “And where’s the blight? [Urban renewal districts] are supposed to be applied to places [that] are badly blighted and can’t attract economic development. Are you telling me this area right here can’t attract economic development? That’s ridiculous.”

Regan reiterated a textbook conservative principle—the role of the free market—in an effort to remind City Council who is actually calling the shots.

“Saying we have to go in and micro-manage it is not the proper role of governement. You have a tool. If you want to shape the city, you have a tool. It’s called zoning. You say, ‘Do this kind of thing in this kind of area,’ and then let the private sector do its thing. Let individuals come in, because I guarantee you: You, collectively, are not smarter than the entire population of Coeur d’Alene, collectively.”

3. “We’ve got the obelisk that was out in Riverstone with the hammer and sickle, and if you want, you can dust that off...” — Brent Regan

Regan was objectively on fire Tuesday, flinging back-to-back zingers to both the amusement and cheer of the audience behind him. He ended his allotted three-minute speech by hammering home his opposition with the now-infamous art piece Marker #11 and its image of the Soviet flag as a convenient prop.

“That growth isn’t funded directly,” he said. “It does come out of the taxpayers’ pockets. It does end up as a tax increase. We are funding the development of that area. Everybody in the county is having to pitch in for it. So I would ask you not to engage in this Soviet-style central planning. We’ve got the obelisk that was out in Riverstone with the hammer and sickle, and if you want, you can dust that off and bring it up and set it up and say, ‘Now we can do Soviet-style planning.’ But I would strongly encourage you not to.”

4. “Now let’s talk about what this Health Corridor is really about.” — Jon Ness

Ness, chief executive officer of Kootenai Health, took an opening during the Public Comments section of the agenda to respond to concerns the community was being shut out of the decision-making process. Specifically, he calmly explained how the public has been involved in the planning process from the near-beginning: not just through their elected officials, but through workshops upon surveys upon hearings upon votes.

“This has been a collaborative, participative process,” Ness said, “including city staff, the Planning Commission, the City Council, Coeur d’Alene 2030, ignite cda, Kootenai Health, the Idaho Transportation Department, multiple private businesses, Ironwood neighbors and members of the community.”

After unpacking the nuts and bolts of the process, Ness said the how wasn’t nearly as important as the why: encouraging jobs in an exploding industry.

“Now let’s talk about what this Health Corridor is really about,” he said. “Number one, this is about job growth. Of the 20 fastest-growing jobs in the United States, 12 of them are in health care. Kootenai Health is the largest employer in northern Idaho, with 3,600 employees. By the way, 77 percent of our employees are female, and their average age is 42 years old. Most of them are moms supporting their families.”

This would not be the last time Ness would make this list.

5. “...a group of supercitizens...” — Terry Godbout

Godbout, who claimed to speak on behalf of his 1,498 Facebook users following his We The People Of CDA page, harkened for transparency and accountability at Tuesday’s meeting, echoing concerns of the more vocal Health Corridor opponents. In the process of warning City Council against quasi-jurisdictional and unelected groups, he happened to bring a national term into the Coeur d’Alene lexicon.

“We’re uncomfortable with CDA 2030 being a group of supercitizens, almost, that get to have undue influence on the city,” he said. “We feel the same way about ignite, but at least ignite, the board members there are appointed by Council. We don’t like the trend of unelected officials having more to say about the way the city is being run.”

6. “I just found out about this, and I actually rushed down.” — Michelle Klingensmith

Klingensmith, a Coeur d’Alene resident, spoke up about a perceived lack of public information during the planning phases and a lack of concern for institutions its citizens hold dear. She pushed through traffic to rush to Tuesday’s meeting, where her impassioned southern-drawl speech in opposition of the Health Corridor drifted between praise of Coeur d’Alene’s character and a deeper, more spiritual crisis.

“I just found out about this,” she said, “and I actually rushed down. I feel kind of distressed, to be honest with you...My husband and I moved across the country—you can tell by my accent I’m not from here—from the deep South to the great Northwest. What drew us here was this unique opportunity and the creativity that is here in Coeur d’Alene. I just have to think, if you take one entity, which is Kootenai Health, compared to hundreds of entities, you know, how much creativity can you get out of one entity compared to hundreds, and that’s what makes this place special is it’s not cookie-cutter. Nobody says, ‘We need more things that look like Portland or Seattle...’ They love it [in Coeur d’Alene] because of its uniqueness, its creativity, its individuals coming together to make something really special.”

Klingensmith’s voice cracked as she gave a plea that followed a string of public comments from parishioners about their fears of one day losing a place of worship in the new frontier of the Health Corridor.

“What’s really causing me distress is my church,” she said. “Embyrs Church is on Ironwood Drive. We have big plans and visions to use every ounce of the three acres that we have to do something wonderful and creative for our community...Please consider that, if you shut down a church, you’ve actually pushed hundreds of people out of their home that’s important to them every single week.”

7. “They’re not laughing at me.” — Councilmember Dan Gookin

After a lengthy and informative presentation of the project by Tony Berns, the ignite cda executive director stood before the City Council to answer questions, the first of which touched on a fiery topic surrounding the public’s perception of the Health Corridor.

“Has ignite, [to] your knowledge, ever considered, discussed or talked about using any eminent domain powers within any of the projects that you have?” Councilmember Kiki Miller asked.

“No,” Berns answered.

“Is there a plan to do that in any way in this project?” she followed up.

“No,” Berns repeated.

Gookin then took advantage of a half-second pause to challenge Berns on the urban renewal agency’s ability to use eminent domain in the Health Corridor, as stipulated within the proposal and supported by state law.

“But it’s in your plan,” Gookin interjected quickly.

“It’s in the plan,” Berns replied, “but there’s no plan to use it.”

The ignite cda director’s word choice drew rumblings and laughter from the more than 60 in attendance Tuesday night.

“They’re not laughing at me,” Gookin pointed out.

The back-and-forth both highlighted the defiance Gookin demonstrated in opposition to the Health Corridor and signaled contentious times to come moments later. (Spoiler alert: This was not the only Gookin comment to make the list.)

8. “It seems like the skids have been greased...” — Councilmember Dan Gookin

While characterizing Kootenai Health’s growth over the decades, the fiscal hawk expressed concerns against taking control out of City Council’s hands and giving it to the new district.

“Yeah, this isn’t about Kootenai Health,” he said. “We’re happy Kootenai Health is here, and they’ve done all this stuff so far without urban renewal. All this stuff has been done without urban renewal. Everything you guys said that you like about Kootenai Health has happened and is here, and it’s now, and it’s not going away. It is a public hospital. It is a government monopoly, and it’s striving to expand that monopoly by acquiring businesses around itself. It’s very politically incorrect for me to say that, but it’s the truth.”

Gookin then asked about government’s role in expanding the hospital’s reach. He critiqued what he described as a thriving-but-piecemeal fashion the area has developed over time, and how growth through urban renewal seems more like a foregone conclusion than a public decision.

“Kootenai Health aside, let’s talk about this area,” he said. “This area sucks, and it’s the city’s fault. Because, as this area grew and it was developed, the city kind of said, ‘Yeah, go ahead and build that there. Don’t worry about the streets.’ We do that a lot. And I’m sure when the first big office building was built, they said, ‘Yeah, don’t worry about Ironwood.’ And when the next one came in, we said, ‘Don’t worry about Ironwood’...It seems like the skids have been greased for urban renewal since Day One.”

9. “Why do you want to hear from him? I want to hear from you.” — Councilmember Dan Gookin

When Council president Woody McEvers, who filled in for a recused Mayor Steve Widmyer, asked Berns to respond to Gookin’s claims, Gookin interrupted with a commanding charge to his fellow councilman.

“Actually, I would prefer if Council would debate and not keep bringing in a staff member,” Gookin said. “...Do you want [Berns] and I to argue, or do you want us to talk about it as the citizens’ representatives?”

“We just listened to you go the other way,” McEvers replied. “Unless somebody here [objects], I want to hear it from the guy who runs the organization.”

“I think the people want to hear from their elected officials,” Gookin replied amid resounding applause, “and not be swayed by someone who’s paid to push urban renewal in the state. I tell you: When the legislature was going to repeal and remove the power of eminent domain from urban renewal agencies, LCDC/ignite was sending their lobbyists to Boise to fight it. So why do you want to hear from him? I want to hear from you. I don’t want you to be influenced by this guy. You’re the one who goes for election. He doesn’t. He has a job forever.”

10. “To hell with the state.” — Councilmember Ron Edinger

After Gookin finished his diatribe, discussion between Council members and City Attorney Michael Gridley shifted back into who can flex eminent domain powers in the new district. Even though Idaho law empowers urban renewal agency with eminent domain, Edinger—in his second-to-last meeting after 50 years on City Council—asked a question on the forefront of many concerned citizens’ minds.

“Can’t we, [through] our own urban renewal agency, can’t we put that in there?” he Edinger asked. “Mike, can’t we say that? Can’t we say that eminent domain is not included in our urban renewal agency anymore?”

As he waited for Gridley to respond, Edinger lent voice to thought in textbook Edinger style. “We don’t need to go with the state,” he added. “To hell with the state.”

“What he said,” Kiki Miller agreed as the crowd laughed.

Gridley then explained that removing city language granting eminent domain does not remove the right from ignite cda’s toolbox.

“Well,” Edinger quietly replied, “I’m not going to be here that long to fight the state anyway.”

11. “We need help.” — Jon Ness

As the evening grew late, a visibly weary Kootenai Health CEO returned to the podium to answer a last set of questions, where he explained the infrastructure problems he said will only grow worse over time.

“It’s a public safety issue,” he said. “We’re a health care organization, and—literally—there are times in the day you cannot turn left. We’ve got 3,600 employees and we’re responsible for them. We need to work with the urban renewal agency and the city to address some of these public infrastructure issues, which then starts to influence future growth. Kootenai Health has eminent domain authority, and like ignite, we have never used it. We have no plans to use it. That was never the intention.”

Ness explained Kootenai Health executives and accountants did not have to look at the math for long before realizing the near certainty of the hospital’s future.

“This idea came up in part of frankly frustration with the inability to resolve significant transportation and traffic issues,” he said. “Since 2011, Kootenai Health has grown by 110 percent. The community is growing at a significant rate. What happens if, in the next 10 years, Kootenai Health doubles in size again? Our projections are, based on population, that is absolutely going to occur. We can’t grow. We can’t grow to the north because of the interstate, we can’t grow to the east because of US 95, there’s no property available to purchase to the west, and so we’re landlocked.”

He added that Kootenai Health lacks the financial resources to grow on its own, which is why he champions the new Health Corridor district.

“We don’t have the resources, in spite of perceptions, to do all of this ourselves,” he said. “So we need to partner. We’d like to partner with the city, [an] urban renewal agency [or] other businesses to try to create an opportunity to resolve some of these issues...What we see is, the population is going to continue to grow. Many of the people that are moving here are of the age where they need health care services. We believe that Kootenai Health—not just Kootenai Health, but all of the health care industry—is going to continue to grow at a significant rate. How are we going to partner to grow and accommodate all that?”

While Ness further recalled other ideas, including moving Kootenai Health to another location, he came back to what he described as a good problem to have.

“We love our location,” he said. “I’ve been working in health care for 35 years. If somebody told me there was a hospital located at the intersection of the interstate highway and US 95? That is absolutely the perfect location for a regional hospital. We love that location, but we need some help.”

In the end, after a final discussion among its members, the Coeur d’Alene City Council voted 5-1 to approve the new Health Corridor district, with only Gookin opposing it.

Judging from the number of dissenters in the crowd and the decibel level they reached, those at Tuesday night’s meeting will not have heard the Health Corridor debate’s last words.