Wolfe hopes to continue Post Falls service

POST FALLS — Alan Wolfe announced Tuesday night he’ll seek a third term on the Post Falls City Council this November.

A newspaper story 16 years ago put him on the path to public service, he said.

“I read an article in the CDA Press in 2005 projecting Post Falls to grow to 50,000 by 2020,” said Wolfe, who worked as a bank manager for 40 years before retiring five years ago. “I had a hard time envisioning Post Falls with a population of 50,000 so I volunteered to serve on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The article concerned me and woke me up.”

In 2013, the same year Wolfe was named Post Falls Citizen of the Year, he ran for a council seat on a platform of bringing in good jobs, improving city efficiencies and managed growth. Since then, the city has attracted Orgill, Tedder Industries and many other respected employers to the River City.

In addition, the city has created a Tech Park to attract companies like Apple, Google and Facebook as they look for new areas of expansion.

In terms of efficiencies, the city has not taken a tax increase during his tenure on the council. Post Falls has also been awarded the highest honors for financial reporting each year by the Government Finance Officers Association.

Since getting actively involved, Wolfe said he’s learned about the complicated world of land use and its impacts on the community.

“Fortunately, through hard work and creative thinking, we have managed to keep the population growth to about 37,000,” he said. “This is a significant reduction from the projection in 2005. People have a constitutional right to move here but we also have a responsibility to our present citizens to do everything possible to keep the small-town feel that makes Post Falls unique.”

In addition to his original goals, Wolfe sees the challenge of local worker housing as another priority.

“It’s a delicate balance between producing adequate housing options without over taxing our current infrastructure,” he said. “As a member of the Regional Housing and Growth Issues Partnership, we are exploring solutions to the concerns of Kootenai County citizens.”

In addition to serving on the Post Falls Planning and Zoning Committee, Wolfe has held leadership roles with the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce board, Post Falls Community Volunteers, River City Leadership Academy and Kiwanis International. Wolfe and his wife, Dani Zibell-Wolfe, have five children and six grandchildren.