River City urban renewal leader retires

POST FALLS — After 12 years of serving the city as executive director of the Post Falls Urban Renewal agency, Diane Fountain is passing the baton to Joseph Johns.

“I will really miss what’s going on, because we really get to know first,” Fountain said. “And there is so much development. Post Falls is a nice close-knit community. There are a lot of good people in Post Falls.”

Johns joined the team in October for three months of training before taking over the executive director position. A 30-year resident, he brings a wealth of experience.

“My background is largely with local government, about 25 years of service in Kootenai County in different capacities,” Johns said. “My familiarization with urban renewal comes from my time in the assessor's office as well as (serving) as the chief deputy. In the assessor's office I was the land records mapping division manager.”

Formerly, Johns tracked urban renewal district boundaries, attributed parcels of land with the information required to administer them within the urban renewal system, and worked closely with the treasurer and the auditor’s office regarding urban renewal properties and districts.

“That gave me a little background of understanding,” Johns said. “Knowing how base values are established, and increment values on top of that, that tax increment comes from and is then used for urban renewal projects.”

The Post Falls Urban Renewal agency was established in 1994. Working with proponents and developers to attract business development to the area, they operate under the authority of the city of Post Falls to support economic growth.

With a sharp focus on bringing quality jobs into the area, they have long been considered Idaho’s “poster child” of urban renewal agencies, Fountain said.

“Other agencies in the state look to us for guidance,” she said. “They want to follow in our tracks. We don’t usually get a whole lot of kick-back from the public on the things that we do.”

Fountain and Johns both credit the volunteer commission for the smooth running of the agency. Under Chairman Jerry Baltzell are commissioners Larry Carstensen, Len Crosby, Collin Coles, Jame Davis, Christi Fleischman, Eric Clemensen and new member Melissa Hjeltness.

“They are a very involved group,” Fountain said. “They care about the community and want to be involved.”

Fountain officially retires today and plans to travel with her husband, Jeff. After spending time in Arizona, the Fountains will visit their cabin in Alaska. Married 39 years, the couple has a son and daughter, and three grandchildren.

Fountain plans to volunteer locally in her grandchildren’s schools and will maintain her position as a commissioner with the Lakes Highway District.

Johns’ wife, Brenda, has been a communications instructor at North Idaho College for 30 years. The couple has two adult children.

Johns will be busy managing two new urban renewal districts, the Downtown and Pleasant View districts. The Expo Urban Renewal District will close in 2022, and the Center Pointe and East Post Falls districts will close in 2023.

“We have a lot going on downtown,” Fountain said. “The Idaho Veneer site is being developed and across the street from there they’re going to put a hotel and we’ve heard, a grocery store, a bookstore and a coffee shop. I feel good about what we’re doing for the community.”