On Thursday, September 9th, from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m., in the Library Community Room, the city and many partners will come together to present information on the environment. They will share what the city and other agencies are doing to be environmentally responsible, offer citizens information, and seek public comments and suggestions.

Among the topics to be presented are: Stormwater Management, Single Stream Recycling, Water and Energy Conservation, Xeriscaping, River Water Quality, and Hazardous Waste Disposal.

Participants include:

1. Avista Utilities
2. CdA Engineering, Water, and Wastewater departments, Green Team
3. Community Action Partnership
4. Idaho Transportation Department
5. Kootenai County Solid Waste
6. Kootenai Environmental Alliance
7. Lakes Highway District
8. Panhandle Area Council
9. Post Falls Public Works
10. Waste Management

For more information, please contact Kim Harrington at 769-2214.

A second Open House for the Education Corridor Transportation Plan will be held in the Library Community Room at 702 E. Front Avenue, Wednesday, September 8th, from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. One of the items to be discussed on September 8th is the Concept Landscape Plan, which includes street trees and proposed locations for public art and entry features.

The first open house, held August 11th, gave citizens the opportunity to become familiar with selected alternatives for road alignments and widths, intersection locations, bike and pedestrian plans, and general infrastructure improvements. Valuable comments and input were shared by those who are most affected by the proposed improvements. Of the 69 people who came to the Open House, 55 submitted written comments that help guide the project team’s decisions on such items as: selection of a preferred River Avenue alternative; redesign of the Mullan Avenue Roundabout; and abandonment of the proposed circulation changes to Military Drive, Forest Drive, and Rosenberry/Lakeshore Drive.

Public comments are welcome. Please call Chris Bates at 769-2228 for more information.

Background: On May 23, 2002, the city entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with North Idaho College (NIC), the University of Idaho (U of I), and the Lake City Development Corporation (LCDC) to develop a master plan for an education corridor. The purpose of the education corridor is to create a community where area youth can go to college locally, be eligible for local employment, and raise their families in the region.

In August 2009, the Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) awarded the city a grant to further study the education corridor project through the MICD Alumni Technical Assistance Program, a partnership program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Architectural Foundation, and the United States Conference of Mayors.

After listening to a broad spectrum of community members, urban design experts with the MICD mirrored back to the community the vision that they had heard. It was agreed that the next steps to be taken were: (1) preparing design and development criteria, (2) creating a traffic and engineering study for infrastructure development, and (3) finalizing the annexation agreement.

The City of Coeur d’Alene received an award for being an outstanding partner with the U.S. Census Bureau for its outreach to the community, educating citizens about the Census, and encouraging full participation in Census 2010.

This is the first time the U.S. Census Bureau partnered with various community organizations to educate citizens about the census. The city shared educational information through press releases, radio announcements, and even placed short messages on its utility bills to remind citizens to “Stand up and be counted.”

At the August 17th Council Meeting, Mayor Sandi Bloem thanked Sean Holm, Planner (who worked on the annual Boundary Adjustment Survey [BAS] and the decennial Boundary Validation Program [BVP]; Debbie Frisbie, GIS Coordinator (who worked on the New Construction Program and Re-Addressing Assignments); David Townsend, Library Communications Coordinator (who worked with the Portrait of America Road Tour and the special programs he presented to complement it); and Victoria Bruno, Project Coordinator and staff liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Most of all,” said the Mayor, looking out into the public audience, “thanks to the community for stepping up and answering the call and being there when you were counted.”

The official report on the nationwide results of Census 2010 will be available in December. For more information, please call 769-2204.

Portion of Road Closed, Local Access Maintained

The City of Coeur d'Alene has closed a portion of Nettleton Gulch Road for a water main replacement project. Eastbound vehicles will be detoured at 19th Street and westbound vehicles at Maple Leaf Road. Local access will be maintained. The street should be reopened by 5:00 p.m. on September 10th.

The purpose of the project is to replace an outdated water main that currently lies at the base of the road across private property. For more information, please contact the Water Department at 769-2210.

This past June, Building Inspector Raymond Kendall earned the Legacy Certification – a distinction that makes him a better building inspector, which makes Coeur d’Alene a safer place to live. Since he was hired by the city in September 2006, Kendall has spent most of his free time earning the Legacy Certification.

What does it mean to earn the Legacy Certification? The International Code Council (ICC) Legacy Certification Program recognizes individuals who have demonstrated their knowledge about a broad spectrum of building codes, across many jurisdictions. Legacy Certifications grew out of a need to recognize individuals who were not only ICC Certified, but also certified in uniform codes, standards and practices, and certified under the jurisdiction of additional codes and agencies.

“The achievement of the Legacy Certification goes above and beyond the normal requirements of Raymond’s position,” said Building Services Director Ed Wagner. “He spent a great deal of his personal time – it’s a reflection of his professional commitment as an inspector.”

Standardization and enforcement of building codes ensure that sound building practices are followed when structures are built. By doing the work required to earn the Legacy Certification, Kendall is better equipped to examine structures and require compliance with numerous building codes – mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc. – codes that make the places citizens visit and dwell, habitable and secure.

There are only 300 individuals in the entire U.S. holding Legacy Combination Inspector certifications.

For more information, please contact 769-2204.

City Launches Sustainability Website

On Wednesday, June 23rd, the City of Coeur d’Alene will launch the sustainability portion of its official website, www.cdaid.org/green, to provide a resource for people who want to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Still a work in progress, the website will let users know what they can and cannot put in their blue recycling bins, as well as provide relevant links and important updates. In the future, contributors to www.cdaid.org/green look forward to providing new and innovative information.

As a member of the newly-formed city committee, Green CdA Team, Planner Sean Holm developed and will monitor the new site. “Every new website needs feedback and ideas to stay fresh,” he said, adding, “We are open to constructive criticism and would love your input.” Each committee member plays an important role and seeks information across all areas of sustainability. Other Green CdA Team members include Monte McCully (Parks), Renata McLeod (Administration), James Washko (Fire), Christopher Brannon (Library), Julia Aho (Finance), Amy Ferguson (Municipal Services), Sheri Carroll (Finance), Steve Childers (Police), Melissa Crooks (Library), Howard Gould (Building Maintenance), Bill McLeod (Police), and Steve Wolf (Street Maintenance).

Background: In April 2009, one of the City Council’s cost-savings goals involved asking staff to study green/sustainability plans. Dovetailing with this request, Coeur d’Alene was a recipient of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, which required the city to conduct an energy audit. The energy audit was the first step in the city’s movement forward toward sustainability goals. In its first year, it created a volunteer employee committee, the “Green CdA Team.” An advisory team, the Green CdA Team’s role is to assist the city with the goal of promoting energy reduction and conservation opportunities to reduce costs and enhance the environment, and to seek sustainability and educational opportunities for the organization. The new website is a Green CdA Team effort.

The city has also completed an energy audit and a performance-based contract for energy savings programs with Johnson Controls. Furthermore, City Council approved a community-wide, single-stream recycling program which will be launched this fall. The Green CdA Team is very excited to receive ideas from the public and bring innovation to the city.

For more information, please contact Sean Holm at 676-7401.

On Monday, June 21st, at 2:00 p.m., in the Third Street Parking Lot (by the boat launch), the City of Coeur d’Alene will launch its Storm Drain Marking Program, “For The Sake of Our Lake.” The Storm Drain Marking Program will remind citizens to not dump anything down storm water drains.

Stormwater is water from rain and melting snow that does not immediately soak into the ground. Stormwater flows across impervious surfaces such as concrete, streets, roofs, parking lots, and sidewalks into catch basins, storm drains, swales, culverts, ditches, and drywells, and eventually empties into the lake and aquifer. Stormwater can carry pollutants like lawn chemicals, motor oil, pet waste, and sediments to lakes and rivers.

The Storm Drain Marking Program offers opportunities for everyone to learn how to help reduce pollutants that can enter lakes and rivers from the storm water system.

How does the program help? Storm water drains in heavy pedestrian traffic zones such as the downtown corridor and mid-town area will be marked with a stainless steel marker reading: “No Dumping Drains to Lake.” Residential area drains will be stenciled with: “Dump No Waste, Flows to Our Lake.” Volunteers in residential areas will also be distributing educational materials.

The City of Coeur d'Alene Stormwater Utility was authorized by the City Council on October 1, 2004 to manage stormwater for the protection of the public's health, safety, and water quality, to meet federally-mandated regulations for discharging stormwater, and to finance the associated stormwater-related infrastructure costs, improvements, and maintenance. The Stormwater Utility focuses on reducing the potential for stormwater pollution and improving the city’s stormwater infrastructure while protecting water quality.

The operation of our stormwater collection system is regulated by the EPA through our Stormwater Discharge Permit. We must meet strict requirements set forth in our permit. The purpose of those requirements is to reduce pollutants being discharged in Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River through our stormwater collection system.

To volunteer or for more information, please contact Kim Harrington, Assistant Project Manager, at kimh@cdaid.org or 769-2214. You can also find information on the city’s website and the Stormwater Hotline 676-7405.

City Hall is typically open from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays, but citizens can now access City Hall 24-hours a day, everyday. By dialing 676-7405, citizens will be able to leave a message regarding any city issue, problem, or complaint - any hour of the day. Messages will be monitored every day, and appropriate departments or individuals will be directed to address the issue and get back to the citizen who called. Citizens will be asked to leave their name and number.

Remember, the City 24-Hour Hotline number is 676-7405.

The citizens of Coeur d'Alene have another way of communicating with the Police Department without calling the business number or 911 and having a police officer respond to their house. This phone line allows a person to leave information regarding a particular crime, criminal activity in their neighborhood, drug activity, a hit and run vehicle, recovered stolen property, dogs running loose, illegally parked cars, or other information regarding the quality of life in their neighborhood. The caller is able to leave their name or remain anonymous, if they wish. The phone number for the TIP line is 769-2296. The TIP line is operational twenty-four (24) hours a day, 365 days a year, and will be monitored on a daily basis. The phone number will not take the place of the Department's regular business phone number 769-2320 or the emergency number 911. The TIP line will give citizens another convenient and quick way to inform the police about concerns that they may have in their neighborhood.