Lewiston City Council withholds money from not-for-profit group

Sep. 28—A major funding source for Valley Vision is in limbo after the Lewiston City Council voted earlier this week to keep a $40,000 annual contribution to the group in a contingency fund.

The decision happened late Monday at a council meeting in a split vote. Council President Hannah Liedkie as well as councilors Jim Kleeburg and John Spickelmire, who was recently appointed, were in the majority.

Councilors Kathy Schroeder and Rick Tousley were in the minority. Councilor Kassee Forsmann was absent.

"I believe that this type of agreement really should have some measurables in it," Spickelmire said. "It's not Valley Vision's fault, but I do feel this one should be closed out, rewritten correctly and resubmitted."

Schroeder disagreed with Spickelmire's stance.

"Because we have dropped the ball on this, we shouldn't punish them if they are providing the service and I believe that Valley Vision has provided a good service and will continue to do that," she said.

The council had indicated at a previous September meeting it planned to maintain its financial support of Valley Vision and four other not-for-profits this fiscal year and then review the expenditures in coming months.

The change in direction this week "blindsided" Valley Vision since the contract language was approved and the funds had been allocated, said Troy Ledgerwood, president of Valley Vision's board, in a text.

"It is sad to have the 25-year partnership between Valley Vision and the city of Lewiston end with no notice or explanation," he said.

Valley Vision satisfied the terms of its agreements with the city of Lewiston and had worked to address any questions or concerns that had surfaced in the process, Ledgerwood said.

The economic development group has been involved in a number of projects over the years that have helped the area maintain its robust manufacturing base.

Valley Vision was instrumental in helping both Clearwater Paper and CCI/Speer, Lewiston's two largest employers, separately obtain temporary property tax exemptions that helped them complete multimillion upgrades at their sites.

Valley Vision was the largest of five service contracts on which the council voted Monday. The council also chose to withhold its $15,000 in annual support of Visit Lewis Clark Valley.

The money for Valley Vision and Visit Lewis Clark Valley is being kept in a contingency fund. The council could still assign it to those groups or allocate it elsewhere.

Michelle Peters, president of Visit Lewis Clark Valley, had told the council earlier this month that her organization would be fine with or without the financial support from the city of Lewiston. The majority of the group's revenue comes from lodging sales tax travelers pay at overnight accommodations in Idaho and Washington, she said.

Kleeburg mentioned this detail before casting his vote against the funding for Visit Lewis Clark Valley.

Beautiful Downtown Lewiston will continue to receive $30,000 this fiscal year, while the Boys & Girls Club of the Lewis Clark Valley will receive $18,000 and the Lewiston Civic Theater will receive $30,000.

Liedkie and Tousley acknowledged they had ties to the civic theater. But their connections aren't a conflict of interest that would prevent them from voting on matters involving the theater because neither one benefited financially from the group.

A child of Liedkie's has participated in productions and Tousley has performed in the theater's shows.

The council has pledged to examine all of the agreements and see what changes are needed in the upcoming year.

"The Idaho Constitution does not allow for governments to donate money with service contracts written the way they were," Liedkie said. "There (were) some questions of, were we allowing other entities to be involved in some of our strategic planning and was it ... competitive? ... The ask was we take a deeper look."

In a related matter, Lewiston Mayor Dan Johnson voluntarily disclosed a violation of Idaho's open meetings law at Monday's meeting.

The violation involved a Sept. 16 reply of Spickelmire to an email from city staff to city councilors.

Spickelmire replied to all recipients in the email and suggested Beautiful Downtown Lewiston promote activities before or after the Lewiston Roundup parade and that tourism be developed around the cruise boat industry.

The Lewiston-Clarkston Valley is a place where tourists start or end overnight cruise boat trips that follow a route on the Snake and Columbia rivers that includes the Portland, Ore., area.

The council should disregard the email, but can discuss the topics as agenda items if it chooses, Johnson said.

Spickelmire's email was a violation of open meeting law because he privately exchanged information with all city councilors relating to a pending decision instead of sharing it in an open meeting, Johnson said in a Tuesday email.

Idaho code allows such actions to be fixed by self recognizing the issue as Johnson did Monday.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.