City Council News

If you read my previous article explaining the purpose of a city council, you probably know more about the council than you were wanting. There must be some of you scratching your head and wondering how I became one of the representatives for Ward 3, because hard as you try, you don’t remember voting for me.

Surprise! You didn’t. Not a single person in Ward 3 voted for me. However, since no one in Ward 3 ran against me, the council approved me as the representative “by acclamation.” That’s what happens when residents don’t get involved in city government. You end up being represented by someone you may not know, know nothing about, or know lots about and don’t want to represent you. Too late now, at least for the present, in Ward 3. I plan on sticking out my four years. And I don’t plan to waste time while holding down the seat.

Some of you probably know of my unrelenting efforts to ensure the city’s Community Decay Ordinance is enforced. For me, it has been a long and arduous, largely unsuccessful, process which has recently become more satisfying with the help of the City Attorney (Tim Goen) and the Thompson Falls Police Department (Chief Nichols, Officers Thornton, Derry, Scott). Community decay lowers our property values and negatively affects quality of life for those living in the area. It discourages those interested in buying and living in our area from buying within the city limits. That all results in less tax revenue for the city which ultimately affects the quality of our streets, other infrastructure (water, sewer), our attractiveness as a community, success of our businesses, and on and on. There are so many bad ramifications for residents and the city when it comes to properties characterized by lack of upkeep, garbage, and junk vehicles of every kind. Who wants to live in, shop in, or explore such a town?

We are so fortunate to have the Beautification Committee, and the many volunteers, who annually organize the city clean up and do so much to ensure our Main Street is a credit to our community. They go far beyond Main Street, helping citizens requesting assistance in improving the appearance of their properties all over town. Keeping personal property in a condition reflecting well on owners and the community is a matter of pride and initiative, both of which are free. There are many residents of our town who do just that, maintain clean and neat property. Thank you! Your efforts are greatly appreciated by the mostly silent majority.

Persistent enforcement of the Community Decay ordinance encourages some to move on if engaging in criminal activities. Who wants their meth cooking interrupted by police knocking on the door saying clean up your trashy property? My disheartening lack of success getting the Community Decay Ordinance enforced resulted in my decision to see if I could be more effective with a seat at the council table. Thanks to the city police and attorney, I’m feeling more hopeful that persistence will result in return of this once beautiful little town to what it should be. We are incredibly blessed to live in a town surrounded by natural beauty and not just one, but two dam sites. Should you need to submit complaints regarding community decay, I would recommend you submit no more than a couple at a time to give those tasked with working the issue time to do so. The process of enforcement is time consuming and work intensive. More than 2-3 complaints at a time can overwhelm police and legal who also have other job responsibilities. As a reminder, you do NOT need to sign your name to complaints. Working together, we will slowly but surely clean up our little town.

Ruth Cheney,

Thompson Falls City Council