Grand Openings, Elections, and Other Events

It’s early summer in Moscow, and this week was jam-packed with events. We do our best to go through all of it, including the library election, the new Home Depot, and the updates from both the city and the county!

Read the full transcript of the video below:

How’s it going y’all? Aiden Anderson here with Moscow Report. I had the privilege recently to sit down with Latah County Commissioner Tony Johnson and talk to him about what the county has been up to this past month, and what we as citizens can be paying attention to for the future. Let’s get into it!

There you have it folks! I hope to have more conversations like this with the commissioners going forward. As always, we’ll have the relevant links posted with this video, and if you have any questions you’d like me to ask the commissioners, please send them my way. I’m Aiden Anderson with Moscow Report, and this has been an update from Latah County. We’ll see you next time!

How’s it going y’all? Aiden Anderson here with the Moscow Minutes. It has been a packed week, with a lot going on, and I’m excited to dive into it with you

First up, we had an election this past week for the Latah Library District. Incumbents Rochelle Smith, Annette Bay Pimental, and Marci Miller were all re-elected as library board trustees, Annette and Rochelle for 4-year positions, and Marci for a 2-year position. To the three of you, congratulations from all of us here at Moscow Report. We look forward to seeing your work in action in our public libraries.

If you didn’t see the press release, I had the opportunity to visit the new Home Depot on the day of its “board-cutting ceremony”. It was quite something to see so many faces from around the community enjoying what should be an interesting addition to our city as a whole. Based on the comments from store manager Richard Madariaga, it seems that Home Depot is excited to be a part of Moscow as well.

Community events aside, we have a city council meeting to unpack. Following a declaration for Memorial Day, the council heard from Ty Thomson regarding amendments to the stormwater code. Brace yourself.

The City of Moscow has a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) with a Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit issued by the EPA. Try saying that in one breath.

This permit is what allows the city to manage its stormwater system as it is currently set up. In order to continue with the permit, the city must comply with certain legal requirements from the federal government, including authority maintenance, enforcement response policies, and a best practices manual.

Thompson went through a new city ordinance which cleans up the current stormwater code on the city’s books, and puts all stormwater regulations into a single chapter. Any additional changes in the code were also described by Thompson, including what enforcement protocols look like for illicit discharges, and an updated BMP handbook, which cites both the Idaho catalog of BMPs and the stormwater manual for eastern Washington. This was approved unanimously by the Moscow City Council.

Fire Chief Brian Nickerson presented on the next item, which was a professional services agreement with Matrix Consulting Group for an EMS study. The Moscow Volunteer Fire Department, along with other EMS agencies in the county, is looking to participate in this study, the data from which should prove helpful to these agencies when it comes to logistical weak points and infrastructural needs going forward. This was also approved unanimously by the city council.

The county commissioners held their monthly meeting with the department heads and elected officials this week. This meeting began with a presentation related to the county’s internal technology purchase protocols and procedures, including a brief demonstration of how the internal system functions.

We have a few highlights from the department updates as well. Facilities gave some progress updates related to office moves and the county shop. The noxious weeds department is engaging in some site visits with the growing season well underway. Planning and Building reported that this past April was the most revenue-heavy April in their department’s history. The Assessor reminded everyone about upcoming property assessments in June. Finally, and in particular, the prosecutor reported briefly on how leaked information on the upcoming Kohberger trial has been impeding their progress on bringing the case to trial itself.

With summer underway, it seems like things only get busier here in Moscow, and we’re happy to report on everything that’s going on! As always, we’ll have the relevant links posted with this video, and if you have any questions, please reach out. I’m Aiden Anderson with the Moscow Minutes. And hey, Happy Memorial Day!