City of Spokane

Community Update

May 24, 2022


#InlandStrong

In Woodward's Words

Mayor Nadine Woodward talks about building community in the East Central Neighborhood.

Your City at Work

City Closures Planned For Memorial Day

  • Garbage, recycling, and yard waste will be a day late all week, with normal Friday services planned for Saturday.
  • City Hall, the Waste-to-Energy facility, and other City facilities will be closed.
  • On-street paid parking meters will not require payments.
  • All Spokane Public Library branches will be closed.
  • My Spokane 311 employees will not be available.
  • Spokane Municipal Court will be closed.
  • Spokane City Council is not scheduled to meet, their next legislative meeting will be Monday, June 6.


All Spokane Riverfront Park attractions will be open during the holiday weekend. City golf course will also be open! For more holiday info visit our website

Creating New Housing Opportunities 

The City of Spokane's recent Housing Action Plan calls for increasing housing options by making changes to residential in building codes and streamlining the permitting process.

Library of Things

With the Library of Things, you can try new things without the financial commitment. Play the guitar, set up a badminton net, go birdwatching, or take a Discover Pass on a hike. Check out almost anything directly from the Spokane Public Library's catalog! Click here to explore the Library of Things.

STA Summer Pass Is Back!

The Summer Pass offers unlimited free rides on Spokane Transit for youth age 6 to 18 and K through 12 students. Pick up your passes at local libraries or the STA Plaza beginning Wednesday, June 15! Learn more at stasummerpass.com.

Council Recap

Spokane City Council Member Lori Kinnear recaps the Monday, May 23, Spokane City Council meeting.

Construction Zone

The Don Kardong Pedestrian Bridge is closed for renovations. Bridge renovation work includes removal and replacement of bridge decking from wood to concrete, replacement of bridge overlooks with ADA accessible platforms, minor concrete pier replacement, guardrails, installation of a new lighting system, and bollards. To learn more about this bridge renovation project visit our website.

Obstruction Notice

Traffic Calming Kick-Off!

Join Spokane City Council at an upcoming traffic calming workshop! Learn about the new Traffic Calming program and share your ideas on how our neighborhoods can be safer, better connected and more livable for everyone. To find your district's workshop visit our website.

The Park Bench Café

Starting Memorial Day weekend, The Park Bench Café in Manito Park will be open seven days a week!

  • Monday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Friday – Sunday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

City Receives $500,000 in Grants for Northeast Area

The Environmental Protection Agency has selected the City of Spokane for $500,000 toward environmental investigation for private and public property in northeast Spokane. The grant dollars will be prioritized toward redevelopment and development sites and projects focused on housing and job creations. To learn more visit our website

Coronavirus Information

COVID-19 Vaccines
Get Vaccinated!
COVID-19 Testing Sites
Drive-up and walk-up COVID-19 testing sites are open to the community. These testing sites offer free testing and are open to anyone who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or has recently been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
Need Mental Health Help?
Contact 24/7: Frontier Crisis Line (877) 266-1818
Contact or Walk-In: Inland Northwest Behavioral Health (509) 992-1888

CHAS Health: (509) 444-8200

Excelsior Wellness Center: (509) 559-3100
Help for children, adults and families is available via telehealth.

Teen Text and Chat Line: 844-814-TEEN (8336)
Free confidential safe place service available to any teen or young adult.

Veterans Crisis Line: (800) 273-8255

Need Resources? 
Call Washington 211 at 2-1-1 or (877) 211-9274 to speak to a local agent
Text your Zip Code to 898211 or email ew211@incontactmail.com
Apply for Basic Food assistance over the phone!
Access to resources online at: wa211.org
Sign up for their Newsletter!
Need Access to Food?
Contact SNAP at (509) 319-3050 or SRTC@snapwa.org


Lutheran Community Services: (509) 747-8224
Intensive Behavioral Health, Victim Advocacy and Foster Care, are available.

Resident Assistance
The impacts of COVID have created hardships for people in many ways. The City continues to connect residents with available and eligible resources.
Utility Assistance
There are Resident Assistance programs for emergency help to pay for City utility bills, which include charges for water, wastewater, stormwater and garbage collection. Interest-free payment plans are also available for residential and commercial customers.

Rent Assistance

City of Spokane residents will soon be able to apply for $5.59 million in new Emergency Rent Assistance Program funds awarded by the Washington State Department of Commerce.


The application process for the funds will be announced in the near future on the City’s website after details such as a sub-recipient provider to distribute the funds to the community are finalized.


More than 2,470 households in the City have benefitted from the program that started June 1, 2021.

Spokane Rewards. Spokane Solves. Spokane Gives

The City of Spokane is a great place to combine community support with expertise. There are over 30 Boards, Commissions and Committees made up of volunteers who help shape our community. If you have one day a year, or one day a week, there is an opportunity for you. Pick your passion and get involved!


Local Real Estate Agent Shares Her Experience Volunteering With the City

We brought a team from 4 Degrees Real Estate to help cover up graffiti under the bridges just south of Browne’s Addition.


As a local real estate company, we all spend a lot of time out in the community and truly care about the neighborhoods that our clients and their families live in. We know that profanity and graffiti can create a negative vibe in an area, and we wanted to help remedy that. It was sad to see those beautiful murals destroyed by obscene language, but it made it that much more gratifying to help cover it up!

We had a great experience volunteering with the City. A big thing for us is that the City made sure we felt safe. They called the police ahead of time to ensure the area was safe and even had an employee from C.O.P.S. stay with us the whole time we were there. They had all the materials prepared and ready for us when we arrived so we could get to work right away!


We learned that the City makes it easy to volunteer. The City provides everything you need and take care of the cleanup, so all you have to do is show up. We also laughed, joked, and had a lot of fun cleaning up together!


We would happily volunteer with the City again because it made the project so easy and fun for us. We love Spokane and look forward to doing whatever we can to make it a better place to live.


Find a volunteer project here.

Spring Dreams: Riverfront Moves

Join Core4Collective for powerful movement classes that provide all-over sculpting and body-renewing benefits. Be prepared to build strength and sweat to heart-pumping playlists!


Dates: Thursdays; May 26 and June 2, 9, 16

Time: 6 – 7 p.m.

Location: Spokane Pavilion

On the Bright Side

The Spokane Fire Department rescued a family of baby ducks in a deep window well for a frantic momma. The incident happened near the intersection of 27th Avenue and Southeast Boulevard. All of the babies are doing great, and momma appeared exceptionally thankful for SFD's care and intervention.

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