Petition asks to delay new police station

An online petition that has garnered about 1,500 signatures is asking Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert and the city council to roll back property tax amounts and to defer construction of the proposed police station on the south side of town.But, city officials say neither will happen.

Rod Story, who runs Story Family Medicine in Moscow, started the petition, titled “Time to repeal 4.3 percent Moscow Property Tax increase,” and sent it to Lambert and the six councilors. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

The petition can be found at this shortened link: bit.ly/3dJvB3W.

The petition says Moscow’s most recent emergency order “well exceeds” Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s stay-home order, which expires April 15, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home order, which expires Monday. Both orders can be extended.

The Moscow City Council on Thursday extended Lambert’s public health emergency order until May 5. The order prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people, including in educational institutions, churches and religious organizations. It also forced the closures of gyms, tattoo parlors, barber shops and salons.

Another emergency order prohibits dining in at Moscow restaurants and bars until May 5. Lambert said the orders can be removed prior to May 5 if necessary.

The petition says the most recent order “effectively freezes most business activity for 40 days.”

“Given this extraordinary action by the Moscow City Council, we the citizens and taxpayers of Moscow would propose, as a measure of fiscal solidarity with its citizens, that Mayor Bill Lambert and the Moscow Council rollback a 4.3 percent tax increase and defer construction of a new $7.89 million dollar police station,” the petition says. “This 2019 tax increase has contributed to an expensive rental and housing market in Moscow, Idaho. With many individuals and young families facing a prolonged loss of income, decisive action to mitigate the damage to Main Street businesses would demonstrate leadership from our Mayor and City Council.”

City Supervisor Gary Riedner said he will discuss at Monday’s city council meeting potential programs that could provide taxpayers relief during tough times because of the coronavirus.

Moscow voters passed, with a 69 percent approval, a 10-year, $9.64 million general obligation bond in May to fund the construction of a $7.89 million Moscow Police Department facility on the corner of South Main Street/U.S. Highway 95 and Southview Avenue. The bond will also cover the cost to remodel the existing police station on East Fourth Street to accommodate other city office needs ($1.5 million) and the Paul Mann Building next to Moscow City Hall ($132,043). The bond required a 66.7 percent supermajority to pass.

Bill Belknap, deputy city supervisor of community planning and design, said at a Moscow City Council Public Works/Finance Committee meeting in February that the proposed police facility is expected to be a different size and more expensive than city officials expected because of significant construction cost increases.

Belknap said the plans call for a 16,500-square-foot facility and 2,700-square-foot outbuilding, costing $8.49 million. When residents passed the bond, the main facility was anticipated to be 16,000 square feet and the outbuilding 4,000 square feet, for a total cost of $7.89 million.

Lambert said in an email that the tax levy to support the bond was certified to Latah County in September and taxes were levied starting in January.

He wrote the city council can consider whether to levy additional taxes in support of the fiscal 2021 budget, which starts Oct. 1, but the general obligation bond levy is already in place. Bonds in the amount of $9.64 million were sold to investors in August with a “very favorable” 1.27 percent interest rate, Lambert wrote.

The taxes levied for the bond will make the annual payment for a period of 10 years, after which time the levy will cease, Lambert wrote. The city has already purchased the property upon which the police station will be built, design work has been completed and the bids will be opened Thursday.

Riedner said construction is expected to start this summer or fall if the city council accepts a bid.

“To abandon the police station project at this time would result in a huge loss to the taxpayers of Moscow, and our community would still be left with the need for a new police station,” Lambert wrote. “It makes no sense to delay or abandon the project at this time.”

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.