Spokane Valley Mayor Tom Towey stood at the pulpit at Valley Fourth Memorial Church and gave his first State of the City address to about 50 people Monday. SR photo/J. Bart Rayniak

The Spokane Valley City Council has been busy this week, which is reflected in today's Valley Voice. Mayor Tom Towey gave the first of four State of the City speeches Monday. He talked about highlights from 2010, goals for 2011 and the city's budget.  Friends and family of slain pastor Scott Creach also spoke out about the use of unmarked patrol cars by the Sheriff's Office, which provides policing for Spokane Valley.

During Tuesday's meeting the council listened to more than an hour of public testimony before agreeing to postpone a decision on the zone change being sought by St. John Vianney Catholic Church so a low income senior housing complex can be built next to the church. City staff will spend the next month negotiating a developer's agreement with the property owner to impose restrictions on how the land can be used.

I also put together an update on land owned by the Spokane Valley Fire Department at Barker and Euclid that a contractor has been using for storage. The company has overstayed its welcome and fire commissioners are taking steps to encourage the company to leave. Additional information came in after my deadline that the construction company's president is now in contact with the department and a new agreement is being negotiated. I'll have more on that as things get worked out.

Reporter Pia Hallenberg also has a bit of cross-town good news. Neighbors near Northwoods Park north of Spokane recently volunteered their time to clean up the park and say they plan to maintain it this summer. Northwoods is one of the parks Spokane County can no longer afford to maintain.

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