bushnellreport

Library director, Amy Rodda, points out CDA Press' Kaye Thornbrugh misquoting her, downplaying the number of concerned citizens over the sexual childrens books in the local libraries. www.thebushnellreport.com

Alicia, a Bonner County resident and Idaho 97% lobbyist, gave public comment over the phone at the Kootenai County Commissioners Elected Officials Meeting on 8/10/22. I find it interesting that she didn't speak at all to the charges or lack of charges regarding inappropriate behavior on June 11th. She instead talked about feelings, and about how people following Idaho law in terms of the second amendment was inappropriate. www.thebushnellreport.com

Ed owns a big storage facility south of the airport. He said that he would love to lease airport land. He has contacted the airport director multiple times and has basically been told no on multiple properties. Ed stated that this process is lacking in fair bidding and public notice. We need due process and/or a competitive bidding process. This needs to be backed up a bit. www.thebushnellreport.com

Barbara lives in Hayden lake. She is a member of trap and skeet club near the airport. She reminded everyone that the club dates back to the era of Bing Crosby. She expressed her concern about the connection between the Bank of China with the individual asking for the 50 year lease.

Sandy is a Hayden City Council member. She agrees with Doug O. and the other commenters so far. She expressed concern about the lease affecting the residents of Hayden and the city of Hayden.

Steve says he appreciated what Commissioner Filios said regarding the lease being proposed at the CDA airport. He also stated that he is insulted by what Commissioner Brooks said about the public just wanting to make trouble. He went on to express concern that the airport advisory board is not really doing its job. “ "Commissioner Brooks I wish you would do your job.” www.thebushnellreport.com

Doug O. is an Idaho State Representative who gave public comment regarding the potential 50 year lease being proposed at the CDA airport. He stated that he sent all three commissioners an email about the lease and his concerns. Doug stated that he talked with the Chief Deputy in the Idaho Attorney Generals office about his concerns regarding this lease. Doug says that the Chief Deputy AG was not sure if the county has the authority to do a 50 year lease. He also expressed that the AG's office thinks that this should be open to a competitive bidding process. Doug also mentioned something about a Constitutional issue regarding the lease. He mentioned Article 12 Section 4. "Is the county providing aid?" ( I am not sure what that means and have asked Doug to clarify what he meant. Doug asked that the commissioners wait for the Idaho Attorney General's office to get back to him before making a decision. www.thebushnellreport.com

Here are the public comments/thoughts of the Kootenai County Commissioners regarding a new lease at the Coeur d'Alene airport. Commissioner Brooks thinks that the people are trying to make the airport lease a problem. He said, " This is a lease and should be treated as such. Like other people who have leases out there. We shouldn't ask for financials or a business plan from anyone wanting a lease.": Commissioner Duncan said, "I would agree with you Bill (Brooks) if this was an aeronautical lease without revenue sharing. Also, it is a 50 year lease, not a 25 year lease like the other leases at the airport." Commissioner Filios said he is more comfortable with a 25 year lease with an option to renew. Revenue sharing is not going to work in his opinion. He stated that this needs to be a simple lease. "We need to remove the Bank of China from the picture. Please join me in thanking Filios and Duncan for their comments. Also, let's email Brooks about why he wants this lease to be treated like other leases at the airport, when it is not like the other leases at the airport. bbrooks@kcgov.us cfillios@kcgov.us lduncan@kcgov.us www.thebushnellreport.com

Councilman Gookin comments on how much email the council received on this. He thought it should belong in CDA because we are a welcoming community. Then he remembered a quote from Ghandi - "you can not shake hands with a cliched fist. " Councilwoman Miller spoke next. She said, "I get disappointed with the disrespect." She also mentioned that she would like funding to go more towards the other arts like performing arts. She said that some people see it as a human rights salute. She mentions that Nelson Mandela saw it as a symbol of struggle against apartheid. Councilwoman Evans agrees with what Miller said. She wanted to acknowledge the work of the arts commission. Councilman English says that the fist being a communist symbol is in the past. He states that he is not going to vote to remove the fist statue from the list. Gookin comments that there is a difference between making a decision and censorship Mayor Hammond comments that he doesn't like the graphic going around on social media about this city council meeting. The vote to approve the art without the fist statue was 5-1. English voted no. Wood, Miller, Evans, McEver, and Gookin voted yes. www.thebushnellreport.com

A presentation of all the art pieces being recommended by the CDA arts commission happened first. Council member Evans asked the presenter to explain the process for the arts commission to recommend art to the city council. She stated she would be happy to recommend anyone if they are interested in being on a committee. Council member Mcevers asks if we are buying the pieces. It is stated that the prices are what the artists thinks it is worth, and that the city is not paying for the pieces. Council member English asks why these weren’t on the webpage before being brought before the council. (Good point.) Council member Wood states that she is uncomfortable with 7 people telling the community what to look at. She does think the city council has a responsibility to not be divisive. www.thebushnellreport.com

Lynda states that the fist statue is a communism symbol more than solidarity. She then quotes CDA City Council member Amy Evans from a video from the CDA Arts commission meeting. Evans said she was energized by the statue. Lynda mentions that Dan Enligsh wants us to respect the arts commission. She asks, "How about respecting the oppressed and the citizens of cda?" And she says shame on the arts commission for even bringing this piece of art to be voted on. She mentioned in the arts commission video that commission member Jennifer Drake laughed when someone suggested that this piece would be controversial and said oh well. At this point Mayor Hammond starts to interrupt. Hammond says that Lynda needs to criticize the issue not the people. (Even though Drake was allowed to criticize during her public comment.) Lynda says she is making a statement of fact. Lynda mentions that Drake’s Facebook page has devil imagery on it. Hammond interrupts again. Lynda keeps talking. Hammond asks her to step down. He then asks the CDA police officers to remove her. I find it interesting that the camera is kept on Hammond. There is video I posted previously of the police going towards Lynda and the reaction of the crowd. At the end of the video Mayor Hammond says to the police - take her. ww.thebushnellreport.com

Mike thanks the council for letting him talk even though he dIdn’t put his address down. He doesn't do that due to receiving threats at times. He states that he is a veteran. He asks why we want to put up a symbol that creates division and hate. Mike states that art is a good thing. There is zero good in this piece of art. The majority of the free world would disagree with the artists interpretation. He adds on that this statue disrespects all veterans. www.thebushnellreport.com

Brooke said she didn’t know what the fist meant when her black kids posted it on their social media. Did research into it. She also mentioned that in the 19080s that the fist stood for white power. We have worked hard to get racism out of North Idaho. www.thebushnellreport.com

Randy focused his public comment time on the issue of requiring a home address when commenting. He spoke on harassment at his home due to him putting a political sign in his yard. www.thebushnellreport.com

Wendy spoke. Her daughter is a woman of color. Her daughter didn't want to speak, but wanted her mom to say that she is not ok with the raised fist statue being in CDA. www.thebushnellreport.com

Jennifer is a member of the arts commission and also gave public comment regarding the fist statue. She said that she thinks the majority of the people speaking today are ignoring the artist intent. She thinks that the fist statue focuses on oppressed people. "Of Course we thought this would be controversial." Jennifer went on to state that she thought the other public commenters are a group of local malcontents that are trying to impose their beliefs on a community that has been here far longer than they have. www.thebushnellreport.com

Alan speaks against the fist statue. He states he is an artist too. We are not Portland. We need to respect our police. This symbol is a symbol of harming our police. www.thebushnellreport.com

Joe Alfieri gave public comment talking about how the clinched fist is not a symbol of solidarity. That is a symbol of communism. He also stated that this symbol of communism is responsible for the deaths and slavery of millions of people. www.thebushnellreport.com

My favorite public commenter is back! Remember this is Babylon Bee level sarcasm. Justin spoke in "support" of public money being spent on art. He mentioned how hard it is to sell art to the public. Then stated it sounds easy to get art sold to local government. He also showed the city council his “art” for sale. www.thebushnellreport.com

Rachelle commented on the address policy first, stating that it is illegal. She then went on to say that controversial art should not be tax payer funded. www.thebushnellreport.com

Tony, a local Idaho State Representative, spoke on his family's history with communism during World War Two. He mentioned that communism wants a classless society. He also, mentioned that there have been 100 million deaths from communism. www.thebushnellreport.com

Laura repeated what other commenters said, that the fist is a symbol of communism. She stated that the arts commission is very dismissive of the public. They don’t care what the public thinks. Laura said that she thinks that this statue is disrespectful to the people of this area, and to veterans and police. www.thebushnellreport.com

Megan talks about the attitude of the arts commission on a video from the meeting. She also mentions that the "fist statue" is more suited for Seattle neighborhood. www.thebushnellreport.com

After Rosalyn's public comment. A member of the public went up next to mayor hammond to ask to sign to speak. She was asked to step away. Then a citizen started speaking about why he didn’t want to put his home address on the form due to previous harassment. Take a recess called for by a city council member off camera. One of the female city council members says we need police here. Showing the video from the recess for context. Video cuts off. Then the video comes back on during the recess.

Rebecca gives public comment regarding the "fist statue." www.thebushnellreport.com