Lewiston council approves several easements, a federal-prosecution partnership and school resource officer agreement; mutual-assistance pact fails

At its June 9, 2025 meeting, the Lewiston City Council approved multiple routine and substantive items including a public water-utility easement, a right-of-way contract, a local partnership memorandum supporting a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for Northern Idaho and a School Resource Officer agreement with Lewiston Independent School District No. 1. The council did not approve a proposed cooperative mutual-assistance agreement with the Idaho Department of Lands.

Why it matters: The council’s approvals clear several city-level property and intergovernmental actions, authorize continued local participation in a regional federal-prosecution funding pool, and confirm continued police presence in district schools. The failed mutual-assistance agreement would have clarified the city’s role in statewide wildland-fire responses and reimbursement for deployed resources.

Votes at a glance

- Resolution 2025-17 (public water utility access easement from Sherry Ting to the City of Lewiston): Motion to approve moved by Councilor Schroeder; carried (roll call: Council President Klieberg Aye; Councilor Wright Aye; Councilor Forsman Aye; Councilor Schroeder Aye; Councilor Cline Aye; Councilor Spickelmeyer Aye). Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 2025-26 (right-of-way contract and claim for payment between William A. and Dixie L. Scharnhorst and the City of Lewiston): Motion to approve moved by Councilor Schroeder; carried (roll call: Council President Klieberg Aye; Councilor Wright Aye; Councilor Forsman Aye; Councilor Schroeder Aye; Councilor Klein Aye; Councilor Spickelmeyer Aye). Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 2025-24 (Local Partnership Memorandum of Understanding for a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for Northern Idaho): Motion to approve moved by Councilor Strecklemeyer, seconded by Councilor Schroeder; carried (roll call: Council President Klieberg Aye; Councilor Wright Aye; Councilor Forsman Aye; Councilor Schroeder Aye; Councilor Klein Aye; Councilor Spickelmeyer Aye). The mayor and councilors characterized the contribution as a small local share intended to leverage broader regional and state support for federal prosecutions of high-volume drug trafficking.

- Resolution 2025-25 (cooperative mutual-assistance agreement between the City of Lewiston and the Idaho Department of Lands): Motion to approve moved by Councilor Schroeder, seconded by Council President Klieberg; tie vote (Ayes: Klieberg, Forsman, Schroeder; Nays: Wright, Klein, Stickelmeyer). The mayor did not cast a tie-breaking vote; the motion failed.

- School Resource Officer Agreement (Lewiston and Lewiston Independent School District No. 1): Motion to approve moved by Councilor Spickelmeyer, seconded by Councilor Wright; carried (roll call: Council President Klieberg Aye; Councilor Wright Aye; Councilor Forsman Aye; Councilor Schroeder Aye; Councilor Klein Aye; Councilor Spickelmeyer Aye). The city and district will continue the SRO arrangement; the police chief said the district reimburses the city for those officer costs except in limited backfill situations.

- Ordinances: The council approved waiving formal multi-day readings and approved the reading of ordinance 49-45 (amendments relating to service of public hearing notices) by motion. For ordinance 49-42 (parking-lot and landscaping definitions and standards) the council voted to waive reading requirements and to read by title; one proposed amendment to expand an exemption threshold failed. The ordinance remains at the first-reading/consideration stage; final adoption was not completed at this meeting.

Context and next steps: Several items were routine consent or title-reading actions. The council’s approval of the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney MOU reflects a multi-jurisdictional effort to fund federal prosecution capacity in Northern Idaho. The failed mutual-assistance agreement means the city will not be formalized under the Idaho Department of Lands mutual-aid contract at this time; council members indicated operational decisions about when and whether to send resources would continue to be made case-by-case.

Council members and staff who spoke on these items included Mayor Dan Johnson; Council President Klieberg; Councilors Schroeder, Wright, Forsman, Klein, Cline, Spickelmeyer/Spickle Meyer; Public Works Director Johnson; City Planner Joel Plaskan; Fire Chief (name not specified in the record); Police Chief Jason Kuznick; and Clerk Brockie.