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Council rejects county nominee to Urban Renewal Agency after objections from a councilor
Summary
A nomination from the county to appoint Doug Havens to the Urban Renewal Agency drew objections, including that he had not been supportive of the agency; the motion to appoint failed on a recorded vote.
The Lewiston City Council voted down a county nomination to appoint Doug Havens as the county representative to the Urban Renewal Agency (URA).
During discussion, one councilor said they could not support Commissioner Havens, stating he had not been "a friend to the renewal agency" when attending in another capacity. Shannon Grohl, the city's community development director, told the council that the county had begun assigning commissioners to board seats and that the city had not received the formal county nomination until Sept. 29, 2025; Grohl confirmed Havens had been attending URA meetings and voting while the administrative nomination paperwork had been delayed.
After council comments and questions about representation and process, the motion to appoint Havens failed on a recorded vote. Council members noted the URA's past work on sewer capacity and other projects during later remarks but did not adopt an alternative county nominee at the meeting.
Next steps: Council will await a new nomination from the county or further discussion at a future meeting.
