Post Falls Council Shelves Mayoral Proclamation Repeal, Approves Asphalt Hot Box

At a Tuesday night Post Falls City Council meeting, councilors put on hold a proposal to repeal a policy limiting mayoral proclamations and unanimously approved the purchase of a 4-ton asphalt hot box for the streets division.

The proclamation repeal would remove a policy that restricts proclamations that are “attempting to influence government policy and matters of a political or religious nature.” No reason was given for the delay. City officials noted the matter will go before the City Council on Feb. 17 for further consideration.

Council business also included a contested appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Brendon Anderson was denied appointment after a 3-2 vote: Councilors Aaron Plew and Jack Mosby voted in favor while Samantha Steigleder, Joe Malloy and Marc Lucca cast dissenting votes. Councilor Nathan Ziegler was not present. Marc Lucca said he thought the motion for the appointment could be revisited, but said readiness was an issue at the moment for this particular case. Mayor Randy Westlund will need to find another candidate and bring them before council members.

Public Works presented the streets division request for equipment and received unanimous approval to buy a 4-ton asphalt hot box. Public Works Maintenance Manager Ross Junkin highlighted the scale of the task, saying, “We have over 500 miles that we maintain of asphalt.” City reporting noted the hot box “keeps asphalt at the optimal temperature during transport and application and also more readily allows for reuse of materials rather than having to purchase more asphalt.” That reuse potential factored into budgeting calculations.

Fiscal details presented at the meeting show $85,000 was set aside in the fiscal year 2026 budget to purchase the piece of equipment for the city from KM International. Because of a Sourcewell cooperative purchasing agreement available to Idaho public entities, Junkin said the actual cost to the city would be under budget at $63,488. City Councilor Samantha Steigleder applauded the savings for the city and pointed out this wasn't the only recent savings Post Falls Public Works Department has brought before City Council in the last year.

A photo from the meeting shows councilors Samantha Steigleder, Aaron Plew, Joe Malloy, Randy Westlund, Jack Mosby and Marc Lucca listening to the presentation. Photo credit is CAROLYN BOSTICK/Press.

For Post Falls residents, the immediate impact is twofold: the hot box purchase is intended to stretch maintenance dollars and enable more reuse of asphalt on local roads, while the shelved proclamation repeal means limits on mayoral proclamations remain in place until council takes up the issue again. Watch for the Feb. 17 council agenda for the proclamation matter, and for a future nomination from Mayor Westlund to fill the Planning and Zoning Commission vacancy.