COEUR d'ALENE - The tiny village by the lake is preparing to stand tall with its sister city by the lake.

The council of Fernan Lake Village, which borders Coeur d'Alene's east side, has crafted a proclamation to show its support for the Coeur d'Alene incumbents targeted in a recall, saying the ousting effort would hinder business development in the area.

Fernan Lake Village Mayor Richard Jurvelin wrote the draft but said he couldn't comment on it until after it's considered by the Fernan City Council.

The five-member body could adopt the proclamation during its May meeting. Jurvelin did say Tuesday that the relationship between Fernan and Coeur d'Alene "always has been good."

The proclamation opposes the recall effort, launched last week by the citizen group RecallCdA, because it runs counter to the current vision of the city that has achieved "a quality of life unequaled by cities of similar size."

It lists the Coeur d'Alene Public Library, Kroc Community Center, education corridor, Riverstone and the plan to enhance McEuen Field as examples of projects in the last 10 years that have created "a positive business climate within the city's core and mid-town."

Coeur d'Alene City Council members Mike Kennedy, Deanna Goodlander, Woody McEvers and Mayor Sandi Bloem are the focus of the recall. All have supported the above projects.

It also states that the recall effort has put the Coeur d'Alene City Council "into a disturbing and fractional decision making body that could likely impact on the long range vision of the city, affect the quality of life of its citizens, and hamper the future for new business development."

"I've been amazed at the support we're getting," Goodlander said.

She agreed with the draft that the recall effort could hamper economic development in the future. Not only does it depict a hostile political environment for any potential business looking to relocate, she said, but if the recall effort is successful and the incumbents are replaced, it could mean changes to the city's urban renewal agency, Lake City Development Corp.

"When you're talking about economic development, you want a stable political environmental," she said.

To fill the vacant seats, Gov. Butch Otter would appoint one replacement to go alongside Ron Edinger, Steve Adams and Dan Gookin, all of whom opposed the McEuen Field project. The latter two have been critical of urban renewal in the past, but have said they are staying out of the recall effort.

The remaining council would then appoint a mayor, and the mayor would appoint the remaining seats. The positions would expire in 2013.

Frank Orzell, RecallCdA chairman, said it's too far out to speculate about such matters. Nothing has been discussed about potential replacements, he said, adding, "what happens after that, happens" but that he "definitely won't" be mayor.

That said, the recall effort is about the incumbents not agreeing to issue a public advisory vote on the fate on the downtown park, he said. And as far as Fernan or other cities offering their opinions, they have the constitutional right to do that, Orzell said.

"I respect everyone's opinion," he said.

Orzell said he could understand why some neighboring cities may oppose the recall effort, because the grassroots effort signals to electorates that "democracy is alive and well in Idaho."

"We all have our opinions; this is a democracy," Orzell said.

The city of Post Falls declined comment on the issue, and Hayden City Administrator Stefan Chatwin said Hayden has not considered taking a stance.

Fernan, a next-door neighbor of Coeur d'Alene with a population of around 170, has had a long-standing relationship with the Lake City, including being hooked up to Coeur d'Alene's sewer. Longtime Fernan Mayor Jim Elder sits on the LCDC board, too.

The recall petition drive has until 5 p.m. June 19 to collect 4,311 signatures from registered Coeur d'Alene voters to put the elections on the Nov. 6 ballot. If all four petitions make it, Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes said it could cost the county up to $20,000 in additional expenses. Orzell said signature collecting began last weekend and was "extremely positive" but didn't have an estimate on how many were collected.