COEUR d'ALENE - Several citizens of Coeur d'Alene were appointed to a variety of city advisory boards at the regular meeting of the city council Tuesday night.

Mayor Steve Widmyer recommended 13 people to fill vacancies on seven different city advisory boards, but there are still positions to be filled.

While it didn't go smoothly, all of them were eventually appointed.

Widmyer said the recommendations generally came from the members of the voluntary committees, and others on staff.

Those recommendations include:

* Urban Forestry Committee - Anneke Connaway, Bob Hallock, Keith Jones, and Bruce Martinek.

* CDA TV Committee - Laura Rumpler.

* Parking Commission - Garry Stark and Brad Jordan.

* Planning Commission - Jon Ingalls.

* Lake City Development Corp. Board - Deanna Goodlander.

* Jewett House Advisory Board - Art Flagan, Ed Eichwald, and John Boraas.

* Civil Service Commission - Ben Wolfinger.

After the recommendation was presented, a motion was made to approve all of the volunteers, but that changed after a discussion about the importance of getting new members of the community involved in the committee process.

"As you know, or if you have been following along, I generally vote no on the appointments," said Councilman Dan Gookin. "The reason I have been doing that is because I feel the process could be a lot more transparent."

Gookin thinks there should be more involvement from the community on the committees, as well.

"What tends to happen, unfortunately, is that we get a lot of re-appointments and the committees themselves have to scramble to find people to fill the vacancies," he said. "So, I am really willing to see what can be done to get more members of the public to be on these committees."

Gookin went to City Hall this week to see how many applications have been filed for the remaining vacancies on the city's committees. He found none.

He said he would like to see staff focus more on educating the community on what the committees do and what the time commitment might be for the individual committees.

"My issue has not been with the people we appoint, it has always been with the process," he said, adding he has talked with Widmyer about his concerns and feels that he has been heard. "Hopefully we can come up with a way to get more citizens involved with these committees. That's where I am coming from on this, and just to be different, I'm going to vote yes (on the appointments)."

The mayor said he has talked with staff about disseminating more information to the public and they will work to improve that.

"I just a got a recommendation from Councilman (Steve) Adams on someone who wants to be more involved in the community and I really appreciate that," Widmyer said. "So, I think we are moving in the right direction."

Councilman Woody McEvers said that his involvement with the city's committee structure is what prompted him to run for city council.

He started on the city's old Traffic and Safety Commission which advised the city on sidewalks, crosswalks and speed limits, and that led him to seek an appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

"What you find is, that you need to find something you are passionate about at the city - find that committee - and that's usually how you get in," he said. "And then what you really learn is how this system works."

McEvers said most of the volunteers on the committees are passionate about what they do, and stick with it.

Adams said he talked with the mayor about his recommendations before the council meeting, and explained that he was opposed to re-appointing former City Council Member Deanna Goodlander to the Lake City Development Corp.

He asked the council to hold a separate vote on Goodlander's appointment, and he would support the rest of the recommendations. The council agreed and appointed all of the other volunteers on a 5-1 vote.

McEvers voted in protest against that motion. He did not want Goodlander removed from the list, but Goodlander was appointed anyway on a 4-2 vote, with Gookin and Adams voting no.

In other business, the city authorized the newly elected Mayor Widmyer and Council President McEvers to be signatories on the city's bank accounts, along with the city finance director and the deputy finance director.

The council also voted to allow the city finance director to pay bills up to $10,000 without prior council approval - but only if the expenditures were previously approved budget items in the city's finance plan.

• City seeks committee volunteers

COEUR d'ALENE - Interested in providing your input on important issues involving the city of Coeur d'Alene?

The city currently has several volunteer openings on advisory committees for citizens who would like to offer their expertise on a wide range of topics.

Openings include:

* Arts Commission (1 opening)

* Planning Commission (1 opening)

* CDA TV Commission (1 opening for a citizen at large and 1 opening for a business owner residing within the city limits.)

* Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee (2 openings)

* Urban Forestry Committee (1 opening)

* Parking Commission (1 opening)

* Jewett House Advisory Board (1 opening, for a senior citizen)

All volunteers must reside in the city limits of Coeur d'Alene and in most cases, should be at least 18 years of age.

There are some exceptions to the age rule for certain committees that have student representatives, but none of those positions are available at this time. For information on these positions, contact the city at (208) 666-5754, or email amyf@cdaid.org to request an application.