COEUR d'ALENE — To lobby, or not to lobby?

For Coeur d'Alene's urban renewal agency, ignite cda, the answer is somewhere in the middle.

Ignite cda's board of commissioners has, for several years, approved an annual, $23,000 contract with Molitor & Associates — a government relations, lobbying and public policy firm based in Boise — to represent its interests in the state capital. However, during a recent meeting the board chose not to approve a contract with Molitor for the upcoming legislative session, and instead chose to take a wait and see approach.

"Our current decision does not mean that we will not initiate with a governmental relations organization again when necessary," said Commissioner Justin Druffel. "We collectively agreed to keep that possibility on the table."

Druffel added urban renewal was a focal point of last year's legislative session and there were a lot of changes proposed to how publicly funded redevelopment works in the state. As such, Druffel said it made sense for ignite, as well as many other larger urban renewal agencies in the state, to hire a governmental relations organization "to keep us up to date and have a voice for us at the state capital" while the session was underway.

"Having the Legislature as informed as best as possible has been critical to urban renewal in the state," said Tony Berns, executive director of ignite cda. "We've felt that having Molitor & Associates visit with legislators on urban renewal, sharing factual information with them, and answering their questions, has been very beneficial."

In addition to uncertainty as to how large a role urban renewal will play during this year's legislative session, Berns said the Association of Idaho Cities, a nonprofit corporation owned organized and operated by Idaho's city governments, has begun offering more services on the urban renewal front. According to its website, the mission of the association is to "develop and advocate polices that strengthen and support cities," which includes legislative advocacy work.

"They're a stronger presence in the Legislature now," Berns said. "The Redevelopment Association of Idaho, and other urban renewal agencies, feels comfortable that AIC is a strong presence on urban renewal issues."

Berns added a contract with Molitor & Associates, or another similar firm, could still be pursued at a later date.

"We'll see what issues arise and if the board feels that it would be worth the money to engage those expert services," he said.