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MIKE HILL

After serving in the Army and working for the Idaho Department of Corrections, Mike Hill said he’s ready to serve the people of Rathdrum on City Council Seat 2.

Born and raised in North Idaho, Hill has lived in Rathdrum for almost three years. This is his second time running for City Council. He said he wants to be involved in Rathdrum’s future, especially where growth is concerned.

“Rathdrum is the fastest-growing city in the state of Idaho,” Hill said. “Each year, we’ve been breaking the record number of new building permits. Our city is growing at an alarming rate.”

Hill said the city’s infrastructure can’t support this rate of growth. The school system is over capacity and the streets are choked with traffic, he said. And more construction is in the works.

“I don’t think that’s what our community wants,” he said. “It’s what the developers want.”

So long as there are incomplete housing developments within the city limits, Hill said, it’s unreasonable to annex additional acreage into the city for development.

Hill noted that Rathdrum also has some of the highest property taxes in the state.

“I’d like to see our tax increases slow way down,” he said. “I’d like to see us work within he funding we have already been given from the community.”

Rathdrum’s schools are of particular concern to Hill; all four of his children attend school in the Lakeland School District. He said this gives him insight into what matters to families and parents in his community.

“I’m familiar with our school district and with the issues that affect families such as mine,” he said.

Above all, Hill said he believes in truly hearing and addressing the community’s concerns. When a council meeting is packed with residents who want to be heard, he said the council should listen to their concerns and cast a vote that reflects the will of the people.

“I believe in acting as a representative of the community,” he said.

FRED MECKLE

Fred Meckle has served Rathdrum as a member of the City Council for 12 years — and he said there’s more work to do.

More than a decade ago, Meckle ran for Council on a platform of “smart growth.” He wanted to make Rathdrum a place where residents can work, live and play.

Meckle pointed to the Kootenai Technical Education Campus and the North Idaho College Parker Technical Education Center as just some of the projects he’s helped bring to Rathdrum since he was first elected. More recently, Rathdrum Mountain opened to the public this year.

He said he still support smart growth.

“As long as you bring in business as well as housing, you can grow smartly,” he said.

Managing growth is one of Meckle’s key concerns as a councilor. The city has a 100-year growth plan, he said, and it’s important to him that the city not outpace that plan.

“Smart growth is also making sure that Post Falls doesn’t gobble up everything and get in our backyard tomorrow,” he said. “They’re annexing as much as they can, as fast as they can.”

Meckle also pointed to the importance of cohesiveness. He doesn’t envision massive housing developments that don’t match the surrounding areas.

“We don’t want to cram a bunch of people in together,” he said.

Though Rathdrum is growing, Meckle said the existing infrastructure can support it. He noted that infrastructure is paid for by developers, not residents.

Fiscal responsibility is also important to Meckle. Since 2009, the city has not raised taxes by more than two percent per year, he said. The city carries no debt.

Meckle, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from American Military University and earned a master’s degree at Boise State, has worked as a mental health counselor at Sacred Heart in Spokane.

He found the work to be meaningful. Some patients, Meckle said, simply need someone who’s willing to listen.

“You get to talk to people,” he said. “You get to find out who they are and who they were.”

As a part-time therapist, Meckle also worked with families and victims of child sexual abuse. These days, he’s an Allstate Insurance Agent and remains active in the Army National Guard.

He said he’s brought that willingness to listen and desire to serve others with him during his time on the city council. After three terms, he said he hopes the people of Rathdrum feel that they can continue to rely on him.

He also believes that despite growth and change, Rathdrum maintains its small-town atmosphere.

“As long as we still talk to our neighbors, we’ll be fine,” he said.