City of Airway Heights

08/21/2026

The Airway Heights City Council has canceled the following meetings:

Monday, August 24th, 2026 = CANCELLED
Monday, August 31st, 2026 = 5th MONDAY, NO MEETING

The next meeting scheduled will be held:

Tuesday, September 8th, 20265:30 PM
City Council Chambers
13120 W. 13th Ave
Airway Heights, WA 99001

Please contact:
Tanya DashiellAssistant Clerk-Treasurer
[email protected]
(509)309-2254

08/20/2026

Airway Heights drivers need to plan for construction work on South Hayford Road between Hwy 2 and W 21st Avenue now through September 4, 2026.

Crews will improve the roadway adjacent to their site as part of a current construction project. That means S. Hayford Road will be reduced to one lane of traffic controlled by Automated Flagger Devices and Variable Message Boards. The work schedule will dictate lane closures.

There will be sporadic full-road closures so equipment and materials can cross South Hayford Road, and equipment can merge into and out of traffic while the northbound lane is closed. People will flag these closures, which will last no more than three minutes and be limited to three per hour.

The general schedule is as follows:

Northbound lane work – (northbound lane closed)

Now through Sunday, August 23, 2026.

Southbound lane work – (southbound lane closed)

Monday, August 24 to Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

After September 2, 2026, the project will return to standard shoulder closures on the southbound lane with both lanes open.

The city notified affected residents, STA, Cheney Schools, and businesses between Hwy 2 and W 21st AVE on Friday, August 14, 2026.

08/15/2026

The Airway Heights City Council will take several critical votes on Monday, August 17, 2026.

Here is a look at some of them:

• The council will decide whether to accept a $125,000 grant from the Department of Commerce.
• Council members will decide whether to approve transferring more than $2.8 million from the Executive Reserve Fund to the General Fund.
• The council will decide whether to appoint Brook Brennan to the Airway Heights Park Advisory Board. A recent board member's resignation means the board lacks a quorum and cannot meet.
• Councilmembers will also be asked to approve two resolutions outlining an investigation into City Manager Albert Tripp's job performance—one calls for Tripp to be placed on paid administrative leave while an outside attorney investigates.

For more information on the agenda, please go here: https://cawh.org/city-council-minutes-2/

The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. Join it in person or on Zoom.

Council Airway Heights is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85674531812

Meeting ID: 856 7453 1812

08/11/2026

Be sure to join the Airway Heights City Council on Monday, August 10, 2026, as members attend a study session.

Here’s a quick look at some of what is on the agenda:

· The council will consider whether to appoint Brook Brennan to the City Park Advisory Board. She would fill one of two current vacant positions.

· The council will be asked to approve a grant from the Department of

Commerce to develop goals, policies, and new chapters for the 2026 Comprehensive Plan. This grant is the third and totals $21,494.00. Funds will be used to complete the Comprehensive Plan, the Critical Areas Ordinance Update, and the required Development Regulation as outlined in state law.

· You can read the details on Monday’s agenda on the city website.

The meeting starts at 5:30 on Monday, and you can join in person or via ZOOM.

Council Airway Heights is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84273993522

Meeting ID: 842 7399 3522

One tap mobile

+12532050468,,84273993522 # US

08/10/2026

Airway Heights Seeks Volunteer Salary, Commissioners

The City of Airway Heights is seeking applicants for five available seats on the Airway Heights Salary Commission. The commission sets the salaries of Airway Heights City Council members.

Commissioners are nonpartisan volunteers who must be U.S. citizens, residents of Airway Heights for at least 1 year prior to an appointment, and registered voters in Spokane County.

The time commitment is approximately two meetings per month for three months, from July 26 through October 26, 2026. The term of appointment is three years; the term of the initial members of the commission shall expire on December 31, 2028.

To apply, visit https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rmm2c7h2C2.

08/08/2026

The City of Airway Heights is grateful for good neighbors like the Airway Heights Lions Club!

Our city is one of the few in Spokane County where fireworks are still legal. They aren’t allowed in city parks, but litter from July 4 parties cluttered side streets and parking lots.

That’s where the Airway Heights Lions Club came in.

A huge thank you to Lane Langford and his fellow club members. Not only did they clean up the streets around Sunset Park, but they also picked up debris in the old Yoke’s Fresh Market parking lot. Thank you, neighbors, for exemplifying the Lions Club motto of service!

08/07/2026

Airway Heights Fire Chief Mitch Metzger has seen more than his fair share of destructive wildland fires. But he won’t soon forget August 1, 2026, and the flames that swept through parts of Spokane County.

They’d braced for a critical fire weather day. Metzger canceled plans to visit his 91-year-old mother, and the team waited for the worst. But nothing prepared them for what happened.

It started with a call to the Old Trails Fire.

“Our brush truck was the first one to get there,” Metzger said as he described what his team faced. “The fields were on fire. The wind was blowing and pushing that fire toward the trees and houses. Access was a problem. There was more fire than they had water to put out.”

Then, Airway Heights sent an engine in for structure protection. The crew didn’t return to the station until one a.m. the next day. Staffing dropped so low that Metzger and his Assistant Chiefs had to respond to emergencies. They called in all available volunteers. A handful responded.

The fires didn’t slow.

“Our engine went all the way into the Five Mile area, working on house fires,” Metzger remembered. “I responded to the Espinola fire and assisted with evacuations and scene safety.”

Then came word that two of his Assistant Chiefs lived in newly declared evacuation zones. Neither stopped working.

“That’s an example of their commitment,” said Metzger. “It was technically their day off. Our Training Chief spent the entire day at work, not knowing whether his house was still standing. But we are here to take care of our citizens.”

That commitment keeps fire crews, both volunteer and paid, going day after day, fire after fire.

“We still have a lot of crews working hard on these fires,” Metzger said. “The ones from out of state don’t know our area. If you see them coming, give them some space. They're tired. Please listen to the police officers, volunteers, and National Guard who are out there. We're not closing roads to be jerks. We're closing roads because there's still a danger in that area.”

Now, Metzger and others are worried about possible incoming hot weather and winds. They urge people to listen to warnings and limit activities that can spark a fire.

After all, they know too well the high cost of carving out inches against a wind-fueled inferno.

📸: Erik Smith Photography

08/07/2026

Job No. 1 for Airway Heights Police Officer Jaelen Pace was to save lives.

Like hundreds of police and sheriff’s deputies, Pace rushed Saturday to a fire that would eventually destroy more than 700 homes.

One of the first on scene, he drove, siren blasting and lights flashing, to the area where it started, near Old Trails Road and Euclid Road, northwest of Airway Heights.

As the fire raged and spread, he went to work evacuating residents, according to his body-camera footage. He banged on doors. He assisted frightened residents into cars. He helped load cats into carriers.

And he quickly broadcast a tip through dispatch from those he helped evacuate. A description of a suspicious man they saw near the ignition point.

That description would lead a sheriff’s sergeant to stop the man, later identified as 37-year-old Aaron Farinacci. Although the sergeant didn’t believe he had probable cause to arrest him at the moment, he got the information needed to arrest him later.

Job No. 1 for Airway Heights Police Officer Jaelen Pace was to save lives.

08/05/2026

City of Airway Heights – Statement on Data Center Proposal

The City of Airway Heights (CAWH) has been approached by a private company interested in purchasing reclaimed water from the City for use in cooling a proposed data center and green hydrogen production facility in Spokane County.

Airway Heights uses reclaimed water for municipal purposes, including park irrigation. At this time, CAWH has had a few meetings with the company to better understand the scope of their request. No decisions or agreements have been made about this proposal.

The City takes its responsibility to residents, businesses, and ratepayers seriously. This includes responding to community concerns, protecting our water resources, and planning responsibly for our long-term infrastructure needs.

The proposal is in its early stages, and several factors that could affect whether the project moves forward remain undetermined, including whether the City of Spokane will provide potable water and sewer service.

As part of its due diligence, the CAWH is requesting an analysis from an independent engineering firm to evaluate the feasibility and impacts of providing reclaimed water for the project. This study is expected to take approximately 12 months and cost about $163,800. The project proponent has agreed to cover the full cost of the analysis. City Council is expected to consider whether to proceed with the analysis during an August Council meeting.

We understand that community members may have questions about the proposal and what it could mean for Airway Heights. We will share information as it becomes available and will provide opportunities for the community to learn more.

Updates will be shared through the City’s regular public communication channels, including the City of Airway Heights website and City Council meetings. Community members may also contact the City with questions or requests for additional information.

CONTACT:
Albert Tripp
City Manager, City of Airway Heights
509.434.4885
[email protected]

08/03/2026

Keeping Sewer Pipes Clean to Protect the Treatment Plant

Did you ever wonder what those big vacuum trucks are doing on the streets of Airway Heights? In the last few weeks, the crew here in Public Works has been cleaning out the underground sewer pipes.

Cleaning city sewer lines involves municipal maintenance programs designed to remove grease, sludge, and tree roots. Municipalities use specialized vehicles, such as high-pressure hydro-jetter trucks and vacuum systems, to flush out debris, combined with camera inspection trucks to monitor the structural integrity of the pipelines.

The sewer pipes get clogged, just like people’s arteries who face cholesterol issues. In the sewer pipe case, grease builds up on the pipe walls, reducing the pipe's capacity. Here are the before-and-after pictures of the pipe.

And after the vacuum truck cleans the grease and debris, it is always amazing what else they find. Children’s toys, pens, keys, the list is nearly endless. Here is a sample from the lobby of the Wastewater Treatment Plant showing some of the “treasures” we’ve found.

But the real problem is rags and the supposedly disposable wipes. The final image here shows what the system captured before it entered the treatment plant. This is a 2-cubic-yard dumpster holding the pile for a scale reading of the amount of rags and wipes.