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Spokane council reviews resolution affirming MLK Day and Juneteenth after National Park Service change

Public Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability Committee · December 15, 2025
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Summary

Council staff presented a resolution affirming the importance of cultural celebrations and specifically naming Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth after the National Park Service removed free‑admission recognition for those days; councilmembers debated whether the title should be broader or explicitly name the two days.

City staff introduced a resolution Dec. 15 intended to affirm Spokane’s support for cultural celebrations and to call attention to recent National Park Service changes affecting free admission recognition for select days.

Alex Givolisco (manager of equity and inclusion initiatives) and Lisa Gardner (communications director) explained the resolution and its local context: they said the National Park Service had removed free‑admission recognition for MLK Day and Juneteenth and that Spokane community organizations and the city continue to mark and celebrate those days locally. Gardner said the resolution is intended to ‘‘reinforce the importance of those days, not just nationally, but here in Spokane.’'

Councilmembers debated the resolution’s language and scope: some urged a broader title that would encompass many cultural observances (Holocaust Remembrance Day, Lunar New Year, etc.), while others supported calling out the two days explicitly because the National Park Service action targeted them. Several members stressed symbolic value to local communities and the need to avoid repeated, narrowly tailored resolutions where broader coordinated actions might be more effective.

Next steps: staff and council agreed to review title and whereas language to balance local symbolic recognition with inclusivity; no formal vote was recorded at the committee meeting.