Council OKs LID refunds

SANDPOINT — The furor over Sandpoint’s failed local improvement district came to a crescendo — as well as a surprising end at Wednesday’s council meeting — when the council voted to reimburse 40 residents who built sidewalks in advance of the 2008 LID.

The ordinance, which would have required 260 property owners to build sidewalks or pay the city to do it, was voted down at last month’s council meeting.

The 40 homeowners who already paid for their sidewalks blamed a May 2007 letter sent to property owners in the proposed LID that suggested homeowners would save money by putting the sidewalks in before the winter.

According to a number of those homeowners, the letter was misleading and did not warn them that the LID had yet to be voted on and was not guaranteed to pass.

At the public forum portion of Wednesday’s council meeting, angry residents spoke out about the financial and emotional hardship the LID caused them. One homeowner called for the resignation of whomever was responsible for the LID fiasco, while others spoke about having sidewalks that lead to nowhere.

Councilman Doug Hawkins Jr., who spearheaded the effort to reimburse the 40 homeowners, said it was the council’s responsibility to do the right thing and make whole those who took the city’s advice and built sidewalks.

In opposition to the reimbursement plan, Councilman Steve Lockwood said even though the wording of the letter to residents was less than perfect, he did not view it as a mistake and did not think anything needed to corrected.

“Do we want to become a squeeky wheel city?” asked Lockwood, who said reimbursing residents would open up a can of worms.

When the matter came to vote, the council was split three-three, with Councilman Michael Boge and Councilwoman Carrie Logan voting with Hawkins to reimburse the residents, and Councilmen Stephen Snedden, Lockwood and Councilwoman Helen Newton voting against the reimbursement.

In yet another tie-breaking vote, Mayor Gretchen Hellar sided with Snedden, Lockwood and Newton in opposition.

Seconds after the issue was voted down, Newton said she was very conflicted and asked if she could rescind her vote and join Hawkins, Logan and Boge. When told she could not, the council opted to vote again.

After the re-vote, a majority was reached in favor of reimbursement, although it is still unknown how or when it will happen. The council asked city staff to draft a plan covering the logistics of the reimbursement, which will be presented at next month’s council meeting.

In other business, the council unanimously voted to approve its annual agreement with the Sandpoint Farmers Market for use of Farmin Park and Jeff Jones Town Square.

The council also voted to direct city staff to prepare an ordinance that would give residents in a proposed local improvement a vote on the matter. The vote was four-two in favor, with Lockwood and Snedden dissenting.