More claims filed oversidewalks

SANDPOINT — Eighteen more property owners filed claims against the city to recover money they spent building sidewalks in advance of the now-defunct 2008 Local Improvement District.

Forty property owners in the proposed LID built sidewalks after receiving a letter from the city that advised them to do so or face higher costs once the project began.

Now many of them want the city to reimburse the costs of those sidewalks.

At the urging of Councilman Doug Hawkins Jr., the council voted in May to make claim forms available enabling the property owners to seek reimbursement for the money they spent on the sidewalks.

The council voted to reimburse eight residents — at a cost $17,583 — at its July meeting and has set aside more than $100,000 to cover the remainder of the claims, should they arise.

Stephen Nelson, who filed a claim against the city for a  sidewalk he installed at his Michigan Street home, believes the situation could have been avoided had the city been more transparent in its dealings.

“I think the problem came down to a lack of communication, which is their big problem with everything, I guess,” Nelson said. “It might take something like (the LID refunds) before they start talking and realize that from now on, whenever they do something, they should put everything out there right away.”

Even though the council voted to reimburse eight of the homeowners, none have seen any money yet. As a provision of their votes, council members asked that the Idaho Attorney General’s office review the case and assess its legality.

As of Thursday, the city has not heard back on the matter, but Mayor Gretchen Hellar is hopeful that a resolution will be reached soon.

“I plan on talking to (city attorney Will Herrington) next week to see if he can find out where they are with it,” Hellar said. “You don’t want to push too hard, but we do need a resolution.”

The Public Works Committee will take up the matter Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.