Sand Creek dock dispute continues
Crews removed disputed docks near the mouth of Sand Creek Thursday morning. The move followed a temporary restraining order which Idaho Transportation Department to remove the docks. (Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD)
SANDPOINT — Docks impeding construction of the U.S. Highway 95 bypass were dismantled on Thursday, but the saga appears far from over.
Counsel for Sandpoint Marina owner Ralph Sletager has filed court papers that seek to dissolve a temporary restraining order which enabled the Idaho Transportation Department to arrange for the docks' removal.
John Finney alleges his client was never properly notified of the temporary restraining order issued by District Judge John Mitchell on Tuesday.
"The purported temporary restraining order's effect is to allow the plaintiffs to take the property of the defendant without due process," Finney said in court documents.
Finney also moved for the disqualification of Mitchell, who this summer ruled against Sletager in his lawsuit challenging the Sand Creek Byway's encroachment permit from the Idaho Department of Lands. The case has been reassigned to Judge John Luster, court documents indicate.
The filings are the latest in an escalating dispute over the docks near the mouth of Sand Creek.
Sletager maintains that the boat slips in question are properly permitted and ITD's efforts to have them removed amount to an unlawful taking without compensation. The state argues they are an illegal encroachment on ITD right of way necessary for the highway re-routing project.
In the restraining order, Mitchell ruled in favor of ITD. The order remains in effect until the court rules on ITD's 'motion for a preliminary injunction against the docks. A hearing on the motion is set for Monday in Coeur d'Alene.
Sletager reportedly threatened physical harm against project officials last week, prompting Idaho State Police to escort officials when the docks were inspected for removal. State police were summoned again on Thursday when Sletager turned up at ITD's District 1 headquarters in Hayden demanding public records concerning the project and officials involved with it.
Finney did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday and Thursday. Ken Sorensen, an ITD project engineer, ripped local media coverage on Thursday as biased toward Sletager.
Sletager released a statement Thursday saying there's more to the dispute than meets the eye.
"Under the cover of a last-minute deadline, strange court proceedings and nighttime maneuvers, the ITD and its allies have taken something that doesn't belong to them," he said. "The docks are gone, but the larger issue is certainly not resolved."