Planner eyes city's future

PONDERAY — Ponderay might be the Little City with a Big Future, but city officials realized late last year that without help from a professional planner, the future might be a scary place.

Like many other North Idaho communities, Ponderay is facing myriad challenges, many of which center around the inevitable growth the coming years will bring.

In order to meet those growth issues head on, the city hired Erik Brubaker as its first ever city planner late last year.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Brubaker, 33, came West after graduating college, making stops in Wyoming and Seattle before settling in Bonner County with his wife, Mamie, in 2005.

After spending time as a Bonner County planner and a member of the Kootenai City Council, Brubaker was hired as Ponderay’s planner in December.

While he enjoyed his time with the county, Brubaker thought more could be done at the city level.

“It looked really fun,” he said. “It’s a challenge, yes. It’s a big job, yes. But the more I got into my career shift, I realized that a lot of the stuff the county was doing was not going to be as helpful as what could be done for our cities.”

Brubaker’s first priority is finding ways to bring the entire community into the planning process. He said nothing can be done without input from the city’s residents and business owners, and he’s looking at creative ways to bring them into the fold.

He only has a handful of months as planner under his belt, but Brubaker is already getting rave reviews from city officials.

“I think the best decision that my council has made was to have the foresight to hire him,” Mayor Carol Kunzeman said. “He’s got such fresh ideas.”

Kunzeman said it’s his unique perspective on planning issues that will make Brubaker a success.

“I think what he brings to the table is that he has a different way of thinking about things than we do,” she said. “When he points things out to us, it’s from a different perspective and it’s kind of refreshing.”

Brubaker is also concentrating his efforts on bringing the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail to life. He believes the trail, which will stretch from City Beach to Black Rock and Ponder Point along Lake Pend Oreille, will do wonders for the community by finally allowing residents access to the lake.

While he has plans and ideas for Ponderay’s future, Brubaker said he only wants to accentuate and expand on the town’s positive aspects while guarding against undesirable growth trends.

“I think people here are looking for solutions and, frankly, I think there are a lot of opportunities,” he said. “It’s about getting people to think a little bigger.”