Review taps into community's goals, identity

SANDPOINT — A visit from a team of rural development experts kept local business owners and city officials busy this pst week.  

The Idaho Rural Partnership Community Review, which consisted of professionals well-versed in rural development, spent Tuesday through Thursday collecting information about Sandpoint and meeting with residents. On Wednesday, review members shared some of their observations with City Council members.

According to Idaho Community Review coordinator Jon Barrett, a full community review report is due within a few months — likely by December.   It will come complete with recommendations for enhancing local resources and acquiring new revenue sources, technical assistance or effective models from similar communities. Residents will be able to read it for themselves in both hard copy and electronic form once it’s released.  

“It will go into great detail about the opportunities we see as neutral outsiders,” he said.

Idaho Community Review visitors didn’t have much time for leisure during their Sandpoint visit. For a start, they held a community meeting Tuesday night that collected feedback from a variety of residents.

“I found (the meeting) absolutely fascinating,” Councilwoman Carrie Logan said. “I couldn’t believe the wealth of expertise you were able to tap into with the visiting team while still tapping into the local expertise of the local team.”  

On Wednesday, team members split up to examine aspects of the community that tapped into their own areas of expertise. According to Barrett, he ended up conducting interviews and tours related to the Panida Theater, Best Western, Schweitzer and the Sandpoint Airport throughout the day. Finally, the team spent Thursday comparing notes and preparing a debriefing presentation for city officials and stakeholders.

The community review is focused into three primary categories: downtown revitalization, economic development and sustainability. Those broad categories were then applied to specific aspects of the community. For example, Boise City Council member Elaine Clegg met with local produce growers and put together recommendations for the local food system. She found that enhancing marketing and food processing organizations could take some of the pressure off regional growers.   

“You have the market, but there’s not a cooperative, there’s not a food policy council, there’s not a wholesale organization,” she said. “Something like that might be one thing we’ll look at recommending.”