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Inflammatory letter grossly inaccurate

| May 15, 2014 7:00 AM

Mr. Perry’s inflammatory letter (May 8, Daily Bee), is grossly inaccurate. While it is true that Mr. Snedden has been a tireless advocate for the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail, I have been on the board of the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail since 2011 and at no time during Mr. Snedden’s term on the Sandpoint City Council was he a member of our board. As a result, there was no conflict of interest with Mr. Snedden voting in favor of Sandpoint purchasing a portion of the property comprising the trail.

More importantly, since initially proposed, the city councils of Sandpoint, Ponderay, and Kootenai have all endorsed the purchase of trail land. These visionaries recognized the trail as a priceless investment in the community. Its purchase represented a rare opportunity to acquire a significant section of shoreline property for the public’s benefit and enjoyment for all time instead of losing it forever to private development.

Mr. Perry’s statement that the trail property was an unwise and overpriced purchase is also grossly inaccurate. Although it was a significant investment, a recent federal appraisal of neighboring shoreline properties verified that the price Sandpoint paid for the land was within market norms.

There is a very limited amount of Pend Oreille shoreline property available for public access. Like Sandpoint’s City Beach, the Bay Trail will only increase in value to area residents as generations to come continue to enjoy access to this treasured shoreline.

LARRY DAVIDSON

Sagle