Candidate forum draws big crowd

SANDPOINT — About 75 people joined Sandpoint mayoral candidates Shelby Rognstad and Mose Dunkel for a candidate forum Wednesday evening.

It was a question-and-answer session for the candidates, with the questions submitted by audience members. Questions covered the gamut, ranging from the city administrator position and meeting the finalists, parking issues, and reductions in utility rates to the Building Improvement District and how to bring more businesses into town, high-speed Internet, handling of police shootings, taking care of seniors in the community and what leadership means.

Each candidate for Sandpoint City Council and for mayor was introduced.

Rognstad moved to Sandpoint in 1999, and in 2005, opened Common Knowledge Bookstore to “nourish the mind, body and spirit.” He said talking with the people in Sandpoint gave him a strong sense of community.

“This is what makes Sandpoint so special,” Rognstad said. “That’s why I am running.”

Dunkel was born in the Sandpoint area and has spent most of his life here. He is part of a family business, Dunkel Logging, and worked his way up from the bottom. He said this management experience will help him be a good mayor.

The city administrator topic was brought up on different occasions. Dunkel said he was strongly against the position in the beginning, mainly because the city budget is very tight, and did not want to see the wrong person get the job. He said regardless of those feelings, he would work with the chosen candidate while as mayor. He said his management skills will help him lead the city administrator.

“I fully intend to work very hard with that person to create a strong bond between me and them that we can do the best job possible for the city,” Dunkel said. “This person needs to work hard for Sandpoint.”

Rognstad is in full support of the city administrator position. He said the position will go through performance reviews, and hopes the person has extensive grant writing skills. He feels that it will take about three years to show performance, and not just a single year. He was part of the hiring committee, and said that two selected candidates will be at a November council meeting for the public to meet.

The top concerns for Dunkel include transparency at city hall, saying this is a large part of why he is running. He feels there is a divide between the people in the city and the city government, and he hopes to change that if he is elected. He also showed concern about the utility rates, wanting to have them lowered. His solution to lowering the rates is to have the council set them lower.

“I feel stuff like that is important and people need to know,” Dunkel said, adding keeping people in the dark is not the way to run the city. “We need to trust the people that are elected to do a good job for us.”

Rognstad said his top concerns for the city include economic development and supporting higher education. He said the problems at city hall are more about community engagement than not being transparent. He said that people need to involve themselves with council meetings, reading of plans and engaging with the council members.

“I have been engaged for eight years,” Rognstad said.

Deb Fragoso, Bill Aitken and Thomas Eddy are running unopposed for the three Sandpoint City Council seats. Fragoso was appointed to the seat and is now running for a full-term. She started with the planning commission about five years ago, and took the appointment to the council two years ago. Bill Aitken was also appointed two years ago and said he is just now getting up to speed on how the council operates. He said he would like to see through the Memorial Field project, the street plan and wants to reinvigorate and redefine downtown. Eddy was elected four years ago, and also wants to see through the Memorial Field project and the two-way street conversion.

In addition to the candidate forum, a presentation was held on the Barlow Stadium at War Memorial Field. The city is voting on a 1 percent sales tax increase for five years, which would pay for the $2.72 million grandstands that need to be replaced. Parks and Recreation Director Kim Woodruff and Planning and Economic Development Director Aaron Qualls gave the presentation.

The city has been maintaining the current grandstands, but they are past their shelf life. Qualls said the proposed grandstands would last for at least 50 years, and would minimize maintenance, including time and materials. Qualls said that most items in the city that have a state sales tax would be charged this tax, including the purchase of a new vehicle.

Woodruff said they have many problems, including exposed wiring and rotting wood. He said they have maintained it as best as they could, however, the duct tape holding up parts of the grandstands are a concern. He said they have been fixed with a Band-Aid, but that has to change.

“We are running out of places to put the Band-Aids,” Woodruff said.