Sandpoint to reconsider parking deal
SANDPOINT — Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to reconsider the recently approved parking agreement with Kaniksu Health Services.
Council members approved the agreement during the city's Oct. 19 meeting, which would allow Kaniksu to lease 60 parking spaces in the city parking lot, located at Third Avenue and Church Street. The agreement would go into effect in 2018 pending the actual purchase and construction of a Kaniksu location on Main Street.
The first person to ask council members to reconsider the approval of the agreement Wednesday was Councilwoman Deb Ruehle who was absent at the last meeting due to a surgical procedure. Her concern over the agreement is that "many" economic questions went unanswered or unasked. Ruehle said she has also received calls at home from concerned community members.
"I believe a lot of their questions and concerns are very valid, so I would like to strongly encourage one of the council members to make a motion for reconsideration," Ruehle said.
Following Ruehle's announcement, four people spoke on the subject during the public forum portion of Wednesday's meeting. Opposition to the agreement revolved around the lack of information and opportunity for the public to voice its opinion.
Kochava's in-house attorney asked council members to reconsider the agreement until after downtown businesses and the public have had time to respond. He said Kochava, which is located at Second Avenue and Church Street across from the city lot, currently has 85 employees and expects to have around 200 by the time the parking agreement with Kaniksu would go into effect.
Jeremy Grimm, who is a Kochava employee and former city planning and zoning director, voiced his concerns over the lack of information surrounding the agreement, including building location and plans for Kaniksu.
"There were a lot of hazy facts and lack of details during the discussion," Grimm said.
Mayor Shelby Rognstad said he originally got the idea of renting out the parking spaces from Grimm and asked why he is now opposed to the agreement; whether Grimm had a "change of heart" or if it had to do with his employment at Kochava. Grimm said he was speaking at the meeting strictly as a resident of Sandpoint and not as a Kochava employee.
Richard Villelli, the contractor hired by Kaniksu who gave a presentation to council on Oct. 19, spoke in public forum Wednesday, followed by Kaniksu's CEO and CFO Kevin Knepper, both of whom said they would be willing to take a step back to allow more time for public input and supported reconsideration of the agreement.
"The idea behind trying to have a set agreement for parking was because we recognize that we would have a significant impact in moving downtown, and we believe a very positive one from an economic point of view," Knepper said.
He said, because Kaniksu runs regular business hours during the day, there is no requirement to ask permission to use the lot during those hours.
"We didn't want to do that; we want to be a good partner," he said. "So I support whatever we need to do to win public consensus that Kaniksu should be downtown."
Rognstad said since the Oct. 19 meeting, he and city administration have spoken with downtown businesses, the downtown retailer committee and the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce. Overall, he said, the feedback has been "overwhelmingly positive" in support of the parking agreement and will continue the outreach campaign.
Rognstad made the motion for reconsideration of the agreement, which will be discussed further by council at the next regular City Council meeting scheduled for Nov. 16.