City Beach could get a facelift

SANDPOINT — As part of the city's downtown revitalization plan, the City Beach area is looking at getting a facelift.

The city set aside $80,000 in its budget for the next fiscal year for a City Beach master plan. The first step will be to hire a consultant and put together a strategic plan. Nothing has been set in stone for City Beach, but a few ideas have emerged, said city administrator Jennifer Stapleton.

One thing Stapleton said city officials are looking at is how to utilize the area year-round. It is busy in the summer, but remains vacant a good portion of the year.

"In the wintertime, here we have this gem that sits right out of our downtown core, which has the ability to support business drawn tourists and be a huge resource year-round," Stapleton said.

One idea for a winter activity is to build an ice skating rink. Kim Woodruff, Parks and Recreation director, said the wind blows too hard off the lake to include a cross-country ski path, so winter activity at City Beach has some limitations.

Woodruff will be looking at the landscape design to see what can be done about problems such as storm water management, which he said could include parking lot reconstruction to pre-treat as much of the runoff as possible. There is quite a bit of property that runs off into the beach area, he said, and the grassy swale does a "half-decent job" but there is more that could be done. Solutions to the goose problem on the beach is something to look at as well, but any of these ideas could change as nothing has been decided.

"I think that's the important part about this planning process is I am not going in with any preconceived notions, thoughts or wishes," Woodruff said.

Other ideas Woodruff and Stapleton said they have heard from community member so far include adding more basketball courts, tennis courts and horseshoe pits. A group in town has approached city officials with an idea for a carousel. She said it is "one of a menu of option" for the community to consider during the planning process.

"We have a limited amount of real estate, and we want to take a look at something that's going to be time-tested," Woodruff said.

Stapleton said the intention with the downtown revitalization projects is to get community input and there will be opportunity for the public to submit thoughts and ideas on this project, as well as the two-way street revision project, which is also part of the downtown revitalization plan.

The Memorial Field project begins next week for a new entryway and grandstands. There are some other improvement planned, such as the turf, and any money left over from that project would support infrastructure at some of the local parks. Stapleton said based on current revenues coming in, it is likely money will be left over. That money could be used for City Beach improvements in following years, which is one reason why the planning process for City Beach was budgeted into the upcoming fiscal year.

"We are benchmarking ourselves as good stewards of that (Memorial Field) project, really hoping that there is money leftover," Stapleton said. "The City Beach master plan then supports, kind of outlines, 'what are the community priorities and what's the community vision for City Beach?'"

Woodruff said surveys have shown that City Beach is at the top of the list for why people value Sandpoint, and the planning process will give people an opportunity to speak to what they see in the future.

The one thing Woodruff does not want to see is commercialization. He said the most important thing to remember is that it is a park for families. Woodruff said his main job is to protect the park.

"I want to see this where you can go down with your family and throw out a blanket and have some peace and quiet, and not be inundated with advertisements or concessionaires or things like that," Woodruff said. "I want to keep it the special place that it is to everybody."