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Eighty — it’s just a number, right? But it’s a significant number with respect to the Business Improvement District. At the end of 2016, the city sent a slanted survey to all 475 plus/minus conscripted members which asked whether the BID should be abolished. More than 80 businesses answered that it overwhelmingly should be eliminated. The rest were either direct beneficiaries of the BID dollars or didn’t bother voting. But that was too small of a sample (and produced unanticipated results) for Ms. Stapleton to accept the clear message — get rid of it.

Six months later, we have been mailed multiple propaganda pieces — at our expense — the city has hired a Californy slick talker to explain that we didn’t mean what we said — again, at our expense — and now has two dog and pony shows scheduled for three hours and include a meal — at our expense!

If both shows are filled to capacity, guess how many will have attended — Yep, 80!

A few months ago, Ms. Stapleton couldn’t dream of only 80 people determining the future of the BID — Now, she is perfectly content to let the same number dictate the preferred outcome.

Ms. Stapleton is living in such a sycophantic environment, that she can’t see these same numbers and say, “Hold on a minute, what are we doing?”

The city designed the event to keep attendance low. Who has three hours to waste on this?

Interestingly, she never suggested that Herr Shelbster wasn’t a legitimate mayor, in spite of low voter turnout in that election.

This “logic” costs over $100,000 per year?

Very sad.

CAL OGLE

Sandpoint