Council posts attract interest at workshop

SANDPOINT — With the upcoming election of three City Council members, city officials held a workshop Wednesday for prospective candidates.

Seven people attended the workshop, which was the first of its kind in Sandpoint. Also in attendance were Mayor Shelby Rognstad, City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton, City Clerk Maree Peck, City Attorney Scot Campbell, and council members Stephen Snedden and Bob Camp.

"This (workshop) really was at the recommendation of our council members, through our strategic prioritization setting for this year, feeling that we really needed to be more proactive as a city in doing orientation and education for our elected officials, but we are doing the same thing internally at the city with staff," Stapleton said.

The three seats up for election in November are currently held by Camp, Snedden and Councilwoman Shannon Williamson. Snedden and Camp will not be running for re-election. 

The first order of business was the roles and responsibilities of each position held by the officials and council members in attendance.

Snedden said when he became a council member in 2008, he took his seat and was "just thrown into it" as far as making decisions and such on council.

"So, hopefully, the goal here tonight is to give you a little more background and just a little more familiarity with what to expect if you want to serve as a council member," Snedden said.

In his experience, Snedden said the role of council member gets easier over time. He typically spent four or five hours going over the agenda and council packet before a meeting when he started, but now, Snedden said he spends about half that amount of time due to experience. Also, before council meetings, Snedden said he finds it helpful to ask department heads any questions that come up after examining the packets to save time during the meeting.

The agendas for each City Council meeting vary, he said, from "fairly routine" to "not as ordinary." An example of a routine item would be the purchase of a dump truck that is already budgeted and just needs final approval by council. A not-so-routine item may be a planning and zoning issue that requires an in-depth discussion by council members. For that reason, meeting times vary from 15 minutes to several hours.  

Camp said it has been an "interesting" four years for him as a council member. He said it is "quite an eye opener" to become part of a governmental organization. Before Stapleton was hired on as city administrator, he said, the city was run by department heads. But the roles of city staff changed when Stapleton was hired, as she serves, basically, as the chief operating officer for the city.

A little known historical fact — Sandpoint had a city administrator once before in the 1980s, Camp said. But it didn't last too long, he added.

"With Jennifer, she has had a real hard task, but she is really good at what she does and the council supports her 100 percent," Camp said. "I may not agree with her 100 percent of time, but I think she is doing a good job."

Camp said with six members on council, each has their own personality, which can make it "interesting" when it comes time for discussion or voting.  

"But don't feel that you can't speak out or if you have a question, to let your opinion be noted in the council meeting," Camp said. "It's really fun after you get into it and get the routine going."

Rognstad spoke about his role in relation to the council, which also shifted since Stapleton came on board, he said. It has enabled the mayor to step into more of advocacy role, Rognstad said, to be more engaged with the community and take on more issues outside of the day-to-day administration. For his role, the mayor presides over City Council meetings and is only allowed a vote on issues if there is a tie.

In addition to attending two council meetings each month, council members are also required to serve on at least one of the city's seven committees and commissions. So elected council members will have the additional time commitment required by a committee or commission.

The prospective candidates also learned about the city's strategic priorities and went over the highlights of the city's recently adopted 2018 budget. Stapleton also outlined several of the comprehensive master plans and capital projects that will roll over with the next round of council members. One of the capital projects newly elected council members would be involved with next year, Stapleton said, is the turf for Memorial Field, which is being debated as to whether it should be natural, artificial, or a combination of the two. The other big project is the downtown revitalization, which is scheduled to begin next spring with improvements along Cedar Street.

Finally, Peck went over the rules for candidate filing. Filing began on Monday and the deadline to file is Sept. 8. Candidates can either pay a $40 filing fee, or a petition with signatures of at least five people who live within city boundaries and are registered to vote. The petition form is available with the declaration of candidacy forms. It is important to note, Rognstad said, that just because someone has a Sandpoint address does not necessarily mean they are within the city boundaries required for candidacy.

Council members receive a stipend of $400 per month and are eligible for medical, dental and vision through the city.

Candidate information and declaration of candidacy forms can be found on the city's website at cityofsandpoint.com.

As the meeting neared conclusion, Snedden listed several reasons he enjoys serving on City Council. First, he said, council members are "well informed" about what is going on the city. Second, they participate in the process, seeing ideas develop and come to fruition.

"Third, I get this really deep sense of personal satisfaction out of the projects that have come about during the time that I've been on council. Even if I've never laid a brick at Memorial Field, I feel a personal sense of pride ... and the final (reason) is that you have the opportunity to leave your mark on the city. If you are passionate about a project, you can take that and put it in front of the council, you can work to get it in the budget, and you can see it carried through."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.