City gets $500K toward UI property

SANDPOINT — The city is closer to acquiring the 77-acre University of Idaho's Boyer Avenue property after receiving a $500,000 grant from the LOR Foundation to support the purchase.

"The city is incredibly grateful to the LOR Foundation," said Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad in a statement. "This extraordinary gift will seed Sandpoint’s long-time vision for a community recreation center."

As specified by the LOR Foundation, the money awarded will help fund purchase of the southern portion of the property, where just under six acres has been identified as ideal for a community recreation center, said City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton.

While the grant amount requested by the city would have funded the entire property, Stapleton said the $500,000 is "very generous" and the city appreciates the award and the LOR Foundation's support of their efforts to secure the parcel. Stapleton said UI officials have indicated they will not split up the property, so city staff is searching other avenues of funding in an effort to secure the entire property by UI's May deadline.

While UI has not disclosed the appraisal amount or purchase price negotiated with the city, the original grant request to LOR was in the amount of $4 million, according to Feb. 6 meeting minutes of the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency.

Stapleton said the city is working through conditions of the grant and talking with UI officials, and she anticipates coming back to council with a staff update and recommendation at the April 18 meeting — there is no meeting the first week of April.

"That will give us an opportunity to have discussions with the University of Idaho, work through the special conditions of the grant and to look at what, if any, other opportunities there may be out there that would enable the city to purchase the entire piece of property," Stapleton said.

UI officials announced plans to sell the property in September, opening up many opportunities for the city and the community. A recreation center, open space and affordable housing are just some of the ideas that have come up during an extensive community outreach campaign by city officials over the past several months.

During a recent survey administered through the city's Open Town Hall website, 546 responses came through regarding the UI property. In accordance with feedback obtained during public workshops, many of the answers revolved around open space and a recreation center. The responses can be viewed on the website, which can be accessed through the city's website at sandpointidaho.gov.

The UI property was originally home to the Sandpoint Research and Extension Center, which closed in 2010 due to budget cuts. The center was among 12 facilities statewide at that time targeted for closure as UI officials looked to cut $3.2 million from the school's research and extension budget.

Two years prior to that, it was being proposed as a UI satellite campus, but to no avail. It has since been used by groups for recreational purposes, such as cross-country skiing and disc golf.

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