Council denies group parade permit for July 4

▶️ Listen to this article now.

SANDPOINT — City council members voted 4-2 Wednesday to affirm the denial of a special events permit to Sandpoint Independence Day, Inc., to host the July 4 Independence Day parade, allowing the Sandpoint Lions to host the event instead.

The conflict came after the new group, which hosted the festivities last year, and the Sandpoint Lions, submitted dueling applications. The host for the fireworks show and family festivities have not been determined.

City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said that the city has never before received two applications for the same event on the same day. The city had directed the two applicants to meet and see if collaboration was possible, Stapleton said, but the groups failed to reach an agreement.

The appellants, Ron Korn, Steve Wasylko and Todd Prather, told the council that they had been under the impression that the Sandpoint Lions were busy with other projects and willing to pass on the event to their group, based on discussions with Janice Rader, the club’s vice president.

Lions President Rhonda Whittaker, who also spoke at the meeting, said she had never heard about plans to hand over the event, and was disappointed by what she was hearing.

“We are a club, and we decide things as a club. We welcome another club to come in and talk to us about what is happening but that didn’t happen,” she said. “I was put in this position because of all of the miscommunication that was going on.”

One point of contention brought up at the meeting is that Sandpoint Independence Day Inc. had offered to run the event while collaborating with the Lions for promotional materials, volunteers and having Lions as the grand marshal.

The Lions had been open to that idea, Whittaker said, but backed out after realizing a permit had not been issued to Sandpoint Independence Day Inc.

“We did have a very good meeting, but after the meeting I realized … [they] didn’t have a permit, and they were asking us to be involved in an event that they didn’t have a permit,” she said.

She also added that the Lions did not want to “be part of a political agenda.” Korn, Wasylko and Prather are all vocal conservatives in the community.

The appellants also said that based on city code, they had been under the impression that they would be granted the permit based on city code, which considers the time at which the application is submitted. The Lions submitted their application on July 20, while Independence Day Inc. submitted theirs on July 9.

However, Stapleton said, the city special event policy also considers traditional event dates and gives preference to historic hosts.

“We kind of black out those dates, and we aren’t permitting other events on those dates,” she said.

The Sandpoint Independence Day group further stated that they had trouble getting responses from city officials, and felt they were being ignored.

“The only reason I got anything done is walking into city hall,” Korn said. “The Lion Club, they got answered within a day.”

Councilman Joel Aispuro and Andy Groat praised the previous year’s event, and expressed sympathy for the appellants.

“I don’t blame the SID group for hearing what they heard [and] for feeling pushed around the way they did,” Aispuro said.

Several council members said they would like to re-evaluate the rules such events to avoid similar problems in the future.

“[We should] take a hard look at our code in future policies,” council president Shannon Sherman said. “It’s really unfortunate that we’re put in this position today.”

Aispuro said he wants to see a process that allows for more competition and has less to do with historic precedent.

“It is somewhat politicized whether we like it or not, but we’re here,” he said. “[I’d like to] evaluate which group can create the best opportunity for the community … I’d like to see more thought put into it.”

Following lengthy discussion and testimony, council members Kate McAlister, Shannon Sherman, Andy Groat and Ruehle voted yes to deny the permit appeal by Sandpoint Independence Day, Inc., with Aispuro and Darling voting no.

Also that night, after years in the making, the Sandpoint City Council adopted its Multimodal Transportation Master Plan.

The plan, which is now available to view on the city’s website, includes a pedestrian priority network, the expansion of existing bicycle routes, updating truck routes, extending Baldy Mountain Road, safety improvements to Great Northern Road, resolving conflicts of use on Division Avenue and creating an arterial connecting Highway 95 and Highway 2 on the south end of the city the alleviate cut-through traffic in neighborhoods and improve safety.

One of the major goals for the plan was to increase pedestrian and cyclist accessibility and safety, said Public Works Director Amanda Wilson. Because of that, some roads are planned for a slightly lower level of service for motor vehicles to allow for better service to those modes of transportation.

“We spent a lot of time around that conversation,” she said. “In an urban environment like ours, it’s okay to have a slightly lower level of service.”

The plan incorporates several past planning efforts, Wilson said, as well as extensive public feedback.

Some of the changes brought about by that feedback include an executive summary, which breaks down the basics of the 116-page document.

Although the plan identifies numerous potential improvements, it is not the end of public engagement nor does it include street design standards, Wilson said.

“We are working on the design standards, and plan to bring it to you in June,” she said.

Council member Deb Ruehle proposed two amendments to the plan, including the extension of the Dover pathway along Sand Creek to Popsicle Bridge, and a direction to staff to re-evaluate truck routes to speed up the process of getting trucks off of Division Avenue, where foot traffic from students leaving schools and going to Travers Parks is high.

The first, she said, was in consideration of cyclists who use bikes as their primary means of transportation.

As an example, Ruehle said, bikers commuting to and from Ponderay because they can’t afford to live in Sandpoint do not have a safe and direct route.

“Their tires are under pressure, they don’t have helmets, their bikes are many many years old,” she said. “So I would like to take this opportunity to point out there are people in our community who don’t have a choice because they don’t have a car. That’s how they are getting to and from.”

Adding it to the plan does not guarantee the extension will happen, Ruehle said, but if it’s not added it definitely won’t.

“If there’s grant money out there and the Baldy Mountain extension goes through, maybe we have the opportunity where we give so many of these people a safer way to commute,” she said.

The second amendment, she said, is worthwhile although it may cause some inconvenience. Should the trucks be directed off of Division it could lead to more traffic on Boyer and Fifth Avenue. However, Ruehle said, she believes it is worthwhile.

“I would push that we do that sooner rather than later before something tragic happens,” she said.

The last amendment, proposed by councilman John Darling, was to adjust the wording of the First and Bridge concept from “long-term” to an alternative concept.

All three amendments were passed, with councilman Aispuro voting no on the truck route amendment. The plan passed unanimously.

The council also approved a sidewalk project on Pine Street, authorized staff to solicit bids for remodeling and improvements at City Hall and voted to approve a sanitary sewer project bid.