Proposed RV campground goes out for bid

▶️ Audio story available.

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners voted Tuesday to move forward with bids for a proposed RV campground project.

Currently stuck in Phase II of the four-phase project, the county is at risk of losing the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation grant for the campground if there continues to be a lack of movement in the next month. While commissioners are seeking a project extension, it is not guaranteed IDPR officials will approve it.

Commissioner Luke Omodt said he hopes the department will be more likely to give the county an extension if they see progress, such as going out for bid. However, not all the commissioners feel that going out for bid is a step in the right direction.

“This project has a higher probability of not moving forward based on the events that have happened over the week,” Commissioner Asia Williams said.

Because of the current negativity surrounding the campground, Williams said it would not be physically responsible to put an ad out when there is no guarantee the county will be allowed to keep the grant. Williams asked her fellow commissioners if they are planning to pay for the advertisement, which is estimated to cost anywhere from $50-$150, should the grant be pulled, or if they’re expecting the taxpayers to front the cost.

Williams also brought up the letter that was released by the Bonner County Fair Board a few weeks ago regarding their disapproval of the campground and their plans to reject the grant. While the board’s rejection does not have any legal repercussions regarding the funding, it has raised concern for IDPR staff who are concerned whether the county will be able to begin the project before the June 30 deadline – or at all.

The fair board’s main reason for rejecting the grant was their claim that they had not been allowed involvement throughout the grant process, which they felt was not in line with Idaho Code. Omodt, however, brought a plethora of documents that he claimed prove the opposite.

“This location has been discussed by the last few fair managers,” he said. “The engineer who is working on this project has worked from Phase I through the current phase. It’s about budget. The fair board, past and present, has clearly been involved with this project from start to now and there are recordings plus a stack of documents to prove this.”

Omodt said the commissioners’ clerk had reached out to the fair board approximately three weeks ago requesting a joint meeting to talk about the issue.

“We still await a response,” Omodt said. “We are open to this. The fair board agreed to $25,000. There are recordings of the fair board talking about this campground grant in January of 2023. I am concerned about the budget, both of this project and of this county.”

The commissioner said that he’s not interested in forcing people to participate, but he does expect people to keep their word.

“When people sign a contract – and I have documents demonstrating that there has been participation in this process from start to finish – I take people at their word,” he said.

Commissioner Steve Bradshaw also voiced his frustration with the lack of response from the fair board.

“Unless the fair board responds to our request, I believe we have the ability to remove that fair board and appoint a new one,” he said. “If you're a department that answers to the commissioners, but you won't answer them, that’s grounds for removal. So I'd suggest, whether they agree or not, that they respond.”

This raised murmurs from both the crowd as well as Williams.

“How is it reasonable that we can expect that members of our community are going to want to sit on volunteer boards?” she asked. “Basically what you’re saying is that everybody that serves on a committee or a board, if they don’t agree with your perspective, then you are going to say, ‘We’re going to vote the majority and change you out for the people I want to see.’”

Williams scolded Bradshaw for, in her opinion, “trashing” the entire fair board for not agreeing with his views. This comment did not sit well with Bradshaw.

“She is a master at manipulation and turning things around,” he said to the audience regarding Williams. “What I said is they have a responsibility to answer to the board of commissioners. That is an absolute. If they don’t do that, we have the ability to remove them and get a board that will respond. I’m not asking them to agree; I’m asking them to come to the table.”

The motion by Omodt went to a vote and both he and Bradshaw voted for going out to bid while Williams voted against it.

“I find that this decision is in grave disrespect and disregard to the community as a whole,” she said. “There is no evidence presented that this is a good use of taxpayer money.”

All bids must be submitted to the commissioners by June 21 at 2 p.m.