Pam Duquette

Background

Profession: Board Secretary for the Selkirk Conservation Alliance; member of Priest River Watershed Group; Events Committee volunteer with KRFY; Ed Committee for Kinnikinnik Native Plant Society, member of Idaho Trails Association, and am a Water Quality Monitor with the ICL

How many years as a Bonner County resident: 40 years

Marital status: Adult children

Questions

1. Most important is bringing the community together as shared voices in Sandpoint’s path to the future. I would like to build trust in one another to achieve commonly stated goals. I would advocate for sustainable development, while protecting our urban forests, green spaces, and water, helping us become a more climate resilient community. We must be able to house our residents and workforce with affordability. Improving and maintaining our infrastructure is needed by diligently finding funding sources. Road and sidewalk safety is paramount with clearly delineated, established bike and pedestrian connectivity routes. We need a functioning traffic plan keeping trucks and high speed traffic out of neighborhoods.
2. • Growth at 4.73% is the most significant issue facing Sandpoint at this time, as it is degrading our infrastructure, increasing traffic, and impacting our environment in a negative way. Budgetary constraints are key. Basic needs aren’t being met for residents. • Lack of trust, communication, and collaboration between residents and city staff prevents us from preferable growth and development, designing with nature in mind. Without citizen involvement, accomplishing common goals is difficult. • Lack of achievable housing and need for higher wage job opportunities are impacting livelihoods. Our residents are “housing burdened.” Legal restraints make it hard to control who builds what and where.
3. • Research smart growth initiatives, and solutions of similar communities. Join forces! Maintain and enhance our infrastructure. Redistribute our resort tax. Utilize park ‘n rides, bike and scooter rentals, and local transit options for alternative travel. Revisit an historic downtown trolley. Develop and follow well thought out comprehensive plans. • Broaden notification avenues (i.e. utility bill) of meetings, public hearings, and projects. Implement hands-on workshops fostering collaboration, and reestablish advisory committees. • Promote a year round economy diversifying employment opportunities. Support affordable housing by: rezoning; creating housing authority; allowing deed restrictions; and incentivizing long term rental versus short term. Utilize public-private partnerships for public services.
4. Communication and active listening is key. Offer flexibility in timing of public hearings, workshops, and project planning. Three minutes at the beginning of council meetings is unsatisfactory. Promote community discussions. Reply to constituents emails. Really listen and respond compassionately to concerns! Find multiple means to share city notices and announcements with residents. Make workshops hands-on for effectiveness and productivity. Collaborate to solve problems. Reintroduce the advisory committees for more input. The more residents become involved, the more they may feel valued and understand what city admin is advocating.
5. I feel our current city council needs to seek out and take more citizen input seriously to be effective. To wit, the placement of the indoor sports facility has forced citizens to protest. This did not need to happen. We need more questioning and discussion of projects at meetings before big decisions that affect all of us are made. I would like to see councilors force a meaningful conversation at meetings and defend how they vote on an agenda item.
6. Creating common goals and working towards those goals together is critical. Our historic growth is straining our community’s resources. It is affecting housing and employment demands and is taxing all infrastructure. How we plan and implement development from here is crucial. As previously stated I would address these needs with partnerships between similar cities, including our neighbor cities, area employers, and citizens. Involve local community in local government.
7. Climate change is an issue that we are not talking enough about. We need to discover how climate issues can affect us and plan to “climate proof” our infrastructure. Facing adverse weather conditions and wildfire are possibilities we must deal with. There are climate resilient initiatives that we can research and follow to become a climate resilient community. I feel we have some of these already, i.e., public parks and trees, community gardens and farmer’s markets, but can learn more. We need more solar investments and alternative energy sources.
8. I like Ponderay’s “Neighbor Day” idea that is similar to our neighborhood “block parties.” We should continue supporting and initiating “fun” town activities, i.e., full moon bike rides, concerts in the park, the Sand Creek Regatta and Sand Creek Challenge, Schweitzer community days, etc. We need to accentuate and celebrate the positive things about Sandpoint and its community. Maybe we could promote a “positive accolades” day just to remind us of all that we do have and have accomplished. The Reader’s “bouquet,” and Daily Bee’s “kudos” are refreshing. Thoughts to ponder!
9. I love the way our community comes together in times of need, supporting local nonprofits and just being kind and neighborly. I applaud gatherings like the “heart ball,” fun-runs, CHAFE, concerts, art walks and fairs, sidewalk sales, Panida films, etc., as it gives us all a chance to join in. Our varied interests connect us to one another. We are wealthy in our natural surroundings. I especially enjoy joining causes in the conservation arena.
10. I enjoy activities created by nature’s bounty in our water, forests, and mountains. I have circumnavigated Lake Pend Oreille several times, camping along the shores, swimming, enjoying sunrises and sunsets, listening to loons, watching the night sky for meteor showers, comets, northern lights, or a dark sky full of stars! I enjoy hiking and backpacking. Our climate fosters bountiful gardening. I like sharing books and table games with friends. In winter I use my well earned lifetime season pass at Schweitzer to enjoy the snow. I don't even mind the shoveling and wood splitting that keeps us in shape and compels us to look forward to our summers. I can’t imagine not having four seasons.
11. I am always willing to hear arguments of opposing views and am open minded to change, becoming more flexible with age actually. Many times I have said that, “a mind is made for changing,” but for the life of me I cannot think of an instance that is appropriate at this time. The experience that keeps popping in my head, and this happened many years ago, was when one of my children got in trouble on an overnight field trip with school. When punishment was issued, I of course listened to my child as we always try to do, and protested the punishment supposing innocence. After digging for and weighing all the information given, I found out I was not being told the truth by my child and had to go apologize and admit I was wrong with the school principal. My child got in more trouble with me for not sharing the truth than they did at the school.
12. I would have to say my Mom. My Mom has taught me by example that you can achieve anything you put your heart and mind to no matter age or gender. She lived a long full life, enjoying simple pleasures, following careers of choice, volunteering her time where it was needed and allowed herself adventures as a single woman. She made quite a positive impact on many people in her 98 years! Not sure I need to live that long, but if I do, I would do so with the same love of life.
13. I can think of many important characteristics for this position, but it is a bit difficult to choose one. I know “integrity” is the buzzword, and within that is honesty, so highly valuing honesty I choose that. One needs to be honest in all their dealings, honest to their cohorts, honest to their constituents, and most important to me is honesty to oneself. If you are completely honest with yourself then you can make important decisions that you believe in, and can back those decisions righteously.
14. At the end of the four year term what do you want to be most proud of? If after a four year term I see that I have helped unite our community in spite of our differences and made a lasting impact with solutions we made keeping the public’s best interest at heart, I will be proud. There is pride in accomplishment of goals in a collaborative way, while being true to oneself. I would hope that my contribution helped shape a community that my children and my grandchildren are happily and healthily still contributing to and living in.
15. I think a well functioning city council should be made up of a broad base of individuals with differing backgrounds and interests. Our council should be as diverse as our public is in experiences and accomplishments. I believe I will bring that to the sitting council. As a public educator, I have had to be organized, flexible in thinking, and faced hard challenges with informed decisions. I have had to collaborate with the public, staff, and administration to find creative solutions to a myriad of problems and be an effective communicator. I feel these qualities will make me a good city council person as well. I passionately care about our community, its natural beauty, and our desire to be the best community we can be without losing our authenticity. I will work to “Keep Sandpoint Real!”