City officials, staff discuss potential state legislation, federal changes
SANDPOINT — In a Wednesday City Council meeting without a major action item, Sandpoint officials and staff examined recent events and potential policies and legislation that could affect the city.
Effects of Idaho proposals, U.S. changes
In a staff update, Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon told councilors that federal grant funding his department typically utilizes has been paused.
Normally, federal money helps support the cost of summer overtime hours aimed at mitigating aggressive driving, seat belt noncompliance and other transportation safety concerns. To sustain some of the services in the coming months, Coon said he plans to utilize payroll money that has been saved due to open staff positions in lieu of a federal grant.
“We will see a decrease on some of those days because of staffing levels, because of lack of funding,” Coon noted.
Mayor Jeremy Grimm later asked city staff if representatives of The Festival at Sandpoint had announced how Idaho House Bill 376 may affect their events.
HB 376 includes language stipulating that Idahoans would be permitted to carry firearms on state- and municipality-owned property typically open to the public even if it is temporarily leased to a private entity.
The bill also includes language stating it would supersede the Idaho Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in favor of the defendant in Herndon vs. City of Sandpoint — a case that stemmed from a 2019 incident in which Sagle resident Scott Herndon took legal action after he was barred from entering War Memorial Field while carrying a gun due to a Festival at Sandpoint policy prohibiting weapons at its events.
The bill cleared the House on March 13; District 1 Rep. Cornel Rasor voted in favor while Rep. Mark Sauter voted against. During a March 15 town hall in Sandpoint, Festival at Sandpoint Director of Operations Veronica Knowlton asked legislators what the most effective way to voice opposition to the bill would be.
Grimm noted that because The Festival at Sandpoint leases War Memorial Field from the city each summer, any change that alters that arrangement could affect the city’s budget.
“Impacts to the festival could severely impact our revenue,” Grimm said.
He added that any factors that could disrupt operations “may require us to have to adjust our planning for the year.”
Grimm also shared that he intended to testify before the Idaho Senate’s Local Government and Taxation Committee in opposition of Senate Bill 1126, which would ban cities and counties from enacting ordinances that prohibit short-term rentals.
Wastewater incidents
Public Works Director Holly Ellis shared that Idaho Department of Environmental Quality personnel audited Sandpoint’s wastewater treatment plant March 19 after two incidents occurred in the past month in which material improperly entered the Pend Oreille River.
One of the events was caused by a pump failure; city staff and officials have emphasized in recent years that the plant is in urgent need of replacement.
“The staff is doing an incredible job managing a facility that is woefully expired,” Grimm said Wednesday.
Ellis said that a contractor is on track to deliver a draft preliminary engineering report in April, and that Sandpoint intends to bring a bond to voters in November to secure funding for a new facility — most recently estimated to cost about $129 million.
FY 2024 audit
Laura Parasida, accountant with Coeur d’Alene-based firm Magnuson McHugh Dougherty, presented the results of a fiscal year 2024 audit ordered by Sandpoint in October 2024.
“In our opinion, the financial statements of the city are materially stated and fairly present the financial position of the city,” Parasida said. “Essentially, this is the highest level of assurance that can be provided with an audit.”
In a brief overview of the 67-page report, Parasida pointed to Sandpoint’s net cash and investments increase from $33.7 million to $37.8 million in the past year.
The audit also included a duty to report any significant deficiencies or weaknesses in internal controls; Parasida said there were none identified that needed to be included in the report.