Huckleberries Online

Sandpoint Eyes City Beach User Fee

Posted by DFO

Dec. 10, 2009 4:28 p.m. • 7 comments

Item: Sandpoint eyes user fee for City Beach/Keith Kinnaird, Bonner County Bee

More Info: The city’s quest for new sources of revenue could result in a user fee for non-residents at City Beach. Councilwoman Helen Newton said the non-resident user fee was suggested by employees and is in line with a budget workshop mantra challenging city officials to identify new sources of revenue. Newton, who lost her re-election bid last month, hopes the new City Council members will take up the proposal after they’re sworn in early next year.

Question: Should Sandpoint charge nonresidents for the use of its City Beach?

Seven comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Cabbage Boy on December 10 at 4:38 p.m.
Are they just trying to piss everyone off? No drive thrus, banning cell phones, charging a beach fee.

Some loose nuts running that town.
sue on December 10 at 6:10 p.m.
“Some loose nuts running that town….Sorry, I just have to laugh at that.
Cindy_H on December 10 at 6:28 p.m.
Dumb. Just dumb.
It would ensure we scratch Sandpoint off our list of fun summer places.
Maybe that’s what they want?
hmoffsuite on December 10 at 6:40 p.m.
First of all, it would probably cost more to administer that plan than it would bring in as revenue. Secondly, you don’t shut down the engine that partially drives your economy. It’s amazing how dense some of these people are. Really.
Cis on December 10 at 10:02 p.m.
If they make it a Sandpoint proper only, then it will be a county divider… lot of the towns don’t have a beach. Like Ponderay, Kootenai… so if we have to pay to go to the beach, I forsee a big stink over it…Also what about all the out of towners at the Edgewater?
Personally I don’t see it passing in the first place and will be in the same line as the no drive thrus…

Helen sure is stirring up a lot of commotion in her last weeks as council person
Arpie on December 10 at 11:03 p.m.
For a town of eight thousand, Sandpoint has some great parks. City Beach is one of the best beaches in the United States between the two oceans. I would gladly pay a buck every time I go there which is a lot. That said, a payment booth at the gate would be terrible. I’d rather see a voluntary collection tube, like the fee stations at national forest campgrounds,at each end of the path that takes you to the beach. An unobtrusive sign soliciting donations and indicating that all proceeds will be spent on maintenance and improvements in the parks would generate some revenue. I think every park in town should have one or two of these tubes. As a county resident, I am thankful for these great parks and feel guilty using them as much as I do without contributing. The money that would be spent to hire a fee collector could be spent on an ongoing- yet low key ad campaign that would prime the pump and get nonresidents in the habit of throwing a buck in as they stroll by. I’ve mentioned this to the parks director before. Maybe it’s time.
wheels on December 11 at 6:22 a.m.
No wonder Ms Newton lost her re-election bid.Ever consider who fills up the motels,etc?Makes about as much sense as suggesting charging a fee for the dock at independence point in CDA for anything.No clue whatsoever.Get all these people off these committees.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.