Festival Hopes To Build New Stage This Year Securing Permits For The 10,000square-Foot Stage Over The Water Is Biggest Of Several Hurdles The Project Faces

Festival at Sandpoint organizers admit building a 10,000-square-foot stage over the Pend Oreille River may sound a bit farfetched.

Then again, few ever expected the festival to blossom into the economic blockbuster it is now, attracting top stars like Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett.

“We have a product we are happy with and a permanent stage just seemed like the next logical step,” said Festival Executive Director Connie Berghan. “We do expect to have the festival on the waterfront stage this year.”

A City Council committee approved the idea this week. That was the easy part.

The festival now needs a permit from the Idaho Department of Lands and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build in the river. The festival must also get the project blessed by the full City Council and hammer out a permanent agreement with the city to use property at Memorial Field.

It won’t hurt that Berghan’s father is Sandpoint Mayor Ron Chaney.

Then there’s the matter of raising at least $500,000 to design and build the cantilevered stage.

“We still have about 17 hoops to jump through,” Berghan conceded. “But if we can secure approval, enough financing to get the pilings driven and platform built, it could happen this summer.”

The festival hopes to get financial help from several regional corporations.

“We think it’s a perfect area and can’t imagine any problems that will come up that we can’t work through,” Berghan said.

Preliminary plans call for the stage to be on the back side of Memorial Field, between the city’s boat dock and wastewater treatment plant. The stage would stretch from the shoreline about 75 feet out over the water.

Eventually, the stage would be totally enclosed. The front walls would be removable. The back would be a seethrough, glass wall. Seating would be in a half-moon-shaped section of shoreline, with room for 5,000 people.

“There are lots of details to still work out, but I think the concept has merit,” Councilman Ray Miller said. “The city has not made a commitment yet, we just basically gave approval to study it further.”

The council and festival organizers are supposed to meet for a workshop later this month. Miller suspects permits from the corps and Department of Lands will be a major hurdle.

“I wouldn’t try to predict what the corps will do any more than I would try to predict the weather,” he said.

Will Pitman, a lake protection administrator for the Department of Lands, has already looked at the stage site. He said it’s an unusual request and, unlike a dock, an entertainment stage does not require use of the water.

“It might be difficult to get a permit for this type of use,” he said.

A precedent does exist. Pitman said the request would be similar to the one made for The Coeur d’Alene Resort’s floating golf green.

“What helps the stage proposal is it will be for the use of the general public, whereas the floating green is for private use,” he said.

It also helps that the back of the stage will be glass and not obstruct views of the river.

“In some ways it might enhance the view,” Pitman said. “I can see sitting on the bank and looking through the stage at the lake.”

The festival still needs to submit a formal application to Pitman and the corps. The agencies will have a 30-day public comment period and likely hold a public hearing.

Berghan envisions the stage being used for other community events, possibly graduation for Sandpoint High School. Once it’s enclosed, it will house bathrooms, dressing rooms and office space. It could also double as a conference room,

One drawback is that the stage will be very close to the waste treatment plant. It will be convenient to plumb bathrooms on the stage, but the smell from the plant is sometimes overpowering.

Miller said the smell won’t be any worse than when concerts are held on Memorial Field. The city is also looking into buying covers for the waste holding tanks to reduce odors, he said.

Festival organizers hope the new stage will ease some problems for neighbors who live by Memorial Field. Some have long complained about the noise, traffic and garbage on their lawns after shows.

Berghan said bowl-shaped seating should cut back on noise. A new entrance would also help spread out parking. Since the stage is off Memorial Field it should also eliminate scheduling conflicts with sporting events.

“We truly believe that this site will eliminate some of the negatives,” Berghan said.

Not all neighbors agree.

“I don’t think it’s going to be an improvement at all,” said A.B. Kellogg, who lives nearby. “The same problems are going to exist; they are just moving the stage about 200 feet toward the river.”

Kellogg said he’s not against having the festival in town, he just wants some consideration for the neighborhood.

“The festival and city will paint a rosy picture, but we have been complaining about the same things for years. Nothing has ever happened.”

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