Official Seeks New Chance For Festival Site

The Festival at Sandpoint may get a new lease on life at Memorial Field.

City Councilman Michael Boge asked Monday that a resolution to boot the festival from the field after its 1997 season be revoked.

The city passed the resolution last year after neighbors complained about loud, late-night concerts, traffic, parking problems and trash left behind by some 5,000 concertgoers.

But Boge said the festival has addressed those problems and deserves to stay at the field, its lakeside home for the past 13 years.

“The festival has made tremendous strides in making amends with people in the (neighborhood),” Boge told the city’s administrative committee and about 30 residents. “We don’t need to hold a bat over the festival’s head. Let’s sit down and talk this thing out.”

After nearly an hour of debate, Boge’s proposal was set aside until after this summer’s concert series, which begins July 30.

“I would like to see it lifted, but I think the deadline serves as a motivation for all parties to sit down and talk. It’s an opportunity rather than a stick or hammer,” Mayor David Sawyer said.

Councilman Ray Miller agreed, noting the city is also facing a lawsuit over the festival’s use of Memorial Field. That complaint, filed by field neighbors Judy and Dale Millard, is slated to go before a judge next month.

The couple wants to ban the festival from the field this summer, and stop the sale and consumption of alcohol at the field. The Millards contend the festival is a commercial venture illegally operating in a residential area.

Festival organizers support Boge’s bid to void the 1997 deadline. If the event is ousted from Memorial Field, President Dave Slaughter said the festival will have nowhere to go.

“For three years, we have looked hard for a site. We have found nothing that is suitable or permanent or that we can afford,” he said, adding there are few spots in the area that can rival Memorial Field’s lakeside setting.

Executive Director Ron Wasson said many things have been done this year to minimize the festival’s impact on the neighborhood. The number of concerts was cut from three weeks to two, mellow musicians were booked and some shows were moved into the downtown park and theater.

“We are hoping to put this year behind us and prove to the neighborhood we are being responsible,” Wasson said. “We have enthusiastic support from the community, new board members and a new city council and mayor to work with. I think we have a good chance at extending the lease and hope we can stay at Memorial Field.”

Boge’s proposal Monday drew almost as much criticism as support.

Athletic boosters, including members of the local baseball association, have long battled with the festival over use of the field. Baseball fans say it’s the only regulation field in town, and the concerts preclude them from hosting regional tournaments in Sandpoint.

That problem could be resolved soon, the mayor said. The city is negotiating to buy 11 acres adjacent to Traver’s Park, and hopes to build several new baseball fields.

Boge was disappointed by his colleagues’ refusal to revoke the festival’s eviction deadline.

“What we are doing right now is denial,” he said. “If I didn’t bring this issue up now, this (deadline) would stay as it is for the next two years and we would be addressing this at the 11th hour. We don’t need to do that. We need to address it now.”

, DataTimes