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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

County returns money for buoys to yacht club

The Kootenai County Commission decided Monday to return $4,200 to a yacht club while the county researches appropriate locations to anchor mooring buoys where the public can tie up boats.

“If we can come up with a workable solution, we are more than happy to accept the donation,” Commission Chairman Rick Currie said.

Currie added that if the county does find a place for the buoys, he would like to have a public hearing before deciding to ask the Idaho Department of Lands for a permit.

Initially, the county wanted to put the buoys in Blue Creek Bay, a narrow inlet near Higgens Point that is crossed by Interstate 90. But property owners argued that allowing large boats to moor in the already skinny bay would create a safety hazard.

Mary Macri, who owns a cabin on Blue Creek Bay, attended Monday’s meeting and said it makes sense to find a place for the buoys before taking the Maverick Yacht Club’s money.

“There are still a lot of variables up in the air,” Macri said.

Tom Terrell, a yacht club member, said he thinks the club should find another use for the money.

“We will not give them the money back,” Terrell said. “We aren’t here to fight anybody.”

He noted that club members will have to vote on what to do with the cash.

The yacht club, which has about 35 members, raised and donated the money in 2005 with the idea that the county would install about six buoys on Lake Coeur d’Alene, preferably in Powderhorn Bay, 16-1 Bay or Blue Creek Bay.

The former county waterways director proposed placing the buoys in Blue Creek Bay.

The county applied for a permit from the Idaho Department of Lands but withdrew the application in March 2006 after property owners along the bay expressed the same safety concerns.

The yacht club recently raised the issue again when it asked the county to return the $4,200 or anchor the buoys.

The Kootenai County Parks and Waterways Advisory Committee recommended last week that the county look into putting three buoys in Blue Creek Bay and perhaps two near Higgens Point.

A motion recommending that the county return the donation failed.

Commissioners asked county staff to see whether additional buoys could go in Beauty Bay, which already has three mooring buoys, and if some could be anchored near Higgens Point.

County Parks and Waterways Director Nick Snyder said the state wants to ensure that placing buoys near Higgens Point wouldn’t disturb kokanee spawning beds or eagle migration.

He added that the Idaho Transportation Department also has concerns about allowing access to areas that were filled in during the construction of Interstate 90.

Jim Aucutt, chairman of the waterways advisory commission, said property owners will likely complain no matter where the county decides to put the buoys.

He told the commissioners it’s probably time for them to make a decision on whether to continue trying to place buoys or just give up.

Some Blue Creek Bay property owners questioned Aucutt’s advisory board vote because he and board member Yvonne Ellis also are members of the Maverick Yacht Club.

A county attorney determined that no conflict of interest existed because neither board member would have a financial gain.

Macri argued that both Aucutt and Ellis would benefit from the location of the buoys.