Town Will Have Fast-Talking Mayor Sandpoint’s Chaney Will Do The Honors When City Hall Is Auctioned

To help pay for new city offices here, the historic 85-year-old City Hall is headed for the auction block.

Sandpoint Mayor Ron Chaney gets the honor of being auctioneer.

“I haven’t done it before, but I’m hoping for some spirited bidding,” said Chaney, jokingly demonstrating his auctioneering ability.

A public auction is required by Idaho law when government buildings are sold.

The 11,000 square foot City Hall was appraised at $400,000. Because the building has a prime downtown location and ideal retail space, Chaney expects the sale price to go much higher.

“It has a tremendous amount of character and we are hopeful that there will be a great deal of interest,” he said.

Three investors have toured the building already. Possible plans include retail and office space and even a restaurant in the bays for the fire trucks, Chaney said.

The two-story brick building used to house the city library and jail. The old jail bars are still on some of the windows, while the cells were converted to offices.

A bit of history is also embedded in the concrete floor of the fire truck bays. The floor has rows of grooves, cut so horses that pulled the fire pumper could get traction.

“The horses were so well-trained that when the fire bell went off they would run over and stand in position to get harnessed,” Chaney said.

The building is slated for auction April 17. In the meantime, the city must declare it surplus property and give residents a chance to protest the sale.

“I don’t anticipate any objections whatsoever,” the mayor said. “We haven’t had one resident suggest this is not a good idea.”

The city struck a $1.1 million deal months ago to buy, remodel and move into the Coldwater Creek building on Lake Street. Coldwater Creek, a mail-order catalog company, is building new offices off Highway 200 east of Sandpoint. The city is paying for the project with surplus cash and the sale of City Hall. The project is also being done without raising taxes, Chaney said.

The city has outgrown its current building. Other space is being used to store files, equipment and even a fire truck.

“I’m afraid I’m not going to miss it,” said Police Chief Bill Kice, whose 24-member staff is crammed into first-floor offices. “It’s getting a little crowded.”

To lower fire insurance rates the city needs to keep four trucks at City Hall. It can now fit only three, Kice said. The new building will have double the space of City Hall. The move will also help free up retail space, which Chaney predicts will be in short supply when Coldwater Creek opens a large retail store in the Cedar Creek Bridge downtown.

Coldwater intends to send out information about Sandpoint and its store in 47 million catalogs.

“I’m not looking forward to leaving my beautiful office,” Chaney said. “But we are thrilled to have a new building that will satisfy our needs for another 80 years at such a bargain price.”