Highway District Plans Dover Hearing Tonight

A public hearing on the annexation of Dover to the Sandpoint Independent Highway District is scheduled for 6 tonight at the district’s shop.

The highway district circulated petitions in Dover collecting signatures in favor of annexation. Dover city officials are in favor of annexation because the city has limited funds for road repair and maintenance.

The district also is pursuing annexation of Bonner Mall Way, a street that accesses businesses in Ponderay. Bonner County commissioners must rule on each annexation, but have put off any decision on Bonner Mall Way until lawsuits over the highway district’s dissolution are resolved.

The commissioners had ordered an election to decide whether to dissolve the highway district, but the district has challenged the election in court.

Also, the city of Sandpoint has filed a separate lawsuit challenging the district’s jurisdiction within the city of Sandpoint. The highway district’s present boundaries are nearly the same as the city’s.