City Snowplows Test Judge’S Street Ruling

City street crews took the snowplows out for their first spin Thursday morning, two days after a 1st District Court judge ruled that Sandpoint has jurisdiction over the streets.

Meanwhile, Sandpoint Independent Highway District officials aren’t saying much about whether they’ll be doing any more work on city streets - which make up the bulk of the district.

The highway district’s attorney, Bruce Greene, said district officials still are exploring the ramifications of Tuesday’s ruling by Judge James Judd.

“The case isn’t totally resolved by the decision,” he said.

While the plows used to push snow off Sandpoint streets Thursday morning belong to the city, the city hired several highway district crew members to drive them because they were the most qualified applicants for the job, said Mayor Paul Graves.

“It was only a 2-inch test, but it was a good beginning for our crews,” Graves said.

Highway District Commissioner Max Birdsell wasn’t impressed with the job, however; “Downtown is awful,” he said.

The dispute over control of city streets continues Monday in court, when Judd hears arguments on whether Bonner County can hold an election on the highway district’s dissolution.