Vote On Disbanding Road District Delayed

A vote on whether to disband the Sandpoint Independent Highway District has been postponed indefinitely.

First District Court Judge James Judd ruled Monday afternoon to stay the election until a legal review of the election decision is complete.

Ballots for the Aug. 1 election have already been printed, said Bonner County Clerk Marie Scott. But they might not go to waste.

“I will save them,” Scott said. “Realizing that this was a question, I had them printed without a date.”

The Bonner County commissioners voted this spring to hold the election after conducting two public hearings on the issue.

The Sandpoint Independent Highway District shares roughly the same boundaries as the City of Sandpoint. Critics of the district, as well as city officials, believe Sandpoint could do a better job of maintaining and building streets for less money.

Since the petition to dissolve the district was presented to the county earlier this year, the city has been busy establishing a functioning street department in the event the district is eliminated by voters.

The district has since filed a lawsuit challenging the county’s decision to conduct an election. The lawsuit asks the court to review the decision, a process that will take several months.

Among other issues, the district argues that the law allows for dissolution when that would benefit the district. But while the county and city interpret “district” geographically, the district defines the term as a political entity.