Spirit Lake growing strong

In the 43 years that Roxy Martin has lived in Spirit Lake, there’s never been a bank in town.

Or a visitors center. A full-time dentist. A bookstore.

All that is changing: Inland Northwest Bank is nearing ground breaking for a branch in Spirit Lake. A visitors center is scheduled to open this spring. A dentist is coming to town. And a bookstore is setting up shop.

It’s evidence of burgeoning growth in Spirit Lake, a town 10 miles north of Rathdrum on state Highway 41 where city leaders are grappling with managing the upsurge – and maintaining the city’s heritage and small-town feel.

It’s a refreshing change from the downward spiral the former timber town – nearing its centennial celebration – has experienced since the mill closed in 1939.

“For years, it was always less people and less people and less people,” said Martin, who has been the city’s mayor for the last six years. “It’s growing in a positive way.”

In the last few years, the city has grown to about 1,700 residents, a roughly 20 percent increase since the 2000 census when fewer than 1,400 people lived in Spirit Lake.

“We have growth, and we’re trying to manage it while maintaining the quality of life we’ve had in this town. … It’s exciting times,” said city councilman Steve Gaddum, who has lived in Spirit Lake for 18 years. The city “has remade itself and (is) continuing to improve … with new businesses, new people, attractive housing. We’re getting more and more services all the time.”

City officials say the opening of the high school in 1998, followed by the junior high school two years ago, has helped encourage the growth.

“The best thing that happened to us was when the new high school went in,” said Kevin Miller, owner and manager of Miller’s Harvest Foods. Kids don’t have to be bused to other areas now, he said. “It really has made a big difference.”

Commercial and residential growth

Martin said she’s encouraged by the balance of residential and commercial growth in town.

The city has seen continued residential development with the latest project, R Ranch, set for 60 one-acre lots on the northeast side of town, according to city officials.

Other developments, such as Genesis 1 and Spirit Lake Village phases 2 and 3, also continue to progress, city officials said, with roughly 30 lots each.

On the other hand, California developer John Sempre’s long-awaited residential and recreational project hasn’t made much progress in recent years, Martin said.

The multimillion-dollar project – originally planned to include a golf course, upscale homes and a small ski hill – was expected to inject new life into the town.

In 2001, the city annexed 211 acres into the city limits. Sempre also was instrumental in getting the leaky Mill Pond plugged in 2002, an important step in the development’s progress.

But since then, not much has happened, city officials said. Sempre, who is a pharmacist by trade, didn’t return a phone call seeking an update.

“I haven’t seen a blade of dirt turned down there,” Martin said. “I don’t hold much hope out there. They keep doing feasibility studies. I don’t know when it will get going. I don’t know if it will ever get going.”

Meanwhile, city officials say they’re seeing continued commercial development, with a host of businesses coming to town.

“Right now, Spirit Lake is definitely progressing. We have a lot of new momentum,” said city Councilwoman Shelley Tschida. “I think that things have to change. Either they’re changing for the good or they’re dying.”

In the last year, Miller’s Harvest Foods, the town’s largest business, built a $3.2 million grocery store and tore down the old one. The new store quadrupled the size of the business, Miller said.

“The community was just screaming for more services, and we couldn’t provide them in the old store,” said Miller, who has lived in town since 1972.

Last month, a Mexican restaurant opened in downtown Spirit Lake on Maine Street. About two years ago, a family doctor moved to town, and in the last year, a physical therapist set up an office, city officials said.

The office of the city’s Chamber of Commerce also is getting an overhaul and is expected to open soon at state Highway 41 and Maine Street. The chamber is trying to offer more services to the community, said President Russ Spriggs.

He has launched a new chamber Web site, and he’s helping start a Treasures and Farmers’ Market, which will run Fridays and Saturdays from May through September. It’s a way to get more people downtown and promote more businesses, said Spriggs, a home inspector.

“So many people go through this town. It’s a major corridor in North Idaho,” he said of Highway 41.

Staying ‘small town’

Promoting the downtown area is one way the city is trying to maintain its small-town feel, city officials said.

“I think that we need to look at a downtown revitalization,” Martin said of Maine Street, where a handful of older buildings have been spruced up. “A coat of paint makes a lot of difference. We need to look at revitalizing, getting sidewalks fixed up. We don’t want to lose that.”

Other small towns have lost their downtown identities because of sprawling growth, she said. But in Spirit Lake, Maine Street is the only road to get to the lake – a fact Martin hopes won’t change.

“With the downtown where it is, it will help give us that core,” she said.

And although the city isn’t ready to annex more property, when it does, it’ll need to take a hard look at it, Martin said.

“I’m not against annexation by any stretch of the imagination, but when we do (an) annexation, we need to make sure it fits in with what we have now,” she said.

Dealing with growth

Along with the steady development, city officials say, they’re experiencing growing pains, specifically in the city’s sewer capacity.

The city had a 20-year plan for its sewer system, but then “everybody discovered Spirit Lake,” Martin said. “The 20-year plan lasted us five years.”

Now, the city limits building permits to four per month when sewer connections are needed, she said. The city is looking to expand its sewer system, although Martin said she doesn’t have a timeline or cost estimate.

To help handle the cost of growth, the City Council is considering imposing impact fees on new developments. It’s a first for the city, Martin said.

Along with a building permit, the impact fee would be about $4,451, which would help fund city services, Martin said.

“We’re just playing catch-up all the time, and we can’t do it,” she said.

Despite the growing pains, city officials say more organizations in town are working together, trying to manage growth and retain the city’s heritage.

“We’ve realized the small town of America that we have here is important to all of our hearts – that’s why we moved there,” said Councilwoman Tschida, who co-owns Quality Services Inc., a local forest-access management company in Spirit Lake. “We can keep that even though neighborhoods are getting larger.”