Broken Silver chairlifts may be fixed by Friday

Two broken chairlifts at Silver Mountain Resort should be up and running by Friday, a ski area official said Wednesday.

Mechanical problems shut down Chairs 2 and 4 last week, which left skiers and snowboarders without access to two-thirds of Silver Mountain’s terrain over the busy Presidents Day weekend. Only a few of the mountain’s Black Diamond runs can be accessed from other runs.

New motor parts were ordered from Doppelmayr Ski-Lift Co., a Canadian firm, but the parts were held up at the border, said Cathi Jerome, the ski hill’s marketing manager.

“Our maintenance crews have been working around the clock,” she said. “We’re very optimistic that they’ll be running by Friday.”

– Becky Kramer

Post Falls

Council again rejects Foxtail development

Post Falls isn’t ready for the Foxtail development, according to the City Council, which turned down the project this week for the fourth time.

The council unanimously voted Tuesday evening to reject Hayden LLC’s request to extend city limits to include the 280-acre, multiuse project east of Highway 41.

“Our infrastructure really isn’t ready for it,” City Administrator Eric Keck said Wednesday. The issue “boiled down to one of timing.”

The development has been in the making for several years, but city officials have declined to move forward because of sewer capacity and traffic concerns.

The developer, Jonathon Mueller, indicated he may take the project to Kootenai County commissioners, Keck said.

The high-density project, between Poleline and Prairie avenues, called for 649 single-family units, 245 multifamily units, and acreage for commercial development, a school site and open space.

– Hope Brumbach

Post Falls will vote on expanding council

Post Falls voters will decide this spring whether to spend $50,000 a year to add two more members to the City Council.

The Post Falls City Council agreed Tuesday evening to hold a special election May 22 to ask voters to approve the new positions.

If approved, the council would expand to six members, helping to better represent the city’s growing population, officials said. The mayor can cast a tie-breaking vote.

Adding the positions would cost $35,000 a year for salaries and benefits, City Administrator Eric Keck said. Travel and training expenses also would increase.

Running a special election will cost $3,000, Keck said.

– Hope Brumbach

Boise

Bill would clarify public meetings rules

Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, introduced legislation Wednesday designed to enhance Idaho’s public meetings laws.

The bill would clarify what constitutes a “public place” suitable for meetings and requires that minutes from closed-door executive sessions include a general summary of what officials discussed. It also prohibits urban renewal district officials from discussing buying property in closed meetings.

Clark drafted the proposal in response to concerns that North Idaho urban renewal district officials were holding meetings in private homes, he said.

The House State Affairs Committee passed the legislation despite concerns that the requirements might hurt officials’ ability to fulfill their duties.

When lawmakers questioned Clark, he asked for a full hearing.

The bill also increases the fine for violating meeting laws from $150 to $1,000 for the first violation and requires that officials, not public agencies, pay the fees.

– Parker Howell