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County director urges criminal referral after trees removed from Lane Cemetery
Summary
Parks director reported large trees removed from Lane Cemetery after Avista said wood would be left for county collection; director asked board to authorize certified notice and referral to sheriff's office.
Kootenai County Parks and Waterways Director Nick Snyder told commissioners that a neighbor removed large trees from Lane Cemetery after being told by utility company Avista the county would collect the cut wood. Snyder asked the board to direct staff to send a certified notice and involve the sheriff's office to determine whether laws or county code were violated.
Snyder told the commissioners that Avista informed county staff it planned to drop trees that were part of a hazardous transmission-line project and that the utility said the wood would be left for the county to pick up and distribute to senior and low-income residents. "When our staff went to collect those trees, they noticed that the trees were removed from the property and that they appeared to be resting on the neighbor's property," Snyder said. "It is our belief that that's precisely what happened, commissioners." He asked the board for direction and presented a draft certified letter he said he prepared for the county to send to the neighbor.
Snyder cited county code language restricting removal of wood from county facilities: county code section 6 2.109, "use of county facilities, wood cutting and removal," which he read to the board. Snyder said the trees observed appeared to be large ("close to 36 inches in diameter and 50, 60 feet long" after delimbed) and that prior attempts to resolve the matter with the neighbor had failed.
Why it matters: The director said the removed wood had been earmarked for distribution to seniors and low-income residents and for county winter-use warming huts; the county previously sent the neighbor a letter in April 2024 asking him to stop removing material from the cemetery.
Board response and next steps Commissioners directed Snyder to send the certified letter and to refer the matter to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office for investigation. Snyder told the board he would send the letter certified and keep the commissioners updated on the outcome.
Ending Snyder said he would proceed to send the certified notice and asked the sheriff's office to investigate whether any laws or county ordinances were violated. Commissioners gave direction to move forward; no further formal action was recorded on the item in open session.
