County discusses deeding portion of Centennial Trail to Post Falls; debate centers on annexation, maintenance and access

Kootenai County commissioners discussed a proposal to transfer a roughly half-mile section of the Centennial Trail (shown as the green parcel in maps provided to the board) to the City of Post Falls. The county’s civil deputy prosecuting attorney, Pat Braden, introduced the item and said the city’s attorney had provided a memo outlining a proposal for the county to deed the green parcel to the city and for the city to accept maintenance responsibility.

"This is a continuation of an item that's been on this agenda before," Pat Braden said, and he described map colors showing county- and city-owned trail segments and an adjacent proposed subdivision that seeks a secondary access across the trail.

Field Harrington, city attorney for Post Falls, told the board his office met with city staff and would forward a recommendation to Post Falls City Council recommending acceptance of the parcel. "At this time, I think we...would be putting it forward with a recommendation to do that for that parcel," Harrington said. He described the green piece as a natural extension of existing city-maintained trail and said the larger blue stretch farther west is in county limits and not currently expected to be annexed.

Kootenai County Director Snyder said county staff viewed the transfer as appropriate because the city is collecting impact fees and approving the adjacent subdivision; he said Post Falls has done "an excellent job of trail maintenance." Commissioners voiced practical and policy concerns: some favored having the city take a larger portion (the blue stretch) because the county cannot collect impact fees on certain sections, while others warned about incremental "cuts" that allow more private crossings and can degrade the continuous recreational experience.

Commissioners also sought clarity about what type of access would be allowed across the trail if the city accepted the parcel. Field Harrington and others said the crossing discussed in staff materials was intended for emergency access, and that the parcel is already encumbered by wastewater infrastructure leading to the river outfall. The county’s joint powers maintenance committee and the nonprofit North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation both favor fewer crossings, commissioners were told.

No formal roll-call vote was recorded on the transfer during the public discussion. Multiple commissioners expressed support for moving forward with the county deeding the green-colored parcel to Post Falls and for continuing discussion about the remainder of the trail and any annexation. Staff will proceed with the steps necessary to present the proposal to Post Falls City Council for acceptance and to clarify whether the crossing is emergency-only.