Parks and Waterways advisory board presents letters of appreciation to parks director and sheriff’s marine staff

At the April 8 special Waterways Advisory Board meeting, the Kootenai County Parks and Waterways Advisory Board presented letters of appreciation to Director Nick Snyder and to Sergeant Ryan Miller of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

Doug Harris, chairman of the advisory board, read letters thanking Snyder and the Parks and Waterways staff for managing a large inventory of parks, trails and waterway accesses and for securing grants and other funding that reduced taxpayer costs for capital improvements. The letter addressed Director Snyder and praised his leadership and staff’s teamwork in serving recreational users across county waterways.

Harris also read a letter intended for Sergeant Ryan Miller and the sheriff’s marine, recreation and seasonal staff. The letter noted that Kootenai County includes 18 lakes, two rivers and roughly 54 miles of navigable waterways — described in the advisory board letter as accounting for just over 7.5 percent of Idaho’s recreational water — and thanked Miller and his seasonal staff for patrolling those waterways with limited full‑time staffing.

Sheriff’s Office and county officials in attendance accepted the letters and the advisory board presented copies for the officials’ records. Board members and commissioners praised the work of parks staff and the sheriff’s marine staff and encouraged continued collaboration, including replicating successful grant‑seeking practices.

The presentation was recorded as an action item on the agenda; no formal board vote was recorded to accept the letters beyond the board’s presentation and delivery to the recipients.