Bonner County Historical Society seeks commission consent to explore Lakeview Park expansion, asks council to renew 1979 lease

The Bonner County Historical Society told the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Commission on March 12 that it wants permission to develop a concept plan to expand its museum footprint at Lakeview Park and will ask Sandpoint City Council to execute a 1979 lease option that, the society said, would extend its tenure at the site.

The society’s board president, Tonya Sherman, said the museum’s collection has grown to more than 400,000 items since the building opened in 1980 and that roughly half the facility is currently used for public exhibits while the remainder is storage. “We are right at the beginning of the stakeholder outreach to see what our members and our community would want from this,” Sherman said.

Sherman asked the commission for consent to proceed with a preliminary development concept for additional collection storage and expanded community space for lectures, research and programming. She said the society has a donor willing to support the work and hopes to use a designer named Reid to produce early architectural concepts. Sherman said the society is not requesting funding from the commission at this time but needs to clarify its long‑term lease status before soliciting community contributions and starting design work.

A city staff member clarified that the society owns the building but that the structure sits on city property, and that under the current lease the building would revert to the city if the society vacated. The staff member said decisions about extending or amending the lease would require a City Council action. Sherman said the society’s current short‑term hold on occupancy affirmed the original 1979 option and that the group is seeking execution of the 40‑year option “effective immediately” because a major donor and community outreach are ready to proceed.

Commissioners asked questions about the museum’s footprint within Lakeview Park, overlapping agreements and neighboring uses. Sherman and other presenters said the museum’s lease area overlaps land used by the Lions Club and by the Arboretum, which currently operates under a memorandum of understanding within the lease area. The society also said the building needs maintenance — including a new roof — and that a 2023 facility/capacity assessment identified both building upgrades and roughly 3,500 square feet of additional collection storage as likely needs.

Commissioners and staff discussed how the museum’s long‑term plans would tie into broader park planning, including a multi‑agency sewer and water treatment plant modernization project that staff said is expected to proceed in the next two to three years. City staff said earlier discussions have envisioned integrated site planning — trails, boardwalks and accessibility improvements — that would link Lakeview Park features and the museum regardless of future infrastructure work.

Because the historical society’s request was not posted as an action item on the March 12 agenda, commissioners did not vote on the request that day. Commission Chair Chris Ankeny said the item will be placed on the commission’s next agenda as an action item so council direction can be sought in a timely manner.

The society’s immediate next step, as described during the meeting, is to appear before City Council to seek formal affirmation or execution of the 1979 lease option and to continue community outreach to refine the concept and fundraising plan.

A final decision on any expansion, Sherman said, would return to the commission and the public with specific plans, room layouts and a financing plan before construction or site changes occur.