The Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Commission voted to recommend that the City Council proceed with a renovation of the City Beach RV Park using currently secured funding and the accepted state grant, but asked staff to incorporate design and operational changes to preserve public access.

Commission Chair Taylor Long opened the meeting by reviewing the staff report and community outreach, noting a Dec. 13 workshop and “about 900 or so” survey responses. Community Planning and Development Director Jason Welker told the commission the city “has been awarded and has accepted a $950,000 grant from the state RV fund” and that the city had committed $50,000 in parks capital to a roughly $1,000,000 renovation proposal.

Why it matters: the RV park generates recurring revenue that supports the parks capital improvement fund (staff said roughly $80,000 a year is contributed from RV park receipts). Commissioners weighed the tradeoff between preserving that revenue stream and pursuing alternative uses — community event space, multiuse lawn/playground and a seasonal ice rink all scored highly in the public survey — while acknowledging the grant includes limits on where RV sites can be located unless explicitly allowed in the grant application.

Public testimony was mixed. Dave Balali, who identified himself as an owner/operator of several local RV parks, warned that the city’s expense and revenue estimates were “so far off that it will be embarrassing” if the city builds a renovated RV park on those assumptions. A resident who identified herself as a long‑time truck camper said family members would use a renovated park and urged the commission to preserve that amenity. Multiple speakers proposed hybrid or phased approaches — for example, building utility infrastructure that could support event vendors or shared restroom facilities while maintaining RV sites.

Commission debate focused on timing and risk. Several commissioners expressed concern about the grant’s timeline: staff said the grant could expire if the city cannot demonstrate design progress by May unless an extension is secured through an engineering contract and early design concepts. Commissioners also discussed asking the private developer (referred to in public comments as the Avro/Aprils grouping) to provide a legally binding alternative‑funding offer by a set deadline, while noting that no such concrete, binding offer had yet been received.

A motion to move forward with the RV park while giving the developer a short window to produce a legally binding alternative‑funding proposal failed. A second motion — to recommend proceeding with the RV park renovation using currently secured funding while directing staff to incorporate design or operational improvements that enhance public access and to periodically reevaluate the site’s long‑term use — passed. The commission recorded that the motion will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration at its Feb. 4 meeting.

The vote tally was recorded by the chair as 7 in favor, 1 opposed and 1 abstention (the commission’s report and staff minutes forwarded to council should be consulted for the roll‑call breakdown by member). Jason Welker said staff would bring the written recommendation and materials to council on Feb. 4 and continue public engagement on design details and entrance/safety improvements.

What’s next: Council will consider the commission’s recommendation at its Feb. 4 meeting. Staff said the state grant can be extended if the city is under contract with an engineering firm and has early design concepts by May; otherwise the grant could expire.