Site work and paving for a playground / park / athletic field in Sandpoint, Idaho. Conceptual plans call for site work for a playground / park / athletic field; and for paving for a playground / park / athletic field.

Mayor Jeremy Grimm broke a 3-3 tie at the Sept. 18 meeting of the Sandpoint City Council, giving the greenlight for staff to submit a grant application of $350,000 to the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation for the development of an asphalt bike pump track on the western edge of Travers Park. The funds would come from the IDPR's Outdoor Recreation Fund, which seeks to provide state funding for projects that are or can be under contract within the next 90 days and completed in 2025. Sandpoint Community Planning and Development Director Jason Welker said he only became aware of the grant opportunity a little more than a week before the Sept. 18 meeting, and had rushed to get it on the agenda. Still, he noted, there would be "four more steps of approval" before any dirt would be turned at the site, including permission from the council to accept the funds should they be given by the state, then permission to issue a request for proposal, followed by acceptance of the bid. A rendering of how the Travers Park pump Track might look. Courtesy image. Sweetening the deal for the state, Sandpoint's grant proposal will include $100,000 in local match, coming in the form of 5,000 cubic yards of dirt already on the site. "That's what it would cost to bring that material in for this project," Welker said. Speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting, proponents pointed to providing opportunities for local youth to access healthy recreation while expanding their bike skills, which could then be honed on the other bike trails already offered in the area. Other statements in favor included attracting bike enthusiasts from outside the region, as several commenters testified that they travel with their own families to locations around the country specifically to access pump tracks and bike parks. Opponents were also vocal, with a consistent theme that the pump track is either unnecessary, improperly located at Travers Park or both -- with some referring to the project as a "niche amenity." Councilor Kyle Schreiber spoke against the "centralization of parks," which he saw happening at Travers. "I could understand why some people might be attracted to an idea of sort of a one-stop-shop, mega-mart for parks. You've got your indoor courts, your outdoors courts, your ballfields, your dirt pump track, your asphalt pump track, your skatepark all in one location," he said. "The problem with that is if you look at any big box store, there's far more area spent on parking than there is on actual retail space. I think that's the danger that we're getting in here. ... "I'm very hesitant to put more park funding into a spot that's already overallocated and actually sits right on the edge of the city limits, so it's not even centrally located." Councilor Pam Duquette agreed, adding that, "We're always proposed something that's in a hurry; we always have to make a quick decision, and I don't think we make the best decisions with those limits on time." Council President Deb Ruehle and Councilors Justin Dick and Rick Howarth voted in favor of the application, while Schreiber, Duquette and Councilor Joel Aispuro voted "no" -- the latter citing what he felt was "disrespect to my other councilors," after Grimm called for the vote, thus ending deliberation as Schreiber and Duquette were working toward an amended motion.