SANDPOINT — Thanks to a pair of recent grants, the city will soon embark on a sizable upgrade to its Wind Bag Marina.

The $324,000 project will add 15 short-term boat slips, rebuild 12 outdated slips and extend the existing jetty by 290 feet, which Parks and Recreation Director Kim Woodruff said will make the marina safer for boaters.

 The upgrades will be funded by a $99,200 Idaho State Parks and Recreation Department grant and an $87,000 grant from the National Boating Infrastructure Grant Program, with the remaining money coming from the city’s Parks Improvement Fund.

The Parks Improvements Fund uses money generated from moorage fees and facility-use fees for various capital improvement projects, Woodruff said.

Fifteen of the new boat slips will be reserved for temporary moorage of three days or less, which Woodruff said will help bring in more tourism dollars

“With this weak economy, it’s important for us to be creative and do our very best to bring people in,” he said.

The economic impact of upgrading the marina played a role in the decision to go ahead with the project, but Woodruff said increasing boater safety was the primary goal. By expanding the jetty, Woodruff said boaters will have a safe harbor during storms.

“Pend Oreille is a big lake, and it can throw quick storms up in a hurry that can cause big water. So what we needed was a place for boats on this end of the lake to be able to come into a secure location and weather those storms.”

The upgrades are slated to begin in the fall and should be completed by next summer.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing an application for the project and will take comments from the public, federal, state and local agencies, Native American tribes and other interested parties on the matter until July 21. The corps issues or denies permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.

A copy of the public notice may be found at www.nww.usace.army.mil/html/offices/op/rf/pn/2009-288.pdf.