RATHDRUM - Rathdrum is exploring how to best utilize 557 city-owned acres on Rathdrum Mountain now that access to the site has been granted after nearly 20 years.

A steering committee made up of Mayor Vic Holmes and city staff members met last week for the first time to discuss the site's future.

"We are gathering some very basic information about the road requirements for Barrett/Foster Road and we went on the mountain to see the condition of the property," said Brett Boyer, city administrator. "We will be meeting again over the next few months to put a process together for planning."

The Post Falls Highway District recently validated Barrett Drive, formerly named Foster Road, as a county road, allowing the city to have access to its mountain site. Barrett leads to the city's property.

City officials have said that low-impact recreation is envisioned for the site, but they want public input for specifics and ideas.

The site includes mountain streams, giant cedar trees and dirt Forest Service roads. The site is about a half a mile north of the city limits. It is not the area of the mountain that was heavily logged and seen as bare from the Rathdrum Prairie.

The formal public planning process for the city's site is expected to start this fall or winter.

"It has not been decided if we are going to hire a consultant, planner or facilitator yet (for the public input process)," Boyer said.

Boyer said the city plans to include the nonprofit Friends of Rathdrum Mountain (FoRM) and other groups in the planning process. FoRM is meeting tonight to discuss how to increase public awareness and participation in the planning.

Proponents believe the site will provide recreation and education opportunities for local residents, draw tourists and improve fire protection once developed.

Concerned property owners have 28 days to appeal the highway district's decision. Boyer said once that appeal period has passed and if no appeal is filed, the city will ramp up its planning efforts.

Meanwhile, the city is working with a forester to move forward with bidding for a selective timber harvest later this summer at the mountain site. Funds from the harvests over the years have generated income for the city and helped pay for City Hall.

Public safety at the mountain property has been cited as a concern since Barrett is a one-lane road.

City officials said funding sources to develop the site will need to be identified, but they weren't worth pursuing when the city didn't have access to its property.

The city spent about $15,000 in attorney fees to research the history of the road in its quest to gain access to its site. The research showed that Barrett was accepted as a county road in 1909 and had not been vacated or abandoned since.