By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County commissioners on Wednesday refrained from making a quick decision to reverse course on the fate of a 1910 home on the courthouse campus.

Neighbors, two Coeur d'Alene City Council members and a representative from the Idaho State Preservation Office testified during the meeting attended by about 35 people on the building at 627 Government Way that was earlier occupied by Judge William McNaughton and Kootenai County Prosecutor William Hawkins.

The county, which bought the home two years ago for $425,000 for office space to relieve crammed departments, plans to have the building demolished this fall. The plan came after the county put the structure out to bid twice for removal and relocation of the building and received no bids. The second bid process, which ended last month, also included a salvage-and-demolish option.

A bid was finally received during the third bid process to tear down the building. That bid is under review by the county's legal staff.

Jana Taylor, a University of Idaho architecture graduate who lives next to the old home, said the county should explore other areas on its campus to expand such as the building at the point where Government Way meets Northwest Boulevard.

"You have other options on the existing campus to expand to," she said, adding that the old home on Government Way seems like a good museum location.

Zoe Ann Thruman, who has led the charge to spare the home, asked Commissioners Chris Fillios and Leslie Duncan to put demolition plans on hold so a committee can explore other options for the home.

"If you demolish this home, you demolish the trust and respect from citizens," she said. "Growth is happening, but we believe this home doesn't have to be the victim of poor planning …"

Kiki Miller, a Coeur d'Alene City Council member, said the city is forming a historic preservation commission to bring more awareness to preserving old structures.

Citing the city's Comprehensive Plan, council member Dan Gookin asked the board to consider protecting the character of the neighborhood regardless of what decision is made.

Fillios said moving the downtown campus to the fairgrounds — as suggested during the meeting — has been bantered by the county but the cost would too much.

Duncan added: "It all comes down to money. We don't have the money to build somewhere else."

Duncan said if the county sells the old home, as some attendees suggested, they may consider being careful about what they wish for because law states a bid process must be held and a commercial developer could buy the property.

Commissioner Bill Brooks said he didn't attend the meeting because the decision has been made and those interested in sparing the home have had ample opportunity to comment.

"This has been run up the flagpole several times and put out to bid," he said. "The only bid we received was to demolish it. This is not a historic building; it's an old building."

Brooks said it has been determined that it would be cost prohibitive to bring the inside up to code.

He said the funds of county taxpayers as a whole need to be kept in perspective and that includes the county paying about $10,000 a month to house the Public Defender's Office in leased space at U.S. 95 and Lacrosse.

Duncan said the county is mandated by the state to provide services and that needs to be a priority on how funds are spent.

"I would rather not build another county facility — I'd rather cut government in half — but when you're mandated you have to make some hard decisions," she said.

Dan Everhart, of the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office, said it’s iffy whether his office could find funding to purchase the building, but he also said it's not out of the realm of possibility. He offered his office as a resource to the county on the issue.

Fillios asked attendees why the opposition came late in the process, but residents said that's when they found out about the plans.