SANDPOINT — A new councilor was sworn into office at Wednesday’s Sandpoint City Council meeting.

Council unanimously confirmed Mayor Jeremy Grimm's nomination of Rick Howarth, who claims the seat previously held by Jason Welker, who left the position to serve as the city’s Community Planning and Development director. 

“Rick is an experienced, international business person who’s had the fortune to work with some of the largest, most complex projects, probably in the world,” Grimm said at Wednesday’s meeting. “He has managed budgets with many, many zeros beyond the city of Sandpoint’s budget.”

Grimm said that Howarth has a history of engagement with the Sandpoint community, including past service on the Kinderhaven Board of Directors and through his present role as chairman of the board of Litehouse Foods, among other efforts. He has two degrees from the University of Idaho — a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and material science. 

“I am very humbled by this opportunity to serve the community,” Howarth said in introducing himself to the council. “I’ve called Sandpoint home for more than 43 years.”

Howarth said his wife, Debby, grew up in the area and was a cheerleader at Sandpoint High School.  After meeting at the University of Idaho, the pair married.

“As my work took us through all parts of the world, we always called Sandpoint home,” Howarth said. “Along our journeys I was able to spend 15 years in Asia and during that time my wife and I adopted our two daughters. It was always our hope and desire to come back to Sandpoint to not only retire but be able to raise our daughters.”

Now his daughters are graduating high school, and he hopes that he can help continue to make Sandpoint a place that they would want to return to after college.