SANDPOINT — Sandpoint city councilors voted 5-1 Wednesday to reject a proposed ordinance that would waive James E. Russell Sports Center membership fees for the city of Sandpoint’s 120 employees. 

If approved, the ordinance would have given all staff members monthly memberships to the newly constructed racquet sports facility, which is set to open Dec. 16. Councilors who voted against the ordinance cited uncertainty about user demand and operating costs, and whether a Russell Center membership is a benefit employees desire. 

The proposed ordinance was introduced during the council’s Nov. 20 meeting; Mayor Jeremy Grimm suggested the benefit as a potential tool to help the city recruit and retain employees. 

During that meeting, councilors asked Grimm to poll city employees to determine if a membership benefit is desired by Sandpoint’s staff. Grimm shared the findings of a questionnaire answered by about 1/4 of Sandpoint’s employees at Wednesday’s meeting. 

When asked whether they would use the facility 10 or more times per month, bring a friend to the Russell Center or buy a membership if they weren’t offered one as a benefit, a majority of city employees answered no. 

Several respondents wrote comments saying they were not racquet sports players and that a gifted membership would not be useful to them. 

In response to the questionnaire’s results, Grimm told councilors the benefit may not be a strong tool for recruiting and retaining staff members. 

“Let's just pull this off the table. Not a lot of people are going to use it,” Grimm said, adding he would bring the ordinance to a vote to allow councilors to determine its outcome. 

Several councilors expressed support for finding ways to attract and retain employees but took issue with one or more parts of the ordinance. 

“The staff works incredibly hard, and quite frankly, could work anywhere else in the private sector and get offers and probably get a lot more money doing so,” Councilor Justin Dick said. 

Dick added that he wanted to be sure demand among residents is high enough to support the facility’s operating costs before memberships are gifted. 

“I think I would feel more comfortable actually seeing the James Russell Center open for a year, and seeing what membership looks like, seeing what the usage looks like,” he said. 

Councilor Kyle Schreiber referenced a written comment he’d received when sharing his perspective. 

“When companies offer perks that aren't widely used, it can actually cause more resentment than excitement,” said Schreiber. 

“It seems to me like it's a bit of a lose-lose,” he added. “If we're going to search for ways to improve the quality of life for our employees — which I think we should — this doesn't appear to be it.”

Councilor Rick Howarth also said he thought a membership benefit wouldn’t be useful to most employees based on the results of the questionnaire, but recommended ensuring the Russell Center’s half-dozen staff members receive free memberships for play. 

“It feels a bit odd that they're over there, working in the facility and not able to use it,” Howarth said. 

“Your part-time employees and your manager managing that facility should have every access to that building,” he added. “They need to be the experts, so that when people come in and want to use it, they can coach them.”

Schreiber echoed the suggestion. "It's not just something that might be desirable for those employees that work at the facility, but also very much a job qualification,” he said.

Two members of the public voiced opposition to the ordinance at the meeting, questioning its fairness to Sandpoint residents and expressing concern about the Russell Center’s long-term revenue and operability.

When voting on the original ordinance to offer the benefit across the city’s staff, Council President Deb Ruehle cast the lone vote in support, expressing a desire to offer employees perks whenever possible. 

“Our employees love the city that they work for,” Ruehle said. “They work extremely hard, and when we can do something like this, I am 100% on board.” 

Grimm told attendees he would work toward creating a policy to offer memberships specifically for the Russell Center’s staff and reiterated that his intent in proposing Wednesday’s ordinance was to seek a way to offer employees a perk at a limited cost to the city. 

“Sorry to bring this to your attention, and sorry for any division this has caused in our community. I appreciate all the public concern and feedback,” he said.