SANDPOINT — The city has scheduled the public workshop to decide the future of the City Beach RV Park for the morning of Saturday, Dec. 13, at the James E. Russell Sports Center’s community room.

The event will begin with presentations from city staff detailing the history of the RV park land and the multiple plans the city has created for the RV park's future. Then the workshop will split into groups at roundtables where a commissioner from the Parks and Recreation Commission will lead the group in around 45 minutes of discussion. 

In addition to the discussion, Community Planning and Development Director Jason Welker said attendees will be given pieces of paper to illustrate their vision for the RV park land. 

"Following table discussions, we will come back together to share what was discussed and see if we can come to a large group consensus for what the best use of the RV party site is for the community,” Welker said.  

Welker said for those who cannot make the workshop, the city will be posting a link to a survey on its social media. The survey will allow residents to select and submit alternative options for the use of the land, which Welker said isn’t just more parking or an RV Park. 

Once the data has been collected from the survey and workshop, Welker said he plans to bring those results to the City Council in January, where they will make the decision on how to proceed.  

“Parks staff will assemble and present survey and workshop results to council and seek a decision on whether to proceed with the RV park improvements or to pursue alternative options for the site, which may or may not include financial support and ongoing revenue generations from the Averills,” Welker said.  

The decision to hold the workshop follows a decision at the Nov. 5 City Council meeting, where the council denied a proposal by Averill Hospitality to lease or buy the RV park. During the meeting, members of the public shared their desire to keep the RV park site city-owned, but not all said it should remain an RV park. 

On Nov. 5, the council voted 4-2 to schedule the public workshop, where the public and Averill Hospitality will get the chance to comment on the future of the land. Councilor Joel Aispuro was one of the main drivers behind the idea of a public workshop because it kept the city in control while allowing for public input. 

"I have heard several visions for what that property could be today,” Councilor Kyle Schreiber said at the Nov. 5 meeting. “After the public has decided what they want their park to look like, then we can allow the Averills to come up with a legally binding agreement that allows them to contribute to our vision.” 

Welker said he anticipates Averill Hospitality having a representative at the workshop, but that their voice will be the same as any other citizen.   

Before Averill’s request, the city had pursued and been granted a nearly $1 million grant to renovate the RV park. Welker said the current RV park brings in around $80,000 to $100,000 per year in revenue to the city, which goes into the Parks Capital Improvement Fund. 

“Upgrading the existing RV Park, supported by nearly $1 million in state grant funding, would create a long-term, self-sustaining revenue source that directly supports our parks and capital improvements,” Mayor Jeremy Grimm said in a press release. “Exploring alternative uses is worthwhile, but it is important for the community to recognize that removing the RV Park without a replacement revenue strategy would leave a funding gap for these improvements.” 

The workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 13, in the JER Center’s community room.