Six-month notice given for Bayview docks lease termination
CAROLYN BOSTICK | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 2 weeks AGO
Kootenai County Board of County Commissioners and Lakes Highway District Commissioners met in early May to discuss the future of a lease agreement of the docks at Bayview. Because maintenance of the facilities is outside of the highway district's jurisdiction, Kootenai County has covered the properties for the public through its Parks and Waterways Department.
An agreement to form a one-year lease was solidified May 6 with the BOCC and the highway district.
CAROLYN BOSTICK/Press File
Fifth and Lakeside boat launch in Bayview.
Carolyn Bostick has worked for the Coeur d’Alene Press since June 2023. She covers Shoshone County and Coeur d'Alene. Carolyn previously worked in Utica, New York at the Observer-Dispatch for almost seven years before briefly working at The Inquirer and Mirror in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Since she moved to the Pacific Northwest from upstate New York in 2021, she's performed with the Spokane Shakespeare Society for three summers. | July 6, 2025 1:07 AM
COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved termination of the Bayview docks lease agreement, meaning commissioners and Lakes Highway District will have to find a solution for maintenance of district-owned facilities.
Notice of a lease termination agreement requires at least a six-month notice to either party.
“You will get the notice in the mail today that we are giving you notice of termination as of Jan. 1, 2026,” Commissioner Leslie Duncan said, adding that the docks will still have a caretaker for the remaining six months.
The popular dock will remain open through the boating season.
Commissioners did not offer details Tuesday for terminating the agreement.
A transfer of ownership for the property had been issued April 23 by the Lakes Highway District in order to try and speed up the process to have the dock at Bayview installed, but the BOCC decided the county shouldn’t proceed without a cost-benefit analysis for the Bayview property.
Commissioners Marc Eberlein, Mattare and Duncan agreed to sign a lease agreement between Kootenai County and Lakes Highway District on May 6.
The new Bayview dock was installed last week.
During Tuesday's business, Lakes Highway District Commissioner Rod Twete asked whether previous BOCC conversations triggered the termination for the second time.
“I just want to ask you what wording on that last item ... would lead me to believe it was just a discussion?” Twete asked.
Duncan said commissioners had already discussed the action item at an earlier meeting and this meeting was only to approve their decision.
The lease allowed Kootenai County to get the required permit from the Idaho Department of Lands to install the new dock at Bayview.
The BOCC declined to appropriate funds toward the lease agreement with Lakes Highway District during fiscal year 2025 budget deliberations. The lease payment was $25,000.
Eric Shanley, director of highways for Lakes Highway District, said the highway district has specific practices they have to abide by in order to legally operate.
“Our restricted levee rate prohibits us from spending tax revenue on its maintenance or to address damage and/or injury that might occur during its use,” Shanley said in an email.
Fifth and Lakeside boat launch in Bayview.ARTICLES BY CAROLYN BOSTICK
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