SANDPOINT — A piece of City Beach history will be going up for sale, after the City Council voted 5-1 to declare the old lifeguard stands and other city property as surplus equipment.

The idea of the city selling off the lifeguard stands was opposed by Councilor Pam Duquette, who was the lone dissenting vote on the item. Three of the stands will be auctioned off, while the other is set to be donated to the Bonner County Historical Society. 

"I oppose the lifeguard chairs being surpluses,” Duquette said at the meeting. “I opposed the decision to get rid of the program. To get rid of the chairs, it doesn’t seem prudent.”  

Duquette has long advocated for the lifeguard program to return to City Beach, which has remained dormant for several years due to lack of applicants. The stands were taken down by the city in May to limit the cities’ liability and ensure that visitors to the beach were aware that no lifeguards were on duty. 

The list of surplus property contains items from five city departments: fire, parks, police, public works and streets. Not all of the property declared as surplus will be auctioned off, some will be donated, sold to shops or disposed of. 

The police department will be donating a host of bicycles that were unclaimed to the Sandpoint Lions Club and Pend Oreille Pedalers organizations. Police Chief Corey Coon said that this is the first time that the city is attempting the partnership and he hopes that it will serve as a way to give back to the community. 

"The Lions Club is going to partner with POP to fix those bikes up and their goal is, around Christmas time, to donate them back to needy families in the community,” Coon said at the meeting. “It’s nice to try and give them away to someone who can give them back the community.” 

Another series of donations being made by the city will be numerous firefighting materials, like hoses and parts for lifesaving AMKUS products, to the Northside Fire District.  

The city will also auction off numerous city vehicles from the Parks and Recreation department, Police Department and the Public Works department. The newest of the cars is a 2010 Ford Explorer from the police, while the oldest is a 6-yard dump truck from 1989. 

Members of the public will be able to bid on these items at an upcoming auction, the date of which is currently not set. Per Idaho Code, the date, method and location of the auction will be published in the Daily Bee, two weeks prior to the date.  

The full list of surplus property with pictures from the city can be found at bit.ly/4gwFYsI. 

    The city of Sandpoint is auctioning off its former lifeguard stands, one of which is pictured during the summer of 2023.