The Polson City Commission reinstated a cooperative agreement with the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes to continue management and development of Salish Point Park during their commission meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21.  

The city was previously part of a joint Salish Point Committee that helped develop Salish Point Park. City Manager Ed Meece explained that this committee, originally composed of three representatives from each CSKT and the city, served as a communication channel between the two entities. Over time, the committee lost members and only had two active members in 2024, according to Meece.  

Commissioner Carolyn Pardini noted that long before the “beautiful project,” Salish Point was a rough swimming hole called Castle Rock.  

“It was a fantastic project, and now we have this beautiful area for our families to come, that’s forever protected, which is such a neat thing to see happen between the Tribes and the City of Polson,” Commissioner Tracie McDonald said.  

A corresponding agenda item was to determine what to do with the Kootenai Avenue Right-of-Way. With both agenda items on the table, McDonald said this would be a great group to help decide what to do with this unused land.

The right-of-way is a strip of land situated above Salish Point, and a portion of it serves as a small parking lot. It has been a point of discussion and confusion at commission meetings, according to previous Lake County Leader reporting.  

It has come up on the agenda multiple times to consider selling or retaining the land, including an option to gift the land to CSKT. The city received an estimate to connect it to the Salish Kootenai Pend d’Oreille Loop, totaling $1.8 million. Meece noted at the time that it was a “non-feasible number.”   

The previous chairman of the Park and Tree Board also detailed in a letter that the park board found it had “no value” to the current park system, according to Leader reporting. However, due to confusion about the land's size or value and whether CSKT was an interested party, the item was previously tabled.  

The Salish Point Committee was brought to the commission as a five-year agreement with a “working group of staff” from both entities. The committee will operate like the previous one and seek public input, which commissioner Jake Holley noted was important given the right-of-way's odd shape and proximity to the neighborhood.  

McDonald motioned to approve the reinstatement of this committee, and the commission unanimously approved it.  

Meece presented the commission with recommendations to either sell or dispose of the right-of-way and convert it into a parcel. This will allow them to avoid right-of-way laws and make the process easier if it were publicly bid. There have also been complaints about unwanted and illegal behavior from a nearby property owner.  

McDonald noted that the trails and historical outlook were created by the Tribes and asked why the governments couldn’t come together to create something for citizens. Pardini proposed putting concrete blocks to block off the area to avoid further issues and complaints from the nearby landowner.   

Meece said that CSKT has expressed interest in taking over ownership of this property. Due to the property’s proximity to Salish Point Park and the committee’s reinstatement, Pardini quickly entertained a motion to have the city retain the land.  

However, the administration still advocated for the commission to transfer this land into a parcel. Commissioner Lisa Rehard noted she believes there would be “several thousand dollars” in engineering and survey fees to redo the subdivision plats.  

The commission agreed to retain the land and requested that the administration investigate the costs of converting the land into a parcel. 

Another tabled item back for this meeting was approval for Meece to renew the employment contract of City Attorney Dave Michie. During public comment, May Simmons said that Michie acted inappropriately and was mean to her and her co-worker while representing the city.  

The commission went into an executive session for Michie’s privacy. When the commission reconvened, they unanimously approved the agenda item to renew Michie’s contract.  

During the last commission meeting, Pardini asked Meece to provide the financials for Bunkers Bar & Grill, but Meece did not have that information available.  

The city owns and operates the restaurant and lost its manager last fall. It also suffered another setback when a motorist accidentally hit the building in November, damaging the walk-in freezer. 

Pardini said this was the third time she asked Meece for the numbers on the restaurant.  

Pardini also pushed Meece to start the process of getting the Polson Farmers' Market into a set location. Due to confusion and arguments over a potential location change for the market, she noted it was important to ensure their location is secured.  

This would require the farmer’s market to submit an application for a special-use permit. Meece said he had the recreation coordinator, Alisa Reed, reach out to the market to start this process.  

Special-use permits that block city streets require a meeting with the city administration, which was scheduled with the market but canceled due to illness. The meeting would be the next step of this process. 

The next commission meeting is Monday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. in Polson City Hall.  

    Commissioner Carolyn Pardini stands during the meeting, points to the lakeview photo on the commission chambers wall, and advocates against selling the Kootenai Avenue Right-of-Way. She explained that some type of development in this location would affect local residents' view of the lake. (Emily Messer/Leader)