SANDPOINT — Following questions on the legality of Bonner County commissioners’ usage of the county’s administration building, a legal opinion from the county’s prosecutor’s office has found that commissioners may use the building as long as it benefits the public.  

Opinions were sought on the matter by commissioners Brian Domke and Asia Williams, both of whom agreed — elected commissioners are allowed to use the county’s administration building if they believe the use will benefit the public.  

The opinion stems from public concern about Commissioner Ron Korn and Williams' use of the admin building for special-interest groups, Korn’s civil defense group, and Williams’ commissioner chats, and whether those uses were appropriate for elected officials.  

“I did ask for a legal opinion when I first came upon the board, like I said. And the legal opinion that came back was essentially that commissioners are elected officials of the county and clearly have the right to utilize county property for uses he or she objectively thinks is in the best interest of the county and its constituents,” Domke read.  

Domke, who obtained a legal opinion on the matter at the beginning of his term as commissioner, said there is potential liability and risk involved with having those activities in the admin building. But that many elected officials may believe the benefits to the community outweigh any potential risk.  

Williams gave similar sentiments but said that her legal opinion request was tailored toward events that happened in the administration building after hours.  

“The public has requested that the use that’s occurring after hours be an actual board vote review, but Louis did say that activity of a commissioner doing something in the building, you can do that,” Williams said.  

The topic stems from comments made during last week’s business meeting, where commissioners discussed a request from two external entities to utilize extra space in county-owned properties. Korn was strongly opposed to allowing outside entities to meet on county property due to concerns of potential risk and litigation, causing questions about the legitimacy of his own usage of the building for a civil defense group.  

At the time of publishing, a decision was not made on allowing external usage of county buildings as commissioners await opinions and direction from their leaseholders.