SANDPOINT — In a quick special meeting with the Bonner County Fair board, Bonner County commissioners determined who needed to sign off on the removal of an old rental house on the county’s fairground property.  

The discussion was held Wednesday, when fair board representatives came before commissioners Brian Domke and Ron Korn to determine whether the fair could remove a house from fairground property, ultimately expanding the RV park and camping area, or if county approval was needed.  

Because the house is deemed county property, it was determined that the process of having the house removed, or put up for auction after removal, must be brought forth for consideration in front of county commissioners.  

The same rules are applicable for a contractor to conduct the work and for the county to obtain a grant for the project, if applicable.  

The idea of removing the building came after the fair board sought an inspection of the house to determine if the house was safe to continue to rent to the public, according to fair board chair Ben Wood.  

"It was getting rented for $800 a month, and the renter was doing a good job taking care of the property. We didn't really have any qualms with that, but it hadn't really been updated for quite a while, so we decided that it is time that we probably look at raising the rental rates for that house, but before we did, we wanted to make sure that we were renting a good structure,” Wood said.  

Wood said the board didn’t have any prior interactions with the building, so an inspection from an outside party was essential to determining the status of the old structure.  

The inspection revealed the house to be in too severe a condition to be safely rented, with the cost of repairs being too much to reasonably earn back in rent. As a result, the board determined the best course of action for the building would be to remove it, utilizing the one-acre property for an expanded camping site at the fairgrounds.  

Grants may be obtained by the fair to help minimize construction costs. Additionally, the board has brought forth the idea of auctioning off viable parts of the house to help recoup funds.