LID meeting Monday

Time for East Side Highway District residents to voice their opinions.

Again.

The district commissioners will hold another public hearing on Monday night over the three proposed local improvement districts that would help fund overlay projects for O'Gara and Burma roads in Harrison and Sunnyside road in Coeur d'Alene.

The commissioners have already twice considered and twice approved the LIDs, totaling half a million dollars, which about 700 property owners would have to pay into to match one-time federal funding for the projects.

So many residents protested in writing late last year that the LIDs were subject to review by the Kootenai County commissioners.

Or at least they would have been reviewed, if the recording of public testimony hadn't been so muddled, on account of an inadequate recording device and poor acoustics.

So Monday's hearing is a do-over, with better recording methods planned.

County Commissioner Todd Tondee said this starts the whole process over. If residents want the LIDs reviewed by the county, they have to pen their objections once again.

According to the highway district, there must be protest letters from 60 percent of resident owners in an LID, or two-thirds of the number of parcels, to warrant county review.

Residents also petitioned against the projects last year.

The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.

The highway district only has to pay a 12 percent match for the federal funds that will pay the bulk of the $3.9 million projects.

If the LIDs aren't approved, highway commissioners have said the match will be funded by cutting district operations.