Sale of Person Field delayed

COEUR d'ALENE - Coeur d'Alene's city staff and council members have another 60 days to come up with a plan that will allow them to acquire the Coeur d'Alene School District's portion of Person Field.

School trustees met Thursday at the district's central office and amended a decision they made Monday night directing the district's administrative staff to move forward with the sale of the Person Field property through a competitive bid process on the open market.

Ownership of Person Field, a 7-acre recreation green space located along 15th Street at the intersection of Garden Avenue, is split between the city and the school district.

School district staff members offered the district's 3.8-acre portion of the field to city staff in September, giving the city the first shot at acquiring the school district's interest in the property. The school board's decision Monday to move forward with the sale was made after city staff members told school district staff last week, that the city could not accommodate an acquisition transaction.

"I never for the life of me would have considered that this had not been before the city council when we were told of the (city's) decision not to pursue a purchase," said board chair Tom Hamilton.

Hamilton said he became aware of the city council's lack of information late Monday evening, after receiving a phone call from a councilman.

At Tuesday's city council meeting, council members placed the Person Field issue on the agenda and unanimously directed city staff to find a way to acquire the land.

Councilmen Ron Edinger and Dan Gookin attended Thursday's school board meeting.

"I think where we find ourselves today is that both sides of this ownership equation desire for nothing to change except the ownership, and Mr. Gookin, I'm sure as you're well aware, for us it's just a problem to be solved," Hamilton said, during Thursday's school board meeting. "We have to vacate this office, and that's coming pretty soon and we need to find another home for our district office staff."

School officials are seeking to dispose of the Person Field acreage, and the district's Northshire property, located on Atlas Road, as a means to facilitate the relocation of the district offices on 10th Street. The office building is scheduled for demolition next spring, when the adjacent Sorensen Elementary is renovated.

The school district administration building was constructed in 1957. It served as a convent for nuns assigned to the Immaculate Heart of Mary School until 1970, when the Catholic school closed. The district moved its central office into the building in the 1970s.

For several years, many of the school district's administrative office employees working in the building have been affected by upper-respiratory problems, signaling an environmental problem. Investigations have failed to identify a cause, and attempts to remediate the situation have been unsuccessful.

The school board did not reverse its decision Monday to move forward with the sealed bid sale of the Northshire property, now the site of a dog park.

"Nobody has come forward with a complaint about that," Hamilton said.

The amended motion passed by school board members Thursday stipulates that school district staff are to pursue exchange negotiations with the city until Dec. 19. It authorizes school district administrative staff to move forward with the open market sale after that date.

School Trustee Ann Seddon asked if they could add a caveat, that school trustees meet prior to Dec. 19 to assess whether the city is able to acquire the land, so the sale is not automatic.

"I just feel so strongly it needs to remain a park," Seddon said.

Hamilton said the district needs to move forward, and suggested they put it on the school board's December meeting, which takes place the first Monday of the month.

Hamilton said he feels confident the city will come through.

Idaho code requires governmental agencies to dispose of land through a sealed bid process, with the sale price to be not less than the appraised value of the land, or property can be traded with another governmental agency. Person Field has an appraised value of $655,000.

"I would not object to an update at the December meeting. I would like to hold pretty firm to the timeline, simply because bureaucracies often need to have their feet held to the fire to make things occur," Hamilton said.