HAYDEN: Proud of 2022; hopeful for 2023

Hayden Mayor Scott Forssell and Hayden City Council members believe their biggest success for 2022 was getting a law enforcement levy on the November ballot, where it eventually passed.

“I believe that the biggest accomplishment was giving the voice, and vote, to the people to determine whether they wanted more law enforcement — and if they were willing to pay for it,” said Councilman Ed DePriest. “I believe that the 63% in favor demonstrated that the will of the people at the ballot is most important in making decisions as impactful as this one.”

City council members formed an independent task force in 2022 to study law enforcement in Hayden. Following their study, the task force encouraged the city council to put a vote on the next ballot to increase the number of deputies to 10, and began actively campaigning for the levy to pass.

Council members used city savings to temporarily fund additional law enforcement at the urging of Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, but they were unable to create a permanent salary increase without presenting a vote to the people.

“Law enforcement services are a high priority for our citizens,” Forssell said. “In addition to the one-time increase in funding of $300,000, voters approved funding additional law enforcement services in perpetuity.”

In October 2023, Hayden will add salaries for six field deputies to the budget, which will allow deputies to have backup, and more than one deputy on duty at any one time.

Another point of pride for Hayden council members was completion of the Honeysuckle Avenue and Fourth Street roundabout, which was done in time for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

"This roundabout helped solve a major traffic and safety problem in the city,” Forssell said. “Citizen feedback on the roundabout has been extremely positive."

Looking forward, Hayden city council members were able to approve a contract to acquire the Lakes Highway District buildings on Ramsey Road. When the Lakes Highway District completes construction of its new building and moves into that, the city of Hayden will complete the purchase of the Lakes Highway buildings, said Brett Boyer, city administrator.

Hayden will then move the Public Works Department to Ramsey Road, from behind City Hall. Moving the department will allow the city to re-plan McIntire Park and store the heavy equipment that is beginning to overflow from the current lot.

“This agreement will speed up the plan to relocate our Public Works Department to a location that will better suit the city’s needs and will save taxpayer dollars,” Forssell said.

The city had originally planned to build a new public works facility in the distant future, but acquiring the existing buildings saves millions of dollars, and the facility is already suited to the city’s needs.

Other council goals for the future and for 2023 are to continue to address traffic and growth in the city, some of the biggest priorities of Hayden citizens.

“Traffic congestion continues to be one of the main concerns heard from citizens,” Forssell said. “Our goal is to complete key intersection improvements as funding becomes available.”

Hayden residents have also asked council members to prioritize responsible growth.

“'Responsible growth' is an elusive term, but we are continuing to make sure the growth we have is in our city's best interest while maintaining the rights of private landowners," Forssell said. "Keeping our housing density low continues to be a goal for us."

Current growth in Hayden is already burdening some intersections and increasing traffic, Boyer said.

"Interestingly, a fair amount of our traffic congestion comes not from growth inside the city but from what I call thru-traffic, or vehicles traveling through Hayden from outside our city limits," Forssell said. "That problem will continue as areas outside our city limits continue to grow."

As Rathdrum and Athol expand housing, business and commercial projects, or as the Huetter bypass is completed, people will travel across and through Hayden to access those cities, Forssell said.

“I think that the city will continue to work to find solutions to issues of concern regarding traffic, infrastructure, and services using the funding available,” DePriest said.

Council President Matt Roetter and Councilman DePriest maintain it is not necessary to increase property taxes to pay for growth.

The main goal for 2023 is to “maintain Hayden's quality of life and small town feel with low-density, slow residential growth and preservation of open space,” Roetter said. And “not to increase Hayden's property taxes to pay for growth.”

But the exceptionally low levy rate in Hayden poses a challenge for council members. The Hayden levy rate is almost one quarter of Coeur d’Alene’s rate, Roetter said.

"Hayden has an extremely low tax rate compared to most other cities in the state,” Forssell said. “It is a continuing challenge to provide services our citizens want while staying within our budget."

Forssell and members of the council are most looking forward to seeing the completion of a few pending projects in the new year.

"One of the best ways to maintain our small town feel is to continue to offer our variety of community events,” Forssell said. “Parades, the Concert Series, and other ceremonies like the Kite Festival continue to remind us of what Hayden is all about."