Boat launch lease standoff continues

The Lakes Highway District and the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners continue to dispute a proposed boat-launch lease agreement.

“The public deserves the complete context,” Lakes Highway District Commissioner for Sub-District 1 Rod Twete said in a statement. “This was not simply a choice between accepting county management and closing public boat launches.”

On Monday, Kootenai County announced it would keep the docks and facilities at Bayview, Spirit Lake and Lower Twin Lakes open and leave their management to the Lakes Highway District. The decision followed the expiration of a temporary lease on Sept. 1 and the failure of the two sides to reach a new five-year agreement.

In a statement released Thursday, the district said the proposed five-year lease would have required it to assume “substantial additional obligations.”

According to the district, those obligations included construction costs, ongoing maintenance responsibilities, fee enforcement within district rights-of-way, liability releases, property conveyance provisions and unresolved questions about the legal use of highway district funds.

The county said it paid to prepare the conceptual site plan and lease agreement. The district responded that funding the plan was not the same as paying for the improvements outlined in it.

Twete said the district did not walk away from negotiations.

“Proposed revisions retained the five-year term, the three launch properties, the county’s authority to operate the facilities and collect fees, and nearly all remaining terms proposed by the county,” Twete said. “The district requested limited changes to specific Bayview construction language and continued reviewing whether the proposed expenditures were legally authorized.”

Twete said the county sent the district a Sept. 2 letter stating that it would leave the docks and associated infrastructure in place “to be managed as the district sees fit.”

According to Twete, the letter did not address the district’s proposed revisions, legal concerns, costs or other obligations included in the lease proposal.

Twete said the district was unwilling to commit taxpayer funds, employees and equipment to the facilities without first determining whether the proposed expenditures fell within its legal authority.

“Lakes Highway District has demonstrated its commitment to continued public access, including previously offering to transfer the launch properties to the county without compensation,” Twete said. “The district remains willing to pursue a lawful and equitable resolution.”

The Kootenai County Board of Commissioners was made aware of the district’s statement but had not responded for comment by late Thursday.