SANDPOINT — This week marked a new era for the Sandpoint Business Improvement District.
With a BID manager selected in Kim Queen and an administrative council established to guide the fund forward, city and Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce officials hope to bring a new level of transparency and representation to the public funds.
“We’re going to make something brilliant happen, as well as continue the brilliant things that are already happening,” McAlister said.
Established with the dissolving of the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association into a council under the chamber’s wing, the newly-appointed members of the BID Council met for the first time Tuesday to go over their goals and ideas for future uses of the BID fund.
A monthly assessment paid by business owners within the district, the BID fund is used to promote mutually-beneficial events and marketing opportunities for the downtown core.
However, some downtown business owners have been perturbed at being asked to pay an assessment they felt didn’t benefit them, according to chamber president Kate McAlister. That’s why city and chamber authorities decided to restructure BID management under the chamber’s wing. The BID fund is managed separately from the chamber budget, with McAlister and other chamber staff providing office space, supplies and supervision for the council and BID manager.
One of the primary goals is to make all downtown business owners feel they get something out of the BID. That’s why the council is made up of representatives from several different downtown industries. Katie Stang of The Readery represents restaurants, Mark Browning of North Idaho College represents education, Ross Schoenig of Alliance Title represents real estate, Michelle Polhemus of Horizon Credit Union represents professional services, Kathy Hubbard of Bonner General Hospital represents health care, Kathy Friedman of Zero Point represents retail, Dyno Wahl of the Festival at Sandpoint represents arts and entertainment, Sheldon Packwood of the K2 Inn represents lodging and community volunteer Barney Ballard is the council member at large.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Grimm of the city of Sandpoint, Karl Dye of the Bonner County Economic Development Corporation, Eric Paull of the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency and Kim Diercks of Panhandle State Bank serve in an advisory, non-voting capacity.
“We want to bring people in to the idea that a vital downtown benefits everyone,” Wahl said. “I really believe that a rising tide floats all.”
Meanwhile, the chamber has hired Queen to serve as BID manager. Her role is to enact the decisions of the council through event planning and interfacing with downtown businesses.
An experienced nonprofit worker who has worked with the Pend Oreille Arts Council and more, Queen is eager to use her skills in a new responsibility.
“What were going to do (in the coming days) is break down what exactly the BID does and doesn’t do for you,” she said.
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