The price of stewardship

By Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm
Reader Contributor

Amid the celebrations surrounding the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, we have a remarkable opportunity to reflect on what has sustained the longest-running constitutional republic in history. It has never been because every public decision was popular. Rather, our nation has endured because generations of Americans accepted that self-government requires both freedom and responsibility.

Our founders understood that representative government was never intended to be a system where elected officials simply followed the loudest voices of the moment. It was designed so citizens could elect leaders to study issues carefully, weigh competing interests and make decisions they believed would best serve the long-term interests of their communities.

That principle is just as important in Sandpoint as it is in Boise or Washington, D.C.

Over the past several weeks, Sandpoint’s new paid parking program has generated spirited debate. Some support it. Others oppose it. That is healthy. Public policy should be discussed openly, and reasonable people can certainly reach different conclusions.

What concerns me more, however, is not disagreement over parking. It is the growing tendency to view every difficult public decision through the lens of immediate personal benefit rather than long-term community stewardship.

The question before the City Council was not whether everyone enjoys paying for parking. Of course they don’t.

The question was whether the parking situation in town is working and if it is fair for the taxpayers of Sandpoint to continue bearing nearly the entire cost of maintaining downtown parking, City Beach, public restrooms, landscaping, lighting, enforcement and other public amenities that are enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors and non-residents each year.

The council concluded that asking those who use these facilities to contribute a modest amount toward their upkeep was a more equitable approach.

Already, during the first five days of the program, more than $10,000 has been collected in hourly parking fees — 79% from the City Beach lot. Those dollars are being paid primarily by visitors and non-residents using these public amenities rather than by the Sandpoint taxpayers who have historically subsidized nearly all of those costs.

That is not punishment. It is shared responsibility.

Every generation inherits public assets it did not build. We inherited our streets, parks, beaches, public buildings, water systems and the institutions of local government from those who came before us. Our responsibility is not merely to enjoy them. It is to preserve and strengthen them for those who come after us.

That has been one of my guiding principles as mayor: Take care of what we have. Deferred maintenance eventually becomes expensive maintenance. Ignoring problems because solutions are unpopular is not leadership. Good stewardship means making thoughtful investments today so future generations are not left with larger bills tomorrow.

As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, we should remember that the strength of this republic has never rested on getting everything we want. It has rested on citizens willing to think beyond themselves, elected officials willing to make difficult decisions, and institutions that faithfully perform the roles entrusted to them.

The parking program will ultimately be judged not by the emotions surrounding its first week, but by its results in the eyes of Sandpoint’s taxpayers. Are our public spaces better maintained? Is parking more accessible? Are we treating Sandpoint taxpayers more fairly by asking visitors and non-residents to help support the amenities they enjoy? Are we leaving our community on stronger financial footing than we found it? Those are the questions that matter.

Since 2007, Bonner County has grown 34% from approximately 41,000 residents to more than 55,000 today, yet the county still maintains just one small park (Garfield Bay). Much of that growth has occurred outside the incorporated cities, yet the responsibility for providing and maintaining the region’s most heavily used waterfront parks, sports fields and public gathering places continues to fall largely on the taxpayers of Sandpoint, Priest River and Ponderay.

Sandpoint is proud to welcome county residents and visitors alike, but this responsibility should not rest on municipal taxpayers alone. As our county continues to grow, so too should our shared investment in the public amenities that make North Idaho such an extraordinary place to live.

The lesson is simple: Stewardship is never free. Whether through serving in public office, paying our fair share for parking, or volunteering on a commission or committee, every generation has a responsibility to leave its community better than it found it. If we embrace that obligation together, our children — and those celebrating America’s 300th birthday — will inherit a Sandpoint every bit as remarkable as the one we cherish today.

Jeremy Grimm has served as Sandpoint mayor since 2024, served as Sandpoint city planner from 2007-2015 and is owner/land use planner at Whiskey Rock Planning + Consulting.