Bonner County to cease maintenance of Dog Beach

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

The Bonner County board of commissioners unanimously voted May 27 to cease maintenance of Dog Beach, located on the northern side of the Long Bridge, after discovering that the county had no written contract with BNSF Railway, which controls the property.

Bonner County Department of Parks and Waterways Director Matt Zoeller said that his unit of government has been maintaining the property for years, after taking over from the city of Sandpoint in “some kind of weird verbal agreement,” as he described it at the May 20 business meeting of the BOCC. 

Dog Beach. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.

Zoeller recently discovered there was no written agreement when Sandpoint requested that the county fix exposed wiring and lighting issues at the beach.

“I was like, ‘OK, well let’s look at the contract we have with BNSF and see what our maintenance obligations are,’” he said, later adding that he soon “realized, after reaching out to BNSF, we have no contract.”

Because the item was put on the May 20 BOCC agenda as a discussion — rather than an action — item, the board had to wait a week to vote on the issue.

The county has spent approximately $6,000 a year on labor, fuel and other expenses at the site. In order to continue maintaining the property, which is owned by Idaho Transportation Department and controlled by BNSF as a right of way, the county would need to draw up a memorandum of understanding, take on additional insurance and pay rent.

“I did talk to BNSF about the option of basically a zero-sum agreement, where they would lease us the legal rights to maintain it in return for public access in a clean space, and they were not interested,” said Zoeller.

BNSF offered to lease the land to the county for $4,500 — plus a $1,500 application fee — which would raise annual expenses to approximately $10,000. All three Bonner County commissioners expressed opposition to taking on the additional liability and expense, especially given Parks and Waterways’ limited budget.

“The budget of Waterways is a fee-based budget that doesn’t allow for that kind of flexibility,” said BOCC Chair Asia Williams.

“It just just doesn’t make sense [to maintain the beach.] It’s not a fiscally responsible thing for the county to do, in my opinion,” added Commissioner Brian Domke.

Domke suggested that, if citizens wanted to, they could look into fundraising and maintaining the property themselves. 

The board also considered obtaining a right of way directly from ITD; though, according to Zoeller, the county would still need permission from BNSF.

Members of the public suggested that the county should put up signs warning users that they are liable for any potential injury to their persons or property. Both Domke and Deputy Prosecutor Bill Wilson advised that the county has no authority to place signs on private property, but instructed Zoeller to pass along the suggestion to BNSF.

The motion to cease maintenance of the park passed unanimously. Though the county will no longer mow or clean the area, neither the commissioners nor Zoeller indicated that the decision would otherwise affect the public’s access.

“What the railroad does now is up to them,” Zoeller told the Reader May 28.