Research uncovers a trove of data

SANDPOINT — In the midst of research for a project she is working on, the city’s grants and performance administrator Linda Heiss discovered a treasure trove of information about Sandpoint.

Heiss, who was hired by the city about three months ago, was building a report on performance planning and measurements to present to City Council. Being fairly new to the area, Heiss said she needed to educate herself on Sandpoint, the local government and other information to complete the task.

“As a result, it turned what was the performance measurement report into a lot of data about Sandpoint that helps tell Sandpoint’s story,” Heiss said during the July 3 City Council meeting.

While Heiss said she expects to have the performance measurements report in August, she presented all the information she found to council members last week.

“This is a really good resource for the city as we are writing grants, as we are doing proposals,” she said, adding that it will also help residents understand more about the community and economic development.

Heiss outlined the city’s strategic plan and the five priorities that go along with it — a responsive government, resilient economy, sustainable environment, a vibrant culture and a livable community. The strategic priorities were adopted by council last year, and Heiss said all of the performance measurements will fit into that category.

The data Heiss found shows that the city’s population has been growing “fairly significantly,” with an estimated 2018 population of 8,703, up from 8,390 in 2017. This year, based on building permits data and vacancy rates, the estimated population could sit at about 9,500, Heiss said. As of June 18, 30 residential building permits have been issued this year, compared to 34 in 2018.

Heiss also went over in-migration numbers of people who have moved to Sandpoint from out of state. From the most recent data in 2017, the city saw an 8-percent increase in out-of-state residents, while Bonner County saw a 5-percent increase and 4 percent in the state. In addition, there has been a decrease in population of people under 18, while the 65 and older population in the city continues to go up, though the majority of the population is still in the 18-64 age group, she said. Of the city’s residents, 58.8 percent have attended at least some college, and about half of them received a degree. City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said in comparing these numbers to other cities in the area, Sandpoint has a higher level of educational attainment than others in the region, including Spokane, which has a number of colleges and other educational opportunities available. The high school graduation rate is higher in Sandpoint than the state average as well, Heiss said, as is the participation in career- and college-ready courses.

Heiss then moved into housing, education and income stats, which show that people who attained a degree of any level, compared to those who do not have a degree, there is a larger wage gap than in the county, state and country.

“As your educated population grows, so does the income — that’s expected — but what we are seeing is there is a greater gap in Sandpoint, meaning our wages are low compared to other areas,” Heiss said.

She found similar results in the gap between median income to median rent compared to other areas.

“So we really need to concentrate on either getting the housing costs down, or getting the wages up so we can narrow that gap,” Heiss said, adding that 55 percent of Sandpoint residents spend 35 percent or more of their household income on rent, which is “much higher” than the county or the state.

Heiss also went over data regarding top occupations in the city, types of business licenses issued inside and outside of city limits, retail sales, the city’s local option tax, and more. Stapleton also outlined where the city is at with it’s 7-percent resort sales tax, which she said garners upward of $30,000 per year in property tax relief. Under state law, Sandpoint can retain its status as a resort city, making it eligible for the tax, as long as the population remains under 10,000. With an estimated population of 9,500, Sandpoint is nearing its end as a resort city.

“Sandpoint, right now, is on target to be the first city in the state to have exceeded that threshold,” Stapleton said.

All Sandpoint City Council meetings are streamed live and archived on the city’s website, so Heiss’ presentation, as well as the rest of the meeting, can be viewed online at sandpointidaho.gov.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.