Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1915-07-30
COURT HOUSE
SITE CHOSEN
Commissioners Agree to Purchase Idaho
Hotel Property and Two Adjoin-
ing Lois on the East
TOTAL PURCHASE PRICE $500
Building Will Be Remodeled for Tenn
porary Court House Purposes

Last Friday afternoon the county
commissioners made final decision IN
the matter of a court house site, and
agreed to purchase the property
known as the Idaho Hotel and two adj
Joining lots to the east, the purchase
price for the Idaho Hotel property be-
ing $4,000 and of the two lots adjoin-
ing $500. The hotel was owned by
Frank Clapp, of Spokane, and the two
other lots by the local lodge of Odd
Fellows.
The hotel property has frontage
of rs feet and depth of 12O feet, and
the Odd Fellow lots a frontage of rs
feet and depth of 120, giving the
county a tract. 131x120 feet.
Payments on the two properties are
to be made by the month, S175 being
paid monthly on the hotel property
and 500 per month on the other lots.
In purchasing the Idaho Hotel prop
erty it is the intention of the commits
sioners to remodel the building and
use it for a court house until the coun-
ty is in better condition to build. The
cost of such remodeling has been es-
timated at not to exceed $1,000 to
$1,000 The upper floor can easily be
arranged for a court and jury rooms
and quarters for the other officers pro-
vided on the first floor.
The building will also probably be
moved around square with the street
and the new county Jail will be built
on the rear of the Odd Fellows lots.
There was some difference of opin-
ion among the commissioners regard
ing the site to be chosen. 1t is I'M
derstood that Commissioner Shively
favored a site on the Northside, but
upon taking a vote Commissioners
McColl and Deyoe voted for the hote
location. Before taking this vote
Commissioner Shivelyhad introduced {
motion proposing that straw vote
be taken of the voters of the county
regarding a site, but the motion was
defeated. The consensus of opinion
among the citizens is that better To-
cation could not have been chosen. Il
is in the heart of the town, close to the
railroads and easily accessible to ev'
eryone.
Another question that has been dis
cussed more or less since the purchase
of the site is whether it would be wis'
for the county to erect a new build
ing at once in preference to eXpendine
the thousand dollars necessary for tn
remodeling of the hotel. A careful
canvass of the business men show.
that the majority at this time favol
strongly remodeling the hotel an'
postponing the new building until a;
later date. The chief argument la
been that in the fight for county di
vision the proponents of division re
peatedly made the promise that if di
vision were accomplished care would b
taken to keep taxes as low as possibl
consistent with good service and tn
further argument was made that i
such care was intelligently exercises
taxes should not increase over wha
they were in the old county. For tina
reason the citizens argue that the tas'
of building a new court house shoul
be postponed until such time as tn
necessary expenses of the organiza
ton of the new county have been paic
said expenses being necessarily hea
Wy. There are some who state the
would be willing to vote bonds pay
able in 20 years but they are in tn
minority.
There are some rumors to the effeC
that an attempt will be made by thos
opposed to the hotel site to restrai
the commissioners from closing tn
deal for the two properties, but it
doubtful if any such action will ms
terialize.
Shavelear Makes Reply