Salmon School Site Community Conversation
Thanks for taking time to learn and participate in a community conversation about the Salmon School District #291 property sale and future development!
Who
The City of Salmon, working in coordination with Salmon School District #291, has hired Whiskey Rock Planning + Consulting to facilitate a structured community engagement effort to help guide the future direction of the former elementary and related school properties located along Highway 93. This project has been 100% funded through a grant from the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation. I am a professional land use planner and for over 20 years I have worked with Idaho communities on redevelopment strategy, infrastructure planning, land use policy, and public facilitation. I work in small rural communities throughout the West.In this project, I am serving in a neutral facilitation role — gathering input, identifying constraints and opportunities, and preparing a summary of feasible paths forward for the School Board to consider.My role is to listen, organize ideas, and help the community think through realistic options for this site in a thoughtful and practical way.
What
As you know, when voters approved a $20 million bond to construct a new Pre-K through 8th grade school there were commitments to work towards the sale of the former facility and parcels. The properties along Highway 93 will eventually be available for disposition. This engagement process is intended to gather community input before those decisions are made.There is no predetermined outcome. The site could potentially support a range of uses, including workforce housing, private development, commercial attraction, medical expansion, public open space, cultural or event space, institutional uses, or a combination of these over time. Through this process we seek to provide the community with a way to discuss and explore direction and options about highest and best use for the properties.
How
In June, we will be holding two public workshops in Salmon. The format is one where everyone will have the chance to share their ideas. Planners call these charrettes. A charrette is an interactive, hands-on workshop designed to generate ideas and bring them into clearer focus. Rather than a typical public meeting where people simply comment at a microphone, a charrette is collaborative and participatory.At the community charrettes, participants will:• Review site information, opportunities, and constraints
• Brainstorm ideas individually
• Sketch concepts directly onto printed site maps
• Work in small table groups to combine and refine ideas
• Identify areas of agreement and strong themes
• Report back to the full groupThe goal is not to produce a final design. Instead, the goal is to elevate the most promising directions and clarify what the community sees as realistic and valuable.At these workshops, we will distill the strongest ideas into four primary directions. Those four will then be narrowed to two that appear most viable. Those two will undergo a more structured feasibility evaluation by Whiskey Rock Planning with a report on each provided to the School Board later in the summer.The final feasibility memorandum will evaluate the two primary directions based on:• Land use compatibility
• Infrastructure capacity
• Environmental considerations and remediation costs
• Market and economic viability
• Alignment with bond language and fiscal responsibilityThe School Board will ultimately determine the disposition of the property, informed by this work.As we prepare for the public meetings, we need to hear your initial thoughts and ideas. PLEASE take a moment to fill out this survey. Share it with friends and neighbors too! The results of the survey will be presented during our workshops and will help to focus the initial discussions about the site.Simply past the following into your web address search field or follow the link at the bottom of the page.https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMdNd1lQPXhEaiXTurVf2EycT0usmuZhDHCi2cC30txTu1xA/viewform?usp=header
What might the site look like in the future? Here are some ideas that you may like or dislike. These are some AI generated ideas just to get the conversation started.
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to be part of this process. Your perspective matters, and the future of this site will be shaped by the voices of the people who live and work here. Participation doesn’t require expertise—just your honest thoughts about what you value and what you’d like to see. We encourage you to engage, share your ideas, and not feel intimidated. This is your community, and even a few minutes of your input can make a meaningful difference.