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Commissioners of Grant County Port District 7 have been in negotiations with the Colville Tribes for a possible sale of Banks Lake Golf Course.

Commissioners met in a special meeting Sept. 6 to consider the sale and its details in a closed session, then reconvened to vote on giving President Jim Keene authority to continue to negotiate.

The purpose of the special meeting stated on the agenda was to discuss a “Purchase and Sales agreement — Real Property.”

The only action to be taken: “Motion to accept, reject, or ‘accept-with-changes’ the CCT Purchase and Sales Agreement. (Any changes to be accepted will need to be stated.)”

“When you’re working on an agreement, until both sides come to closure you really have to be discreet with communication,” Keene said after restarting the open meeting. “So, I guess the good news is we’re in process, we’re making headway, and we remain optimistic.”

Keene and Commissioner Leonard Sanders were present in the meeting room. Commissioner Scott Ross joined by phone.

Sanders moved to give Keene negotiating authority and authority to sign on the commission’s behalf if no other changes were made in a counteroffer, which would require another meeting, Ross noted. Keene seconded that motion. It passed with no objection.

The district, which took over the golf course after a previous owner handed the operation over to the port, which owns the land. The port district declared the course surplus in 2022 and have been looking for a buyer for years, with volunteers performing all the duties to keep the course open.