By Michael Howell
Hamilton City Attorney Karen Mahar brought a few suggestions for changes in the city’s public notice policy to the table at the council’s most recent Committee of the Whole meeting. Mahar said that she had reviewed the city’s policy in the light of some recent Ravalli County District Court rulings concerning sufficient public notice and found a few issues that the Council should probably address.
The first was the question as to whether posting on an indoor bulletin board was sufficient. She said that based on Judge Langton’s recent ruling, the City may want to consider using an outdoor bulletin board. She said the bulletin board needs to be accessible 24/7.
One thing the court made clear, according to Mahar, is if there is a question about the sufficiency of public notice, publishing in a newspaper was sufficient. She suggested that sending the agenda to the newspaper in time to publish was not enough. She suggested the council may want to consider paying for publication of the agenda to insure that the law is being met.
Mahar told the committee that the notice on the bulletin board can be supplemented.
“More notice is better than less,” she said.
She said the recent court ruling also addressed the oft referred to Attorney General Opinion that 48 hour notice prior to the meeting was sufficient. She suggested that the Council may want to consider changing its policy on notice of special meetings from 48 hours in advance to at least two “business days” in advance.
Another thing the court established is that the use of the internet was not adequate, she said.
On another policy topic, Mahar asked the Council at what point the Council got involved in grant requests. Mahar said that she gets involved in some grant requests and does not know if they have come before the council yet or not.
“It seems people will come in to whatever agency and ask if the City can be involved in their grant request,” said Mahar. “We need to make sure that it goes to Council both as a pre-application and post award.”
Mayor Jerry Steele said that his preference was for the Council to make pre-application decisions.
Mahar said that some changes in the finance policy might be worth considering to clarify what the Mayor can and cannot approve in terms of contracts, for instance. She also questioned how much advance notice was being given on contracts.
Public Works Director Keith Smith, in response to public comment, explained the work that had been done at the park along the river. He said there was a trail on private land along the river and when you reach the park it was a steep climb to get to the trail on City Park property.
“We made it easier to come up the trail and enter our park,” said Smith. He said signs had been placed saying ‘please keep on the main trail’, which diverts people into the park.
He said he was interested in identifying weeds in Steve Powell Park, which ones need to be pulled and which ones need to be sprayed, and setting up a treatment program. He also told committee members that he would like to have a certified arborist determine which trees should be removed and how much debris and limbs should be removed each year. He also suggested that the work be contracted out.
“We don’t have the equipment or the training for the job,” he said. “Contracting out would be cheaper than hiring and training people to do the work.”
Smith said that the City’s intent at Steve Powell Park is to keep it in natural habitat. He said wildlife protection was part of the conservation easement that was placed on the property. Dogs are required to be on a leash in the park to keep them from chasing wildlife. He said there can be some tree and debris removal for safety reasons and fire.