by Jim Crews, Stevensville
I find it incredible that a council, the legislative body of the town, the body that actually controls the purse strings, and makes all the decisions for the Town has authorized the Mayor by Resolution 495 to execute all documents legally necessary to complete the sale and transfer of the Town’s property located on Willoughby, the Town’s Gravel Pit.
Property that has been in Citizen Ownership since 1943. That’s right, Citizen Ownership. You see, the Town is made up for the Citizens of Stevensville.
The government consists of 4 parts. The Executive Branch (Mayor), the Legislative Branch (Town Council), the Judiciary (Judge), and the Citizens of the Town.
We the Citizens of the town express our opinions at Public Comment, if public comment is allowed by the presiding officer of the Council Meeting (mayor) and in the voting booth.
This last council meeting, my public comment, sent as official correspondence, to all of the Council, the Bitterroot Star, KPAX and the Town’s City Attorney and it was requested to be read into the record, was denied.
That is right, the Mayor chose not to read the correspondence into the official record as I asked because I was on a trip. I am not going to restate his obtuse reasons why he chose not to read the letter. Listen for yourself. It will astound you.
We needed it to be read into the record so that those watching the meeting could benefit from the contents of the letter. By denying my correspondence those folks attending the meeting in person and remotely were denied the commentary.
The letter was about the land sale. In the letter I suggested to Council that the first thing they needed was to have a proposal presented to council so that the council and the public could hear why the Town needs to sell the gravel pit. That reason was never disclosed. Could it be a shortage of town funds? We will never know because Mayor Dewey and the Council has not to my knowledge disclosed why they think its necessary to sell a valuable town resource.
There is nothing wrong with the gravel. If you know how to extract what you need.
Obviously, the Mayor and Council do not have the technical expertise to figure that out.
Secondly, the Town does not know how much land they have. The deed is for 5 acres. However, we know there is more than 5 acres. The mayor is advertising 6.47 acres, but has not had a recent survey to know that for sure. I know someone who does know.
Without knowing how much land we the town, has in our possession, how can a value be assigned. The mayor stated the land was worth about $150,000. That is an excellent price for a piece of property that is on a county road, with power on the property, and phone available. Especially since the town did not pay for those utilities. Oh, and it is fenced. I do not believe the town paid for the fence either. According to one of the adjoining property owners, the property was fenced privately to stop poaching and unauthorized shooting.
The town has not discussed or even advised any of the adjoining property owners of the potential sale which may significantly affect their property values.
So, here we have it. No matter what was said at the council meeting, the council approved Resolution 495, giving the mayor authorization to complete the sale and transfer ownership of the gravel pit. No further discussion is necessary because unless council Reconsiders and Rescinds this Resolution, it’s a go.
Never, ever approve a resolution or law that is poorly worded, no matter what is discussed in council. Minutes of meetings can be lost or not properly processed or approved and memories are short.
What should have happened is that the council should have objected to the wording of the resolution and that it should have been corrected on the spot, then tabled until the next council meeting. Resolutions are decisions of the council. They are not to be made lightly and without proper consideration.
This whole land sale was initially discussed at a budget meeting. A meeting where official decisions are not allowed to be made. Then all of a sudden, it is on the agenda. Council never had an official proposal by the mayor or town staff as to why it needs to be sold and the public has been more or less left out of the equation. There should have been a public hearing and adjoining land owners should have been notified so that they could express their interests and concerns. If you think that is wrong, then go back and look at the River Park potential sale and all of the outside interests that came to town to discuss the issue.
So tell us, why does the town need to sell this property? Why the big rush? Why all of the shortcuts?