One man’s treasure is another man’s trash

Dispute over Stevensville property spans 40 years

by Victoria Howell

Sarah Urfer stood before the Stevensville Town Council on October 24, 2024 and made the following statement: “I would like to know why the town has decided to spend thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on legal fees in order to assist a set of private citizens in a lifelong harassment campaign against my family…”

Urfer, one of the owners of Berta’s Farm, LLC, a five-acre piece of property located at the corner of E. 3rd and Park Streets, said she decided to go before the council in order to “provide some perspective and additional facts” about this situation, which has been an ongoing issue for decades.

Urfer said that she had filled out a request form to be on the agenda but, she said, “I was denied that right claiming that this is an issue for court yet no such limitation has ever been placed on Pat, Mel, or Loey [plaintiffs in a lawsuit over the property].”

“… This is not even the first time the town council has specifically singled us out,” said Urfer. “For example, in 2010 Pat Groninger stated in a town council meeting that a specific town ordinance was intended to ‘get Frank.’”

She said the Town had previously denied a request for inspections needed in order to complete the construction of the building on the property “and now the town says they have no records of the permit for the add-on to the existing building. However, we have the original permit with all the sign-offs… At the request of the town we allowed the town building inspectors to come and look at the building and the permit. Despite multiple requests to the mayor to provide the results of this inspection we were denied that information and eventually I was forced to contact the inspectors directly to get a copy of their report at which point I was sent an informal email, not an actual report. Since then I have talked again with the inspectors and have confirmed the steps needed to renew the expired permit which I am working on now.”

“I have never come to a council meeting asking the town to cite our neighbor who has a garage that is under ongoing construction and appears to have someone living in it,” said Urfer. “I have never asked the town to cite our neighbor who has an inoperable truck in their field and outdoor storage that is not shielded from public view. Yet we were cited at the mayor’s request in what I believe to be an arbitrary and capricious manner for three different alleged ordinance violations and every single one of those charges were dropped by the town attorney. Historically, the town has lost six prior cases that they have brought against us as well.”

“Berta’s Farm property has been a farm since the early 1900’s and the land is our livelihood and our home,” said Urfer. “We live in constant fear of having our home invaded, our property destroyed, our crops mowed down, or animals displaced or even killed by massive mowers, and our way of life and survival destroyed. We live in constant fear of who is watching us after in 2017 our neighbors hired someone to fly a drone over our property and made a video recording while my sister, then a 7 year old child, was living there and playing outside… Through all this my father has been fighting for his life, including five hospitalizations for sepsis, two major surgeries and four minor surgeries, while my father‘s wife battles an auto immune disorder, and we all, including my little sister who is a minor, live in constant fear. It is hard to understate how horrifying it is for us to feel unsafe in our own home due to the actions of the town and our neighbors and how that lack of security impacts our ability to heal and have a happy home.”

“Since every attempt to have a discussion with the mayor about this issue has been shut down, I am here to attempt to get answers,” said Urfer. “Why us and why go about it the way you have?”

Since this item was not on the agenda, the council did not respond, other than thanking her for her comments.

The Town, some nearby property owners, and Urfer’s father, Frank Piwarski, have been embroiled in a bitter dispute over the condition of the property for more than 40 years. Piwarski purchased the property in the 1980’s and currently lives there with his wife and daughter, where they grow garlic and other crops and maintain a wetlands area for wildlife. Piwarski demolished a home that was on the property when he bought it and started to build another structure, but that project was shut down by the Town because he didn’t obtain the necessary permits. The Town sued Piwarski in 1986 and again in 1991 in an attempt to get him to comply with town regulations regarding the property. 

For years the condition of the property has been a thorn in the side of neighboring landowners, who claim it’s an eyesore and a public nuisance due to the presence of overgrown and noxious weeds, unused building materials and junk vehicles. In 2017, a group of neighbors who live across the street from the property successfully sued the Town and Berta’s Farm in order to get the Town to enforce its ordinances. In 2018, the neighbors agreed to dismiss all claims against the Town in return for the Town agreeing to enforce its ordinances and if necessary, to bring an action against Berta’s Farm for ordinance violations. A non-compliance letter was sent to Berta’s Farm giving them 60 days to come into compliance. After 60 days, the Town’s compliance officer visited the property and determined that nothing had been done. 

The case was eventually heard in Ravalli County District Court and in February 2024 the court found that abatement would be the appropriate action in this matter, and that the Town of Stevensville had the authority to conduct abatement proceedings. The Town was given a window of 60 days to remove all hazards and obstructions from sidewalks on the property, remove all inoperable vehicles or construct a barrier to shield them from public view, remove or conceal all junk and debris, treat and mow all noxious weeds, remove overgrown vegetation that obstructs motorists’ line of sight, remove all non-conforming and dangerous structures and bring the property into compliance with all applicable town ordinances. The Town was also granted the authority to assess all abatement costs “to the property tax assessment for the parcels comprising the property.”

The 60-day abatement period passed with very little action by the Town. Some of the neighbors involved in the lawsuit attended an August 22 town council meeting to discuss the status of the abatement. At that meeting, the council approved the formation of a committee to come up with an abatement plan. Mayor Bob Michalson agreed to serve on the committee, along with council member Cindy Brown and Pat Groninger, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Groninger said he could help with cleanup and identifying funding sources, since lack of funds was the mayor’s stated reason for not completing the work. 

But Urfer and her father believe they did everything that had been asked of them, based on a meeting they had with town officials in the spring. So, on September 19, 2024, Berta’s Farm’s attorney filed a Notice of Satisfaction of Judgment in the case, claiming that Berta’s Farm had completed all the required abatement work that the Town had identified in an April 2024 site visit. According to Urfer, the case was closed. However, she said that Stevensville Town Attorney Greg Overstreet has filed to reopen the case.

At the October 24 council meeting, Urfer stated, “I have offered repeatedly and in writing to work with the town to address any legitimate issues the town identifies at no cost to the town.” She said she had met with the neighbors previously “to try to understand what exactly it is that they want since this has been going on longer than I’ve been alive. In that conversation Pat Groninger told me that this was our punishment from God for the way that we have lived our lives… It now appears that the tool that our neighbors want to use to administer this punishment from God is the town and its resources.”