Treasure or trash

by Michael Hoyt, Corvallis

A reading of Victoria Howell’s November 5, 2024, article, “One man’s treasure is another man’s trash” left me sad and angry. The story of how three neighbors banded together, using political connections and taxpayer money, to harass Frank Piwarski and his family for 40+ years is an all-too-realistic snapshot of our society. It reveals how vendettas by private individuals are behind the continuing internal conflict that, for decades, has reduced the effectiveness of Stevensville’s city government.

I’ve known Frank for over 30 years and consider him a good friend. Granted, Frank marches to a different drummer. So what! Different” does not equate to “bad.” He is loyal to his family and friends, one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, and lives his life based on closely held ethics.

Unlike many folks, Frank does not believe money makes a person happy. He lives life as simply as possible with minimal money, likely the reason he and his family are the focus of a few neighbors who equate money, social status, and acceptance with happiness. He has no wish for more money than his family needs or to conform to continuously changing social norms.

Berta’s Farm, Frank’s family property is one of the largest undeveloped pieces of land close to downtown Stevensville. No doubt that is the root of this ongoing dispute. Someone believes that property is prime for development and for over 40 years has been dreaming of the large profit it would generate if developed. The obstacle is, Frank and his family have no wish to sell. They simply want to be left alone to live in the manner they desire.  

At least one of the neighbors conspiring to drive Frank and his family out also resides on a large piece of town property prime for development. That family may not want to develop their real estate because they like it the way it is, and, well, it’s their home. While neighbors may not want to develop their property, they and their co-conspirators have no problem insisting that someone else, Frank Piwarski and his family who are “different,” make their home available for development. The irony obviously escapes them.

Admittedly, Berta’s Farm is not like the manicured dwellings of the co-conspirators. It’s a farm! I challenge anyone to find a working farm in Ravalli County that does not have piles of building materials, old vehicles, or grass and weeds that want mowing.

Because the Town of Stevensville has not been able to follow a court’s directive to “clean up” Berta’s Farm, Patrick Groninger, one of the co-conspirators, has volunteered to do the work for the town. What could possibly go wrong with that scenario? Is it believable that Groninger’s “cleanup” would not be heavy-handed, include unnecessary work, or involve grossly inflated costs? And it is questionable whether the authorization of transferring the cost of cleanup to Berta’s Farm property taxes fits the legal definition of “illegal taking,” something protected by the Fifth Amendment.

Isn’t it time the Town of Stevensville stopped wasting taxpayers’ money (six times to court, six losses) by harassing the owners of Berta’s Farm at the behest of three neighbors who refuse to tolerate people who are “different”? The Mayor and Town Council should focus on doing things that benefit the majority of Stevensville residents and not the desires of three intolerant residents.