Wednesday, January 4, 2007

Opinion & Editorial

by Earl Pollard, Hamilton

In light of the existing chaos surrounding us here in the Bitterroot Valley I find it difficult to separate the root causes that are operating. Over the past decade the job performance of the county commissioners has never justified their salaries paid by the taxpayers. In general their dodging of responsibilities has been simply horrendous. When you add the pathetic capabilities of half of the Hamilton City Council, the principle causation of chaos is apparent.

The voters have exercised their rights through the initiative process in ways the politicians never imagined. Now some of these individuals are really concerned because we the people have finally found a voice and these high paid freeloaders may lose their cushy offices, perks, titles and most importantly those fat paychecks. The mess we are facing involves much, much more. I assume what I read in the printed media is accurate when I read about the thousands of houses that land developers want to build and the tens of thousands of people who will move here. At the same time I read about the Right to Farm movement and the Open Spaces activists. Here is where that uneasy feeling about the "Human Element" comes into play. 

Look at all of these elements and you can easily find the comedy of the absurd. The planners can plan everything. The politicians will dither spending their time scheming ways to keep their fat paychecks. The land developers can develop every square foot and the immigrants will come. Before too long we will realize that, lo and behold, we are living on a sea of sewage. Wells will dry up or become polluted and our municipal water systems will depend on distant sources of water piped into the valley and the Bitterroot River will reach the point of pollution that will bring the federal agencies down on us.

I suggest most of the "dark side" can be avoided. Repeat after me. "Water is life, snow pack is water." Developers can't develop a snow pack. Politicians can't increase the snow pack. I came from a place that can't survive without water that is taken from other multiple locations hundreds of miles distant and stored close by.

Can this happen here? You bet it can. Think about what is happening right now in Eastern Montana. The Bitterroot Valley is next in line if we don't wakeup and realize water is the one and only most important natural resource controlling the future. Sadly, we don't know how much of this governing factor is in our future. At least the general public has never been told what the experts project. Doesn't it make sense to stop the chaos by determining if there is any point planning, developing and fighting about it for nothing? Maybe water importation is already in our future.

Commissioners shouldn't have vested interest

As a Realtor in this valley, I can tell you that Betty Lund was an incredibly effective representative for the Real Estate Industry during her years as commissioner. I have followed her closely and was amazed how fast every real estate agent in this valley received information from the Bitterroot Board of Realtors thanks in large part to their special relationship to the county commissioners' office.

Now, where I have a problem is not that people are Realtors or related to Realtors, but how they lean in their perspective of this valley's future and how growth should be handled. I personally feel strongly that Betty, and now Howard Lyons (husband of Lana Lyons, Executive Director of the Bitterroot Board of Realtors) who is taking her place, lean disproportionately toward unrestricted development. Both of these individuals want to protect the Real Estate Industry, while using the smoke screen of private property rights. It's up to you as the reader to see if this is good or bad.

As a fourth generation Montanan raised in the Bitterroot, I have to take issue that any industry, even the one that I make my living at, should have this kind of favoritism at the county level. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that people can be fed a three-second sound bite and will believe it hook, line and sinker. But it's inappropriate to have someone who has gone out of her way for real estate interests described as a harmless pink lady (Missoulian, Dec. 28). We should rather focus on the harm she did to the public interest during her tenure.

Kathleen Driscoll
Hamilton

Thanks from Pantry Partners

Dear Editor,

Pantry Partners, serving North Ravalli County, wishes to thank all those who made our Christmas Food Distribution a rousing success! This year we served 285 families! Thank you to all the Pantry volunteers, the volunteers on distribution day, all the high school students who helped, all the businesses and patrons donating monies to the Pantry, all the businesses which donated time, products and trucking!

We could not do it without this wonderful community effort! We wish you all a healthy, prosperous New Year!

Jacquie Lyons (for)
Pantry Partners Food Bank

Wanted: Five new Commissioners

Dear Editor,

Wanted, five new County Commissioners for Ravalli County. That is what the citizens voted for and wanted. Don't let the current commission fool you; they were aware that they would have to run for re-election if the measure passed. It was public knowledge and that piece of information was given during the community meetings for a change in county government.

Why five new County Commissioners? The people wanted fair and equal representation, not just representation for the developers and special interests. The people also wanted five new districts to start with. With the requirement of developing five districts, there needs to be new commissioners for the new districts or there would not be proper representation. You do not need to take it to District Court to realize that if you change the size and structure of the Commissioner District, you need to vote in new commissioners.

Still wanted, five to 10 good candidates to file and run for County Commissioner by January 18th. Requirements are: over 18 years old, U.S. citizen, having lived in their district the previous two years and be an eligible voter. Some additional requirements not required would be strong ethical character, ability to build and foster working relationships with others, believes in some level of impact fees, have a sense of value to protect the quality of life in the valley, an ability to communicate well in writing and verbally, a lack of real estate ties such as those between the Board of Realtors and Howard Lyons, a commitment to be a servant of the people of Ravalli County, doesn't run with scissors and some good old common sense. You just don't build a town between two towns without infrastructure.

I do not expect to get any applications from the incumbents but if you feel you meet some of these qualifications and are willing to work hard, email me at smac150@yahoo.com or cell phone to 531-9411 and I would be glad to talk to you. There is a great deal of support for some great Commissioners Elect. The time is now as the deadline to run is by January 18th, 2007.

Shaen McElravy MSW, LAC
Stevensville

Hamilton City Council governing poorly

Dear Editor,

Hamilton City Councilor Mike LaSalle has made a few insulting comments on why he believes Hamilton should not have an elected treasurer. Basically, he believes that no one in Hamilton is intelligent enough to handle the city budget and finances. We take great issue with these insulting comments, and would like to tell you about the condition of the new 2007 budget put together by the so-called "appointed experts" last fall.

When the city of Hamilton began the new fiscal year on July 1, 2006, it was reported that we had about $5.1 million in unused or leftover funds, in the bank, from previous years. Montana law does not allow any municipality to accumulate excess funds, and this is well covered in Attorney General opinions, and statutes, if you care to look. Hamilton is not allowed, by law, to have so much money in the bank. All excess funds are supposed to be used in the following year's budget. Simple mathematics. Anyway, the proposed expenses for the new year were basically thrown together based on the previous year, and totaled about $7.4 million. Revenue from taxes, fees, assessments, SIDs, and utilities, etc. was proposed to be approximately $6 million, or $1.4 million "short" of what was going to be spent. So City Council fretted over having to take money out of their sacred "reserve" funds, which are nothing more than the excess funds they are not even supposed to have.

The largest city "fund" is the General Fund with expenses of over $2.8 million. This fund covers the City Council, Mayor, City Court, Administration, Planning, Legal, Law Enforcement, Cemetery, Parks, and all the lesser departments that depend on property taxes for operating revenue. Expenses in the General Fund have gone from a total of $1.5 million in the year 2000, to over $2.8 million now - nearly double in just a few short years. We have yet to see a single increase in benefits to the citizens of Hamilton with the increase in budgeted expenses. If you know of any, please bring us up to speed.

Then we have the Sewer and Water departments, better known as the E Enterprise Funds. The departments are owned by you, the Hamilton ratepayer. They were purchased by you, years ago, to provide you with utility services, at an affordable rate. Did you know that the Water Department has had annual income of over $1 million per year, since 2001? Did you know that the Sewer Department has had annual income of well over $700,000 in the same time frame? Do you remember that your water and sewer rates went up 91% in January 2003? Today, these departments are flush with cash, enjoying a surplus of nearly a million dollars and the freedom to buy whatever they want from an approved budget of over $2.7 million combined. You can bet your bippie that some of that budget is secretly going for expansion of the sewer plant to provide services to the developers, at your expense.

Given these facts from the mayor's own approved budget documents, she then had the audacity to warn the citizens that their sewer rates could be increased next year up to as much as $15 per month because, she said, the sewer plant is in desperate need of repairs. What? Yes, that's right, with all that money coming in, they apparently just couldn't find enough extra to spend on maintenance, so we now need major repairs to the tune of at least $1.7 million! Yet, the RML still owes you, citizens of Hamilton, well over $600,000 in unpaid base rates going back to 1996, which the city refuses to collect, for some unknown reason. Jerry Steele and Mike LaSalle are adamant against making the Lab pay its bill, yet they see no problem in socking it to you month after month.

The fact remains, folks, that you are going to be paying for the developers to take away your lifestyle piece by piece, and they will be helped by Mayor Jessica Randazzo, and Councilors Hendrickson, LaSalle and Steele, if you don't stop them. The quaint little valley you have called home will be teeming with people, houses, traffic, air pollution, and yes, even crime. Many of you will not be able to afford to live here, nor will you want to. Even though the law allows it, the City Council refuses to write an impact fee ordinance, which if done correctly, would collect large dollar amounts, from every developer for every home that is built and annexed into the city. Go ahead, ask your city councilor or mayor why these fees have not been enacted.

No one is minding the store and looking out for your best interests. While you go about your everyday business, your elected representatives are selling the farm and giving away the cows. Wake up, citizens, and demand that we do not allow developers to ruin our lifestyle and take over our city. Do it now, or you won't have a city to defend.

Bob Frost, Lorraine Crotty, Ellen Prosser, Dave Snell
Hamilton

Santa bids farewell to Conner Annex

Dear Editor,

The was a banner year for monetary donations, as well as toys, dolls, stuffies, games, puzzles, etc. This allowed for an exceptional choice of items for the children that visited Santa's Shoppe.

As you might have read, since we had so much support this year, we had an excess of money left in the bank after Christmas. Therefore, Junie and I decided to work with some of the pharmacies in the valley to put some of this money toward the pharmacy bills of some of our senior citizens to help defray the cost of their medications. We feel that is as important as the children being able to visit Santa's Shoppe, have their picture taken with Rudy the Reinmule, and get a gift that they may not have otherwise received.

We want to thank all of you for your concern and generosity to the needs of some of our neighbors and friends in the valley. We hope you are in agreement with our decision and will continue to support my Santa program in the future as I plan to be back again next year right after Thanksgiving.

Until then, may God bless you and yours with health and happiness in 2007.

Santa Claus aka Smut Warren
Conner

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