New city commissioners sworn in
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
POLSON — John Campbell, Todd Erickson, Dan Morrison and Stephen Turner were sworn is as new Polson City Commissioners during the Jan. 4 meeting. Polson City Judge Doug Olson administered the oath, and the new commissioners took their places for the meeting.
Four items were added to the consent agenda for the next meeting. One dealt with the Polson City Attorney paying the impact fees on his house; another asked commissioners to take a look at Ordinance 624; and one asking for a definition of process for resolution of questions regarding city decisions/procedures. Commissioner Mike Lies submitted an agenda item for the city commission to determine the correct impact fees for the Mansion (the large office building on Polson Hill).
Commissioner Elsa Duford objected to the form of the minutes. Instead of using the names of the people who spoke, the word citizen was inserted, and there were references to the audio, she said.
Duford asked Mayor Pat DeVries if the minutes were action minutes, minutes which track what is being done instead of what is being said.
“That was not what I would call action minutes,” DeVries answered. “There is a lot more in them.”
“Unless you have the CD, you would have a hard time following the minutes,” Duford stated.
During city manager comments, Todd Crossett welcomed new Polson City Clerk Cindy Dooley, adding the city is fortunate to have her since she is a CPA with lots of government experience.
He congratulated the street department for doing a good job keeping up with the snow, saying, “It doesn’t even have a chance to hit the ground.”
The commissioners also voted to appoint Sgt. Wade Nash Chief of the Polson Police Department.With three very qualified applicants, Crossett said the interview committee asked for a detailed resume and had an extensive list of interview questions, spending eight and a half hours interviewing and deliberating.
Before public comment, Mayor DeVries reminded audience members that they could each speak for three minutes and asked all speakers to state their names for the record.
Duford said she wanted to stress the idea of public participation. She was concerned when the timer was used at the last meeting, which she thought "confounded the public."
According to a copy of the Dec. 15, 2008, minutes when the commission talked about installation of a three-minute clock, a timer has not been used, Duford said. She found the timer irritating and distracting and was opposed to its use unless there was a huge crowd.
The ordinance limiting comments to three minutes per speaker had not been repealed, DeVries explained.
Community member Sharon Fulton asked why the city manager had an attorney present at his review, and who paid for the attorney?
Any city employee may have an attorney present during a review, Mayor DeVries explained, and the employee pays for the attorney.
Community member Carol Jones asked why former City Commissioner Judy Preston’s and Bob Fulton’s items were not put on the agenda.
Crossett, who is in charge of setting the agenda, stated that it’s not his intention to keep anybody from being heard. He would rather see the commissioner and the mayor deal with the agenda. Explaining that he doesn’t work for just one person, he works for the commission, Crossett said, “When I have a single council person asking for something on the agenda, it is not necessarily the will of the council.”
There also might not be time to add something to the agenda, he added. For example, an item came in just as he was going on vacation over the holidays, and no one was available to process the item.
City resident Murat Kalinyaprak brought up Ordinance 625 on the time limit for speakers and invited everyone to read the ordinance, why it was passed and what it overrides.
The three-minute time limit “is your way of shutting the public off by not letting them speak for more than three minutes,” he told the commission.
Regarding impact fees, Bob Fulton said the language is clear and said residential units do in fact use demand units, but they are not used in figuring impact fees for commercial units. Fulton also asked if the impact fees for the Mansion (the large office building on Polson Hill) have been paid.
“No,” Crossett answered, adding that the owners have been billed.
“Do you care?” Sharon Fulton shot back.
“Yes, we care,” Mayor DeVries answered.
The last to comment was resident Lee Manicke, who said, “We need to get rid of this three-minute rule. We made a big problem out of it.”
The meeting adjourned with the commission going into executive session to discuss a personnel issue.
The next meeting will be held on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
