City manager severance package awarded, developers agreement reached
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POLSON – At the Jan. 7 commission meeting, all commission members present voted to provide former City Manager Mark Shrives six months of salary and benefits in the wake of his departure from the city.
The city will pay Shrives $45,176.82 in severance pay, $3,209.04 in health insurance benefits and $4,323.42 in retirement benefits. The request for severance compensation was dated Oct. 26, 2018, which was three days before Shrives’ contract with the city ended.
Shrives declined to renew his contract after a routine contract renewal discussion became contentious. The commission offered Shrives a one-year contract renewal rather than the previously agreed upon two-year contract and Shrives did not accept the offer, opting instead to end his tenure at the city.
At the same meeting, the commission approved a developer’s agreement between Cougar Ridge Development and the city. The agreement adds a condition to the 10-year subdivision approval time extension the commission granted the developer on Oct. 15. The agreement sets terms for the developer to build a second access road to the development.
According to the agreement, the developer will conduct annual traffic counts on the access road to the subdivision each summer. When the average number of vehicle trips per day reaches 5,000, the developer will conduct traffic counts three times per year. According to the agreement the developer will pursue building a second access road when 7,200 vehicle trips per day are recorded.
In other commission business, retired police K-9 Brody will stay with familiar company. The commission voted to sell Brody to his handler, Captain Allen Booth, for one dollar.
The commission also voted to appoint community members to advisory boards. Felix Moran was approved as a member of the Joint Airport Board. Gerry Browning and Mandy Smith were approved as members of the Economic Development Council. Larry Ashcraft and Robert J. Byers were reappointed to the Golf Board. Dave Rittenhouse was appointed to the Park and Tree Board. Molly Owen and Karen Kay Dunwell were approved as members of the Polson Redevelopment Agency.
Larry Ashcraft, Lita Fonda, Joan Hart, Ruth E. Hodges, Mark Johnston, Kyle Roberts and Gayle Siemers applied to be on the City Manager Search Committee. The commission approved a seven-person committee to include all of the applicants. The commission agreed to seek legal counsel on whether any of the applicants would be disqualified from participating on the committee by a conflict of interest.
