Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Opinion & Editorial

by Bob Frost, Hamilton

One of the most important areas of the Hamilton School District CPC is our county airport. The Hamilton CPC has not even discussed the area known as the Airport Influence Area (AIA). I do not know if Clarion Associates under their contract with the county is required to zone the county airport. I do know that it is a high priority to be done. It's been over five years since the AIA was formed. This zoning is critical to promote the public health, safety and general welfare and to protect the lives and property of our citizens. I note in the resolution adopted for the AIA that it requires the appointment of an Administrative Officer for the Board of Airport Hazard Adjustment. In addition to the Officer Commissioner Thompson, Chair and members Lund and Atthowe created a Board of Hazard Adjustment but no members were ever appointed nor were their duties established. All of this was done when we had the three-member commissioner. Only Commissioner Thompson of the three are still in office.

The original three commissioners never completed their responsibilities under Chapters 4,5 and 6 of Title 67 and Part 77 Section 20 and 21. These regulations (statutes) are too lengthy to include in this letter but the current commissioners can review them. A county Airport Board was created and established given them certain powers to maintain, construct, acquire and install equipment for the maintenance and operation of the airport etc. There is no power granted to this board to zone. Even the three commissioners under the powers granted to them cannot enlarge or extend the runway without a vote of the registered electors of Ravalli County.

There are other zones under the chapters, as mentioned, and they are (a) the Runway Protection Zone, (b) the Airport Hazard Zone and, (c) the Airport Approach Zone. All of these are covered by our statutes. Millions of dollars have been spent on acquiring land to the east of the airport and now we have a subdivision just southwest of the airport. This is a violation of the statutes and this land should have been purchased the same way as the east side of the airport. The commissioners must take the necessary steps to protect our airport so it is free from all obstructions and incompatible land use.

The FAA has two flight plans for the Ravalli County Airport. One is for light planes and the other is for heavier aircraft including jets. The heavier aircraft require a wider radius turn. The light aircraft follow the Eastside Hwy south over the new high school, over a present church and another proposed, and then over the subdivision to line up with the runway. The heavier aircraft come down over the City of Hamilton, west past the Rocky Mountain Lab (should be a no fly zone) and finally over the subdivision to line up with the runway. At this point they are about 50 feet elevation and travel at 115-120 MPH These are the jets- the light aircraft landing speed is 85-90 MPH. At this speed it’s only a second or two from the Runway protection Zone which is less than 500 feet from the subdivision.

The county is required to have sufficient interest in the above mentioned zones to protect these zones from both obstructions and incompatible land use. The county is required to attain compatible zoning around the airport to prevent incompatible land uses that could endanger the public, create risk from lawsuits, and cause the airport to be closed.

Zoning process democracy in action

Dear Editor,

There was a significant group of earnest folks present at a recent Stevensville zoning planning meeting determined to express their disapproval of certain specifics of the previous draft zoning regulation, and their belief that the process wasn’t working. Some strongly objected to the whole prospect of zoning at all.

As I understood it, the draft regulation had just undergone its first revisions based on community input. Though their concerns are valid and important, these calls to scrap the whole process after one round of revision are surely premature. Writing a public document involving many people can take many drafts, with plenty of communication, openness to differing view points, clarifying what is really important, all in an atmosphere of mutual respect. In other words, it requires a thoroughly democratic process.

Some at the meeting spoke passionately and at length about their experience elsewhere with the evils of zoning, and urged us to not do it. What bothered me about this was their basic disrespect for the process to which we as a community have agreed. For the time being, the question of whether or not to zone is closed. A popular vote decided that issue. Now we are on to planning that zoning. As friends and neighbors, I think most of us are anxious to hear out these concerns, but unfortunately it amounts to a hijacking by a few individuals. An essential element of democratic decision-making is to accept the group consensus and carry on. To attempt again and again to challenge a settled decision amounts to being a poor loser.

The basis for many of these objections to zoning were tales of a distant, insensitive bureaucracy making zoning decisions that adversely affect property owners, leaving them without recourse. This understandably excites a feeling of injustice. However, the simple fact of their expressing these concerns in a local planning meeting undermines their argument.

Zoning in the Bitterroot will be the product of a deeply democratic process. By insisting on this community-based planning, we have made sure the structure of this zoning will reflect our sentiments, not just a few government staffers or powerful business interests. The feisty people of this valley will never tolerate an autocratic bureaucracy or a few high-rollers to run rough-shod over us.

The fact is, we can make this regulation be exactly what we want it to be. Of course, that means we can’t let others do the face-to-face heavy lifting, and then show up at the end to denounce it. If we feel strongly about one aspect or another, we have to be willing to wade into sometimes uncomfortable discussions and painful compromises with our neighbors.

Voting is not democracy, in my opinion. Voting is the outcome. Voting comes at the very end of this messy, humbling and inspiring effort. It is unlikely any of us will get everything we want at the end of a democratically achieved decision. Understanding this at the outset makes the whole thing go more smoothly.

As is often stated, this whole thing depends of civil discourse and common respect. Folks are frustrated and feelings run hot, but there is no excuse for shouting someone down. Unfortunately, some of this happened at the Stevensville meeting. This kind of behavior may be appropriate in an alley behind a bar, but never at a public democratic gathering.

 Finally, the dominant underlying feeling I observed at the meeting was fear. Fear of persecution and subjection, fear of the “other side,” fear of future possible threats and takings and proscriptions and denials and losses. Well, I believe fear is never helpful or productive.

Instead, let’s try to have faith this process will serve our interests. Let’s trust the feisty culture of involvement and pride we enjoy in the Bitterroot, and the power of our individual participation. Let’s resist throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Let’s resolve to be fair winners and respectful losers. Let’s try to proceed from a position of hopeful expectation, and revel in this amazing experiment in messy, glorious democracy.

David Anderson
Stevensville

Zoning needed

Dear Editor,

I wish we did not have to have zoning. But that is like wishing everything here in the valley is the same as it was 20 or 30 years ago. I wish we didn't have to pay high taxes or wear seat belts. But we do.

It's true - zoning is being forced upon us, but NOT by the commissioners, not by Clarion, and not by the zoning committee. It is being forced upon us by development, by "progress," and by huge subdivisions that are taking over our valley. We cannot stop progress, nor do we want to, BUT we can control it with zoning. Don't get angry at the commissioners this time. They are finally doing what folks have talked about for years, and that is to help us get a zoning plan into action, to protect our land and our valley.

Yes, we are forced into it, but zoning better come or this valley will be in utter chaos in a few more years. Just as our highways would be in chaos without driving laws. Would you like someone to build several three-story apartment houses right in front of your country home and block your view you enjoy so much? How about a sexually explicit business next door? Maybe a town of 600 homes across the street? These could all happen without zoning. And when the farm land is all gone where will folks get food for their horses, or cattle? Maybe buy it from China? How about 1000 more cars on the Eastside Highway, and dried up wells, and water and air pollution, and millions of dollars in higher taxes to pay for the new schools, police dept, and etc. Zoning is the only thing that makes sense.

Whether we like it or not isn't really the issue. The issue is to work together the best we can. Give constructive ideas to move the process forward, instead of only complaining. Help the zoning committee move things along step by step to get the best zoning laws we can. Be thankful that we all can make suggestions. If we work together, we can do this. And years down the road we will look back and say, "I'm sure glad we implemented zoning in the Bitterroot Valley." Actually, it should have been done years ago.

Note—be sure to attend the open house at Victor High School on Saturday, April 26, from 10:00 to 4:00 when the new maps will be on display, and you can leave your written comments. Attend and find out what zoning is all about.

Grace Wilson
Stevensville

Thanks from mental health community

Dear Editor,

I just wanted to take a moment to recognize and thank Rod Meuchel at Hamilton High School Adult Education for his willingness to support our efforts in the mental health community here in Hamilton.

In his capacity as Adult Education coordinator, Rod has been very gracious in supporting our requests to make local adult education available to some of our clients. Rod’s interest and enthusiasm to ensure that all segments of our community receive access to quality adult education experiences, regardless of their particular economic situation, is gratifying. I fear this support may no longer be available if we lose our Adult Education program as it now stands, in lieu of the Community College some people are pushing.  Rod’s desire to support our work with these individuals makes possible opportunities that they may not otherwise have available.

Education is a very powerful tool, enabling individual transformation and development as well as a sense of personal self-worth. Having a partnership with an Adult Education program that has the flexibility to respond to local needs, helps facilitate those efforts directed at recovery, growth and healing. Additionally, by providing these opportunities Rod has helped to more fully integrate people into their communities, giving them a sense of belonging and participation. Having such a willing partner at Hamilton Adult Education has been a tremendous asset to our work as providers of mental health services here in the valley and we look forward to a continuing relationship with Hamilton Adult Education.

Rod’s help has supported our efforts. So, I just want to thank him personally for his contribution and role in our work. The efforts are most worthwhile.

Tom Kresan
Stevensville

Flood preparedness information

Dear Editor,

Even though spring is here I thought I should remind people that winter has left us quite a bit of snow. We received a better than average snow pack in our mountains and this is what we needed. Let’s hope to have a slow to moderate run off this year so that we can irrigate our fields and have water in our streams throughout the summer. This being said we don’t always get what we ask for. Should we have a combination of heavy rains and warm temperatures, we could experience high water in our streams and river, and wherever else the water wants to go. The heavy runoff could cause flooding issues for some. I hope the information which follows can be useful in planning for such an occurrence.

One thing we can all do is take a look outside our homes to make sure that as the piles of snow, if there are any, melt they have somewhere to go! Are there berms of snow or ice clogging your storm drains? Anything that is a barrier to the runoff should be cleared out of the way.

Next, you need to find out if your home or business is in the natural course of excess water flow. You may already know this because you’ve been in your home when there was a lot of runoff before. Another way to find out is to log on to FEMA’s Flood Smart website at HYPERLINK "http://www.floodsmart.gov" www.floodsmart.gov. They have a wealth of information to help you become aware of your particular situation and prepare for potential problems.

Water flow can be diverted with sandbags. During emergency situations sandbags may be allowed to be filled at various drop offs in Ravalli County. These locations are usually selected by the Ravalli County Bridge and Road Department. This is to be done only when permission is granted. Watch the newspaper and listen to radio announcements to find out if you can get sand from one these places and where they might be. Empty sand bags and sand can be purchased at your local stores. Only if Ravalli County officials declare an emergency or disaster in the county, will sand bags be provided to you by your local fire departments, if they have them. This also may happen if there are isolated incidents and your local fire department can give you access to sandbags. Remember that you will need to fill the sandbags. Your firemen do not have the time or resources to fill sandbags.

In the worst case scenario, people may find themselves forced from their homes or isolated inside them. This is the time when you will be glad you have an Emergency Kit or Family Disaster Supplies Kit. The main things are water, food, and first aid/survival supplies to last for 72 hours.

I thought it would be good to get a little reminder out there that we all have a job to do when it comes to being prepared for the worst. Thank you for doing your part.

Ron Nicholas, Director
Ravalli County Disaster and Emergency Services

Bigotry can’t go unanswered

Dear Editor,

Suzy Foss must have a subconscious need to attract criticism; otherwise she would never have even thought of writing her revealing op-ed called “All image, no content” in the Bitterroot Star.

You should thank God that you were not born a black child in Mississippi fifty years ago, Suzy. If you had been, your life would be a whole lot different than it is, and your view of the world would not be racist and bigoted, as it is. Odds are, you would be living in poverty, and wondering if you will ever enjoy the benefits of the greatest economy in history, an economy that would have never risen to greatness if not for the 200 years of slavery that built it. You would not be enjoying the financial rewards of a female Caucasian, successful realtor, in the last of God’s great Edens – the Bitterroot Valley, helping to dismantle it in the name of private property rights, while making your riches. Based on the number of African Americans living in the Bitterroot, I think it’s safe to make this statement, don’t you, Suzy?

I must give you credit for courage. That despicable display of ugliness will certainly be a magnet for rebuttal and may keep the Op-Ed newspaper editors busy for weeks. When you make statements like you did: “Do not blame white people or this country for what you do not have but instead look to yourself and your choices as the blame lays squarely on your shoulders”; you show an amazing ignorance of history – a history of America that is not always virtuous, but is laden with hate, murder and institutionalized bigotry.

Suzy, lynching of black men was legal until the 1950’s! How would you feel about America if your father or grandfather had been hung from a tree in your own front yard? I am thoroughly amazed that people with your distorted outlook on America, that is no naïve and distorted, are still living and breathing. Absolutely amazing!

My family had the misfortune of moving to southern Mississippi in 1966 during the very week that a black civil rights activist named Vernan Daimer was killed by Klan members when they fire-bombed his home; he burned to death in front of his children and his wife.

It was also the first year of federally mandated integration, which provided young blacks their first opportunity in American history to receive the benefits of a solid education. How would you feel, Suzy, if you were a young, poorly educated black girl who suddenly found yourself placed in a high school surrounded by hundreds of white kids, half of whom hated you because you were black, and because the South lost the Civil War, a virtuous war that ended the evil that slavery represents?

How would you feel, Suzy, if your hope for a future in America was suddenly vanquished in 1968, with the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King? Our idyllic way of life in the Bitterroot is far distant from the reality of much of black America; we have no clue what it’s like to be raised in the inner cities, like East L.A., or Newark, New Jersey. We should thank God everyday that we live where we do.

I worked for a plumbing company in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and, as a “grunt”, was stuck working with a black man named Ernie, who worked me (and himself) into the ground, everyday, for peanuts. He spent his short life working himself to death, a serious alcoholic, always yearning for respect from his white employers, but forced to use the back door whenever we stopped at a café for lunch. I will remember (and respect!) Ernie until the day I die – that is the America that you forget, Suzy, and it still exists!

Come on, Suzy, tell me that Ernie’s short, miserable life was his own fault, that Ernie’s “shoulders” just weren’t good enough to succeed in “Suzy’s America.”

The problem is that the playing field is not level, and it’s obviously difficult for you to understand that.

People with your outlook on the world have created the political conditions that have launched Barrack Obama into the American psyche – thanks to all of you! Odds are he will be our next President, so you might as well accept it and go about your business. Odds are also that Tiger Woods will win the Master’s this Sunday, for the fifth time, establishing himself as the greatest athlete in history (the words of the current greatest athletes in history, including Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and

Wayne Gretsky - a white guy!)

And, please do keep writing letters – you’re helping to change the world!

Enjoy the traffic, Suzy.

Chris A. Linkenhoker
Corvallis

Update on Hamilton finances

Dear Editor,

Here is an update on the new Hamilton Finance Committee for March. Bob Frost and I attended their March 20 meeting. We have written a detailed letter to Mayor Randazzo explaining our concerns and asking for current information on the the following subjects:

Merrill Lynch Presentation – With interest rates down below 2% now, we hope city admin took our advice, last month, and put city funds into higher rate CDs when they were available, rather than invest with Merrill Lynch. We are requesting an update.

Draft Investment Policy – Dennis Stranger, city planner, is looking into revising this policy, and commented that the 50-page document could be shortened to six pages or less. We agree. He will work with Councilor Hendrickson and Mayor Randazzo on this.

RML Backbilling – The full City Council has accepted the $231,000 offer made by the NIH for the RML water base rates that remain unpaid. We do not believe they have the statutory authority to simply give away the remaining $500,000 in funds owed to the city. Given the fact that negotiations with the RML were done by the mayor out of the purview of public scrutiny, there is no way for us to be comfortable with this huge loss. In fact, it is criminal to give away all that money, and then plan an increase in utility rates on the residents of Hamilton.

Marcus Street Water Bill – No response has been received on the $122,415 construction bill, which remains unpaid for over two years.

Comp Time versus Hiring another employee – I have personally spoken with the US Dept. of Labor in Great Falls, as well as the State Wage & Hour agency about this. In both cases, it was confirmed that the City of Hamilton is not obligated to compensate exempt professional employees, either in the form of “comp time” or overtime pay. To do so would be a gross abuse of public funds for personal enhancement of city employees. We must insist that the City of Hamilton stop this practice immediately, and draft a policy for city council and citizen review.

New subjects from March 20 meeting:

Proposed Utility Rate Increase – Once again, we were completely astonished at the lack of discussion on this very important subject. What, exactly, is the justification for a water and sewer rate increase? To simply say that the city’s revenue from current water/wastewater rates is “insufficient” is totally unacceptable. If approved, Hamilton residents will be receiving notification of a rate increase within the next two months. Sewer rates will increase by $5.28 per year and .04 cents per 1,000 gallons of water used. Water rates will increase $7.08 per year and .03 cents per 1,000 gallons. Additional rate increases are planned annually through 2011. Again, we feel it is a betrayal of public trust to “forgive” the huge RML water bill, and then turn right around and raise the rates on the residents. This is all about giving raises to the employees, and benefits to the developers. Citizens of Hamilton, make your feelings on this known to the mayor.

Budget – We were impressed with the change in process for budgeting last year. It was much improved from previous years. We think city department heads should make a concerted effort to cut costs this year, as a message to the citizens that they are fiscally responsible with public funds. It will also show the mayor’s commitment to protecting the treasury, as she is the de facto Treasurer.

Shook Property – This item it still on the agenda. Now the city is looking for a ”partner” to help purchase the land with an asking price of over $1.7 million. The county commissioners are not interested. This deal is terrible, and expensive, no matter which way it is spun.

Non-Agenda Items – Councilor Jerry Steele wants the city to purchase laptop computers for the council to use at meetings. We are not in favor of this, after seeking the problems Missoula’s city council experienced.

Councilor Mike LaSalle wants to discuss “Council Stipend” at the next meeting. This is the salary each councilor is paid. We would like to know what other Class 3 city councilors are paid around the state. It is our understanding that Hamilton has the highest paid council already. They each get $600 per month.

We have also provided the mayor with a list of 18 “unfinished issues” of the Finance Committee from last year, with many recommendations and suggestions. We are awaiting her response.

We appreciate all the calls and encouraging emails from concerned citizens regarding our op-eds on city finances. It is our hope that more citizens will become involved it their city’s business. Attend meetings. Write letters. Call your council representatives and mayor. Run for office yourself. Otherwise, if city officials do things that make you mad, you have no one to blame but yourself. We need involvement from every citizen, even if you disagree with us. Don’t sit back and ”let someone else do it.” There is no one else but you.

Lorraine Crotty
Hamilton

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