Heated farewell for Plains mayor

Plains Mayor Greg Eitelberg hoped his final town council meeting would go quickly and smoothly – he was wrong.

"I thought it was going to be a quick 10-minuter. I only had one item on the agenda," said Eitelberg, who turns the reins over to Dan Rowan in January. That one agenda item, "Gate Blocking Alley on Scott Lane," turned into a heated discussion between the council and three Scott Lane residents. At one point, Eitelberg had to remind them to stop interrupting council members and raise their hands when they wanted to speak.

Scott Lane is one of a dozen alleys in town. A gate had been erected at one end of the alley under the leadership of former Mayor Michael Brinson several years ago. The Plains public works department took the gate down in early November, which riled those who have homes there.

One resident, who preferred not to be named, said the alley is not safe and there is a danger of drivers going into the Clark Fork River. She added that vehicles have come close to head-on collisions because the 16-foot wide alley is too narrow. One man, who refused to state his name, said that he believe the residents who live there should have "their voice heard."

Greg Welty, who heads the town Public Works Department and the man who removed the gate, preferred it to be down because his vehicles must back out of the long alley when done with work there. Eitelberg said he could see both sides of the issue, but wanted input from all of the local emergency services to help the council weigh in on their decision. Plains Fire Chief Anthony Young said it didn't matter because his trucks are too large to go down the alley. Police Officer Ethan Harvey said he'd prefer it be down for the same reason as Welty. The mayor hadn't heard from the ambulance service as of this week. Council member Chris Allen felt it should be left to the emergency services and public works.

The majority of the six council members seemed to be leaning toward keeping the gate down, including the incoming mayor, but they tabled the discussion until the Jan. 8 meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. at City Hall. Rowan noted that putting the gate up would in essence be giving those residents their own road and set a bad precedence for those who live on the other alleys in town. Council member John Curry wanted to research it more before making a decision. Eitelberg said that all of the alleyways in town should be one-way and believes that is what the council will do in 2018. Joel Banham seemed to be the only member in favor of keeping the gate up.

During the meeting, Eitelberg also discussed plans for road repair and said he was pleased that the special election for the Road District Tax passed in the November election. "The roads have been a huge issue the whole time I've been here," he said. The road tax passed 223 in favor and 136 against it. Eitelberg said the town should be in good shape because of the road tax, an increase in gas revenue from the government, and an additional $50,000 set aside for roadwork in the budget. Fixing the roads had been one of his biggest priorities and the biggest complaint by residents, he said.

Eitelberg said he's enjoyed his time as mayor, but wished he could have completed the replacement of the old galvanized water service lines, which he believes will take perhaps another year or two, primarily because the Public Works Department does the work to save money and can only do the replacement during the summer months.

The mayor will be looking into one other project while still in office, reducing the speed limit to perhaps 35mph on Highway 200 out to Kruger Road, where two new businesses are being erected. Eitelberg said he's leaving the job in good hands with Rowan. He will be swearing in Rowan on Dec. 27, 10:30 a.m., at City Hall.