Petition filed to recall Paradise sewer members

The Paradise group opposed to putting in a sewer system there hasn’t given up — they’ve put together a petition to recall two of the board members, but in hopes of eventually stopping the entire project, according to LeeAnn Overman, one of those who’s has been in opposition to the proposed sewer system since the start. 

Paradise resident Cody Lampman filed the “Notice of Intent To Recall” paperwork last week at the Sanders County Courthouse in an effort to start a petition to remove Sunny Chase, president of the Sanders County Sewer District at Paradise, and board member Rick McCollum and elect new members.

According to a press release from Paradise resident Katy French, who also opposes the proposed sewer, “Lampman asserts that the individual directors have violated their oaths of office to uphold the Montana Constitution and the laws of the State of Montana.” In her press release, she states, “Specifically, Article II, Section 9, depriving citizens of the right to examine documents or to observe deliberations of all public bodies; and Article II, Section 8, in that the public has a right to expect government agencies to afford reasonable opportunity for citizen participation in the operation of agency activities. These rights listed within the Montana Constitution are codified in state law.”

In Lampman’s recall filing, he alleged that Chase attended meetings with other government agencies as a representative of the sewer board without board approval and approved invoices to Great West Engineering without board approval. But Chase said they’ve gone through the process in good faith and for what she sees is a necessity to the town. “We have done nothing wrong except not be aware of proper procedure,” said Chase.

The petition drive began immediately after the paperwork was approved last week by Nichol Scribner, the county’s Clerk and Recorder, Treasurer, and Election Administrator. Overman and Danny Risland spent two days getting the signatures in Paradise, including tracking down Janice Arnold at the VFW Bowling Alley in Plains. “I really feel they’re just pushing people into this,” said Arnold, who lives in Plains but owns a house in Paradise.

Arnold said that costs to the residents for the system changed drastically from the time it was first discussed. She also believes people were kept in the dark. “I didn’t get to vote for who’s on the committee or anything else,” said Arnold, who raised her six children in Paradise before moving to Plains.

The Sanders County Sewer District at Paradise voted to go forward with the $4.5-million sewer project last May. The sewer district board includes Chase, McCollum, Adam Rice, Gary Kelly and Terry Caldwell, the newest member. The town received just over $3.6-million in grant money for the system and got a $770,000 low interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, which will have to be repaid by taxing each property owner $185 a year. A vocal group in Paradise has been using various efforts to halt the project, including demonstrations, a parade through town, and providing numerous anti-sewer signs. The petition to remove the two board members is the latest move. 

Commissioner Carol Brooker doesn’t believe the board member recall would stop the project and said construction bids are slated to go out this spring. Chase said construction will probably not start until this summer.

Overman and Risland finished with the petition Thursday, turning in 43 signatures — over the mandatory 15% of the town’s registered voters — and delivered them to Scribner. The signatures’ eligibility will be processed and verified, said Scribner. “We are awaiting legal advice for the next steps. Both of the people listed for recall get the opportunity for a 200-word rebuttal to go on the ballot,” said Scribner, who added the county has a week to verify the signatures. She also said that an election of new members cannot be held within 85 days of the petition approval. A re-election of members would cost between $1,500 to $2,500, which would either come out of the sewer district funds or from Paradise residents. Brooker said none of the project’s grant money could be used to pay for an election. 

According to the news release, Lampman said he hopes the two members voluntarily resign to save the taxpayers money. Chase does not intend to resign unless the board as a whole recommends it. “The board has been badgered by this same group of people through the whole process and we have pressed forward through this constant resistance toward getting a much-needed sewer system for Paradise,” said Chase.  

This is the second attempt at recalling board members. Chase, McCollum, Rice, and Kelly were all targeted the first time in January and were each given letters ahead of time listing their alleged infractions. “Their first attempt to recall us failed because they didn’t follow proper procedure,” said Chase. “It is funny because not following proper procedure is what they are accusing us of.” Even if the petition is successful and Chase and McCollum are bumped from the board, Brooker said the project would continue because the board has signed agreements to keep it moving forward.  

Caldwell believes the majority of residents are against the project. He suggested to the board that a vote be taken, but the other board members didn’t want to do it, adding that Brooker was also against going forth with another vote, saying it would be too expensive. Caldwell offered to help pay for it, as did Paradise resident Mark French. In late January, Caldwell took it upon himself to get a reading of the community’s standpoint of the sewer system. He didn’t ask whether they were for or against it; he just wanted to get an accurate assessment. He put together a list of community members who either owned property in Paradise or were registered voters there. He used a sealed bucket that contained each person’s vote and their signature. The votes were counted by Caldwell, McCollum, and two non-board members; Randy Robinson of Paradise, and Chuck Bandel of Plains. Fifty-nine people voted against the sewer and 29 were for it, said Caldwell. 

Caldwell doesn’t believe the board accurately communicated everything to the residents and he doesn’t believe the board is listening to the public. “Everything should be transparent and I don’t think it’s been that way in this case,” said Caldwell. Chase admitted they were sometimes “ignorant” of the legality of the process and had a meeting that was not properly noticed, but she said they sent a letter to every property owner with a notice of their intent to pass the levy, which included instructions of making a written protest. Several people stated they saw no such notice, including Arnold, who has owned a house in Paradise since 1959. “I never heard anything about what they’re doing and didn’t get to vote for anything. This has all been behind everybody’s backs. I don’t even think the people who live there know what’s going on,” said Arnold. 

Caldwell, who joined the board in October, said he’s not against having a centralized sewer system, but he doesn’t believe the majority of the town wants it. When he showed the board the results of his poll, he said there was no reaction. He said he has not been pleased with the way the board has handled conveying information to residents. He said they have never sent meeting minutes to the county, as they were supposed to do, a contention also mentioned in the recall application. Lampman charged that the board failed to properly post meetings, failed to post meeting agendas and failed to hold meetings in public spaces. Caldwell said they have had meetings in private homes, including Chase’s home, not open to the public, and that the two members have “delayed or refused to provide documents for review by the public.” 

The Sanders County Sewer District at Paradise has held meetings open to the public at a local church, the water district shop, and the Paradise Center, which has been closed due to the COVID-19 situation. The board has recently held its meetings at different locations, including private homes, but opened them to the public through Zoom.

Caldwell is also not pleased that they are purchasing Bridger Bischoff‘s property for the treatment plant and drain field, saying that had the board used eminent domain they could have got land, not necessarily from Bischoff, at a lower price and closer to town. However, the board has already approved a memorandum of understanding at a Zoom meeting in January to purchase Bischoff’s property for $200,000. Caldwell believes that the sewer system and Bischoff’s planned subdivision in Paradise are connected, though Bischoff has yet to file any paperwork and the sewer board denies any relationship between the two projects. 

“It’s all about the subdivision instead of the town,” said Overman. “We’re doing the wish of the people that are in this town, and we’re not doing a 40-year levy. It’s a multi-million dollar levy on the backs of 80 homeowners of Paradise for 40 years,” she said.

“The deal that we made with Bridger took two years of back-and-forth deliberation to make. The part of the deal that I think makes it worthwhile to the town of Paradise is that Bridger, through the properties that he plans to subdivide, will be helping to pay for the loan amount that is levied against the properties in the town,” said Chase, who added that people just don’t want Bischoff’s subdivision in Paradise.

“The Paradise community is facing the planning and construction of the largest infrastructure project it has ever known,” according to French, referring to the proposed sewer system. In the release, Lampman said, “The community has not been given the opportunity to engage in this process and provide input as it should have. Our citizen’s rights have been violated. All decisions that have been made behind closed doors by this board must be revisited in the full light of public access.”

In French’s news release, she said that the directors “delayed or refused to provide documents for review by the public.” However, Chase said it was never the board’s intent to exclude the public. In addition, she said that the public didn’t seem interested in anything the board was doing and when there was an opening on the board no one seemed interested in filling the position.