Sewer board selects new member, voids MOU

"Well, I guess the sewer project is dead," said Commissioner Tony Cox after Cody Lampman was voted in 3-1 at the Sanders County Sewer District at Paradise Board.

Cox said the majority rules and that the majority of the board "appears to be hindering not helping" to get the project going. However, all five members said they are for the project, but some with stipulations. Member Don Stamm has backed the project from the start, but didn't want to comment about his hope that it would continue.

Lampman grew up in Paradise. He moved away, but returned in 2017. He has been vocal in his opposition to the project and tried to get on the board last year when there were three openings, but the commissioners selected others. "I want what the town wants. The way I see it is I'm here to represent the people of the town," said Lampman, who added that he wants whatever will benefit the community of Paradise, an unincorporated town with about 200 people.

The meeting was held at the Paradise Center in anticipation of a large crowd. Sanders County Deputy Jerry Johnson was at the meeting in case of any repeated disorders, which had taken place at recent meetings. The cost of using the center's auditorium is normally $40, but the center provided the space for the sewer board for free. Nearly 50 people showed up at the two-hour meeting, where the board voted to remove Janice Barber from the board. Her name is still on the ballot for the May 3 election, but has said she would not accept the position if elected. There are two openings on the board. The other two candidates are Janie McFadgen, who is presently on the board, and Pernel Elaine Chapman.

Board members Terry Caldwell and Dewey Arnold were the recipients of a verbal scolding by Barber at a March meeting, when she was the board chair. The outburst was captured on video and shared on social media. Barber resigned twice and tried to rescind her resignation. She was present last Thursday, but the board quickly took action to have her removed with Caldwell, Arnold and McFadgen voting her off the board and Don Stamm opposing her removal. He said he didn't condone what she did, but felt she was an important asset to the board project, which is getting a community sewer system placed in town, a project that's been in the works for several years.

"Having her on this board is disruptive to our public, and we kind of took a minor public vote, and I believe that I decide with the motion," said McFadgen, who was visibly emotional about her vote and apologized to Barber, who in return told her not to be upset and there was no need to apologize. Barber stayed in the audience for a short time before departing. Lampman was immediately sworn in by McFadgen, who was unanimously voted in as president at the meeting. The board decided to use the title president in lieu of chairperson in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, the standard guidelines of running government meetings. Stamm was unanimously voted in as the new secretary, a position held by McFadgen, although he said he takes the position "under duress."

"The project is alive and well," said Caldwell, the former chairman of the board. "The battle we just fought was government overreach, two members' hostility, which led to disruption, and deceit. We now have favor with the public and we are working on extensions," he added.

"I'm for it if the town wants it," said Arnold, the board's treasurer. "Nobody was listening to the public and that's important. We're trying to get the trust of the people back," he said.

Caldwell and McFadgen were optimistic about the project and considered last week's meeting productive. McFadgen said the town needs a community sewer system, but she also believes it needs to be a fair process and that people of the community need to be heard. "I hope that we can make peace and move forward, whether we get the sewer in place or not," said McFadgen, who is going door to door to find out what residents want.

On Friday, McFadgen contacted the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to request an extension of the deadline of the American Rescue Plan Act grant of $1,437,881, the second largest of the six grants. McFadgen said that DNRC wanted to see the signed minutes of the last meeting, which would show the president election and the board's position on the project. She planned to get members together for a special meeting Tuesday to pass and sign the minutes. The next regular meeting will be May 10, although McFadgen said they haven't decided on a time or place yet. They also might hold a special meeting to work on time sensitive issues. 

All of the present board members are relatively new, with Caldwell being the most senior, starting in October 2020. The former board had been accused of pushing items through and doing things without the knowledge or approval from the majority of residents. The project has accumulated more than $5 million in grants and a $770,000 Rural Development loan, but there has been opposition to the project, partly because of a possible $185 a year tax bill for each property owner due to the Rural Development loan. In recent weeks, the board meetings have turned in to a frenzy of arguments, yelling and verbal abuse with references to the board meetings as a circus, one of the reasons some of the lenders are concerned about the use of their grant money. At least one of the funding agencies has said that it was withholding grant money until the board could get its act together and show productivity. 

One of the major decisions of the board last week was on a motion by Caldwell calling the March 28 meeting an illegal meeting and wanting it expunged. The motion was seconded by Lampman and with a 4-1 vote - Stamm was the sole member to vote no - the entire meeting was deleted as though it hadn't taken place. Caldwell clarified that the purpose of his motion was for everything to be thrown out, including minutes, discussions and actions.

"The whole thing, the whole meeting is to be disregarded and accounted null and void," said Caldwell. The vote to nullify the meeting also made the signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding a land deal with Paradise resident Bridger Bischoff invalid. The MOU had been written by Commissioner Claude Burlingame, an attorney for 48 years, and signed by Barber. The MOU had been done after several negotiations with Bischoff for his six acres. Caldwell accused Burlingame of trying to take control of the board, of overstepping his boundaries and having a conflict of interest in getting Bischoff's property. He also said former Commissioner Carol Brooker had tried to push the project through without knowledge of the public. He said he could have had the lenders' extensions done weeks ago if not for the disruptions at the meetings and the interference from Burlingame. 

Plans are to re-negotiate with Bischoff with the entire board involved. Some board members want to pursue the land purchase without promising Bischoff free hookups for a future subdivision. The free hookups had been in the first two MOUs with Bischoff. Although every resident will get a free hookup at the time the sewer system is put in place, Bischoff had asked for the same thing for his subdivision, which bothered some residents and board members. Caldwell stated that he wants to make an offer for the property outright without promising Bischoff any free service. McFadgen said there are no other property owners willing to sell land to the county for the project. Before an MOU is completed, however, the board plans to get an appraisal of the property. "Any deal we make with him I want to bring before the public and make sure it's acceptable to them," said Lampman. Caldwell said that any MOU will be looked over and signed by the county attorney.

Another controversy at the meeting centered around whether or not Barber's outburst should have been included in the official March 22 minutes. McFadgen, secretary at the time, did not include in detail what had happened. Even though Barber had been voted out and the board was moving on, Caldwell felt the "disruptive nature" of Barber's actions should be included as a matter of record. Even though the minutes had already been approved, the board voted that the minutes will be amended to include what Barber had said and done.

Cox believes that the project is in danger of failing. "Funding agencies want to see progress not controversy," he said. "I'm guessing the sewer project is in trouble and that's sad because it is needed. The railroad town is built on small lots and replacement systems may be hard or impossible to install. A $5.8 million project with $5.1 million worth of provided funds may go up in smoke," said Cox, who wasn't sure what would happened to the lending agencies' funds that have been already spent. He said the leftover money would just go back to the funders and probably go toward projects elsewhere that need the money. He doesn't believe the property owners would have to repay grant money already spent, but they still might owe money to the county water district and other obligations.