Plains discusses land sale, council opening

The Plains Town Council meeting last Monday started and ended with a bit of controversy with relative calm in between.

Even before the meeting began, Plains resident Charles Bickenheuser stepped into City Hall's council room asking council to wait another month before appointing a council member for Ward 3, Seat 2, left vacant when Chris Allen was appointed interim mayor the previous month. Bickenheuser stated that there wasn't enough advertisement for the position and he'd like to have some time to recruit a person for the position. In addition, he threatened court action if the council went forward with putting the sole applicant, John Roesler, into the position that night.

Bickenheuser said that public notice for the job was inadequately advertised, saying that putting it on the front door to City Hall was not enough. Cathy Emmett, the chief clerk, said it was advertised at City Hall and was put up at the post office. Bickenheuser, however, said it should have been put on the town's website, Facebook page, and on the electronic reader board at City Hall. He followed up his displeasure of the way the town handled the opening with a letter to the mayor and council members citing the Montana Code Annotated definition with regards to adequate public notice along with a sample notification of a Stevensville council vacancy.

In council's first order of business, Allen was given the oath of office as the interim mayor. They then discussed the matter of filling the vacant council spot. Council member Connie Foust said that if someone wanted to make an issue of council going ahead with the appointment they probably could. Council voted unanimously to postpone an appointment until the next meeting on March 6. Meanwhile, she suggested in her motion, second by Joel Banham, to have the town lawyer, Loren Fitzpatrick, research the situation and determine what the state requires.

The council also encountered resistance in the last item of the new business agenda - City Land for Sale - when Plains resident John Patterson spoke up about problems with the way the town was handling the sale of surplus land just north of the old lagoon.

The town listed the sale of 27.35 acres in January for $212,500, with a minimum bid of $190,000, which was set by council at the December meeting. The town listed the property with realtor Mary Helliwell, who told council that there were 27 inquiries about the land and two people presented offers, although they have since rescinded. When the town first bought the property, there were 44 acres, but the Clark Fork River has claimed almost 30 acres.

Patterson owns property adjacent to the town's property. Parts of his property, which he utilizes for cattle grazing and a conifer seed tree business, has flooded three times since he's owned it. He believes the town is misrepresenting its advertising of the land and insisted there is no usable easement into the property, which is in the flood plain and the flood way. Patterson said that if a buyer tried to put in an easement, such as a road or a dike, it could negatively impact his property and there would be a protracted court battle. Allen said that the realtor confirmed the town already has a dedicated easement to the property.

Patterson told council he's interested in buying the property, which he would use as a buffer between the river and his land, but he wouldn't pay even the minimum cost the town is asking for it.

It was erosion that prompted the town to move the sewage treatment plant to another area. Allen agreed that no one knows when the next major flood will hit the for-sale property along the river or how much property would be lost to erosion. "You don't know, it could flood next year or it could not flood for 40 years," said Allen. The council decided unanimously to table the sale until next month.

"We don't want a protracted legal battle over this. We would like to buy the property, but we would like to buy it at a reasonable price, based on the fact that this year it could all be gone," said Patterson.

The council also tabled a vote on a first reading of amendments to the dog kennel ordinance, which stated: "It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain or operate, or caused to be maintained or operated, at any place within the limits of the town any dog kennel, where the breeding of dogs is conducted or carried on as a business or commercial venture of any kind." Allen said similar wording regarding kenneling was to be included in the Decay Ordinance, but the verbiage didn't make it into the ordinance.

"I know that we've had problems in the past with people breeding dogs and raising dogs within the city limits and it's created problems in neighborhoods, so without something like this we don't have anything to contain that," said Allen, who added that without an ordinance in place, anyone could legally operate a kennel or be a breeder. Plains Officer Chris Reyna said there already is an ordinance for dogs disturbing peace, but not for a kennel. Council member Chad Cantrell said that voting in the proposed ordinance would impact a person who was breeding dogs for a living. He made a motion to table the ordinance until it could be further researched. Foust seconded the motion.

Plains resident Loren Hutnik spoke up and wanted the ordinance to be clear that it covered kennel businesses and not people who raise dogs for themselves. Hutnik said he sometimes breeds hunting dogs, and even though he sometimes sells some of the pups, he doesn't do it as a business.

The council did pass a motion to reappoint Matt Jaramillo to the Planning Board for another two years. In an effort to stagger members of the Plains Police Commission, it reappointed Ron Robinson for a two-year term and Dennis Evans to a three-year term. The third member, Tracy Scott, is a newly appointed member in his first year.

The mayor wants to have a town cleanup this spring. Volunteers had one about three years ago and it was a big success, according to Allen, who said he'd like to see someone lead that charge and volunteer to do it again this year. The event would allow the opportunity to help people and they wouldn't have to haul trash to the refuse site or pay to have it dumped, according to Allen.

"Every town could use this. It doesn't mean that everybody that you talk to out there is going to be real happy and gung-ho about what you're doing, but the vast majority of people in town will appreciate it and it will give them a little bit of pride in their community," said Allen.

Other items passed at the meeting included a water leak that was repaired by public works within a day, a new furnace at City Hall, pre-bids on water projects, and a new doorway being installed to help keep traffic down outside the mayor's office. He also brought up training sessions in Thompson Falls and Bozeman that he feels would be good for council members to attend.