Polson city attorney draws fire
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POLSON — With a public hearing on the city’s water system before the meeting on June 18, the Polson City Commission had a busy evening.
During public comments, community members took aim at city attorney James Raymond.
Judy Preston, former commission member and city resident, said she had submitted an agenda item request for commissioners to vote to give Raymond his 12-month notice, since his contact terminates in July of 2012. Raymond’s contract requires 12 months notice by the commission.
Preston said that as of June 11, city manager Todd Crossett told her he had not determined whether to put her item on the agenda, since he was not sure it was appropriate for it to come from a citizen and should come from a commissioner.
She also presented petitions with 145 signatures requesting the commissioners give notice to Raymond.
Judith Bromley, DOVES board of directors vice president, read a letter from DOVES regarding Raymond.
“The staff and board of directors is deeply concerned that Polson City prosecutor James Raymond has failed to properly prosecute intimate partner crimes and has not adequately protected the rights of victims of domestic violence in this community,” Bromley said.
She said Raymond has specific obligations he is statutorily required to fulfill when prosecuting crimes involving actual, threatened or potential bodily injury.
Specifically, DOVES said Raymond allegedly failed to meet with victims prior to offering plea deals to the accused; he does not meet with the victims to ascertain the facts or to determine their opinions regarding the outcome of the cases. The letter also stated Raymond also routinely failed to notify victims of scheduling changes, so they miss work and are frustrated by the justice system, and failed to keep victims informed of the case proceedings, “which places victims in an incredibly unsafe position of not knowing what is happening to the accused.
In other business, commissioners passed the second reading of Ordinance 661, revising Ordinance 624, regarding impact fees for new improvement.
(The ordinance can be found on the city of Polson website at www.cityofpolson.com; click on city hall in the upper left hand corner and scroll down to city commission agenda.)
Amending the ordinance, commissioners removed a part which said, ”The City has experienced an unprecedented rate of new development in recent years increasing the strain on the city’s ability to provide necessary public facilities and services,” since commissioner John Campbell said that was not true. They consolidated the annual report and will use the ITE Trip Generation Manual, which contains land use descriptions, to define the gross floor area.
City resident Bob Fulton commented that the commissioners had asked that Ordinance 661 be rewritten so it could be read and understood by any developer.
“Nothing was changed,” Fulton said,” it came back the same way it was before.”
Resolution 1027, which reduced the impact fees by 80 percent and made it effective as of Jan. 1 passed unanimously. The resolution can be reviewed whenever the commissioners would like.
The commissioners also passed the second reading of Ordinance 662, which provided changes to Ordinance 620 on fireworks, fines and times fireworks can be shot off. Fireworks can be sold from June 24 to July 5. Acceptable times fireworks can be set off were from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. except July 3, 4 and 5, when the time will be 8 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. and New Year’s Eve from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
On the first violation, the violator will be warned; on the second cited and fined $50; and on the third, cited and fined $100, a misdemeanor offense, and all visible fireworks confiscated.
Paul Montgomery, vice president of Anderson-Montgomery Consulting Engineers, Inc., presented the final environmental assessment for the proposed city water system improvements, and the commissioners also approved it.
Dorene Parise, Polson Beautification chair, presented commissioner John Campbell, Ward 1, with an award for the most participants from his ward working during Polson’s Clean-Up Green-Up.
The commission’s next meeting will be held July 2 at 7 p.m.
