Irrigation district swears in members
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ST. IGNATIUS – The latest irrigation meeting had potential for problems amid election controversy, but when law enforcement stopped by to check on things, the meeting was civil.
The Flathead Joint Board of Control is made up of irrigation districts that routinely hold meetings where board members vote on agenda items, but this meeting was for the Flathead District board and not the entire board, so only two members were seated in front of the public on Tuesday, May 10.
The regular FJBC meeting was canceled, due to family illness, which is when newly elected board members might have been sworn in, so Flathead District Commissioner Dick Erb scheduled the district meeting in its place.
The point of contention began in the middle of last month when nine of 11 FJBC members wanted to cancel the May 3 election, which would determine three board members. It was reported in a letter from FJBC attorneys to the county that the election was fraught with “incurable legal violations” including withholding ballots and misinterpretation of election laws, but the election was held as planned.
Lake County election officials disagreed with those nine board members and certified the election results. Two of the newly elected candidates were in the Flathead District, including David Lake for division four, winning the majority vote with 40,304 to Shane Orien’s 15,275. In division two, Janette Rosman won with 30,038 votes to Wayne Blevins count at 25,531.
As a side note, the last candidate that needs to be sworn in, Ray Swenson, is in the Mission district. Swenson has 5,098 votes, and Jerry Laskody has 2,932 votes.
During the Flathead District meeting, Commissioners Paul Guenzler and Dick Erb took their seats. Lake and Rosman were individually sworn in despite the fact that the majority of the board said they wouldn’t honor the election results. Orien and Blevins did not attend the meeting. At the next FJBC meeting, there might be a dispute as to who should take the seats for the Flathead District.
After the two candidates were sworn in, four of the five members of the Flathead District were seated. Bruce White did not attend. Erb explained that the district now had a quorum and enough members to conduct official business. The meeting was called to order.
The board elected Erb as the new chair for the Flathead District, Guenzler is the vice chair, and Rosman is now the secretary.
The next item of discussion was about who has the authority to sign documents, checks, and warrants concerning district activity. After more information is obtained, the matter will be resolved at another meeting.
Legal expenses were also discussed and will be added to the agenda for the next meeting. Flathead District members wanted to know how much the FJBC owes in legal fees, what costs are accumulating, and what legal contracts are currently out.
The district board decided to hold their regular meetings on the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Round Butte Clubhouse as per the guidelines in the bylaws. They talked about changing the location of future meetings with possible rotations. The joint board meets on the second Tuesday.
Rosman noted that it was essential to consider irrigators’ schedules when planning meetings as morning and evening times were difficult for people working out in the fields.
Lake said that it was important to bring accountability to the board by focusing more on irrigation matters that improve the project. Erb added that joint board meetings are too long.
“People need to be heard,” he said after the meeting. “But we need to have time limits.”
During public comment, it was asked if the district board thinks swearing in newly elected members is a good idea considering the board voted to cancel the election.
Guenzler responded by saying that it would “pull people apart” even further by not appointing the newly elected members, because they were elected by a majority. He said appointing them is a way of uniting the irrigators. He added that the county was behind the district board’s decision. During the meeting, a copy of the official stamped election results were available to the public.
