What do the purchase of less than an acre of land at the Hayden Branch by the Kootenai Shoshone Area Library (KSAL) system in 1994 and the purchase of just under 17 acres of land at the old DeArmond mill site in 2009 have in common? And why should you be concerned if you live anywhere in Kootenai County but especially in Post Falls or Coeur d’Alene?
Read on.
In this post, names in bold red have been major participants in both transactions.
The Consolidated Free Library District is better known as the Kootenai Shoshone Area Library system or KSAL. KSAL is a public library district and is governed by an elected Board of Trustees. They are elected public officials subject to applicable ethics in government laws of the State of Idaho. If you receive a Kootenai County property tax assessment notice, you may see “271 – KOOT FREE LIBRARY” listed as one of the taxing districts. KSAL is funded by property tax dollars, yours included if that notation is on your assessment notice. Remember that — it’s important!
The approximately 17 acres of land purchased in 2009 by the North Idaho College Foundation is the former DeArmond mill site adjacent to the North Idaho College (NIC) campus. NIC is governed by an elected Board of Trustees. They, too, are elected public officials subject to applicable ethics in government laws of the State of Idaho. Likewise, check your Kootenai County property tax assessment notice. If it lists “351 – N ID COLLEGE” as one of the taxing districts, your property tax dollars will be used by NIC to purchase that land from the Foundation. That, too, is important!
To understand what may happen at NIC, it’s important to understand …
What Happened at KSAL?
Over three years ago some citizens submitted an Idaho Public Records Law request to the KSAL to review the minutes of KSAL Board meetings going back to early 1994. We wanted to determine if public property (one particular piece of property KSAL acquired from Charles A. “Bud” Ford) was being used lawfully. The information that follows is based on our examination of the records provided by KSAL in response to that initial Idaho Public Record Law request and another one submitted this year.
In March 1994, the KSAL Board of Trustees voted unanimously to send a letter to Charles A. “Bud” Ford, the owner of some land contiguous with the KSAL Hayden Branch’s west parking lot. The Trustees wanted to discuss buying some property adjacent to the KSAL Hayden Branch Library. At the time, the Trustees were Richard Carson (Chairman), Ed Joy, Katie Blank, Judy Meyer, and Gary Day. In April 1994 the KSAL Trustees went into executive session on a motion by Judy Meyer to discuss the purchase of property from a private party, almost certainly the Ford property. The minutes do not reflect any action taken during the public segment of this meeting.
At the May 3, 1994, meeting the KSAL Trustees (with Trustee Katie Blank absent), “…requested staff to contact Freeman Duncan for legal advice regarding land acquisition and the District’s right to eminent domain for the Hayden Branch.” [emphasis mine]
Eminent domain? The KSAL Board of Trustees wanted to consider using Idaho law to condemn private property so it could “… create a long range plan for parking/grassy swales in case of library expansion in the future?” [emphasis mine] It appears the KSAL Trustees decided they wanted Ford’s property so badly that they would first negotiate, but if that didn’t work, they would ask the District Court to condemn it. Did the Library need the property badly enough to justify resorting to eminent domain? More on this later.
Then at a special board meeting on June 8, 1994, KSAL Trustees Carson, Joy and Blank (Judy Meyer and Gary Day absent) met with attorney Freeman B. Duncan and voted to “… adopt Resolution 94-1, providing for the intent to acquire real property by either negotiation or by eminent domain [emphasis mine], pursuant to Idaho Code Section 7-701.” During that same meeting, a motion was approved allowing the Trustees to, “… request that real estate consultant Duncan pursue an appraisal of the property under construction and order any survey or environmental audit needed for the acquisition of the property.”
The appraiser Freeman B. Duncan chose to appraise the value of the Ford property? Ed Morse . Who is Ed Morse , and why is it relevant that he was involved in the 1994 KSAL land purchase? Re-read Mary Souza’s September 2008 Coeur d’Alene Press column titled Fishing for Facts in a Pool of Poppycock. You will see names you recognize. The Ed Morse who did the appraisal for the 1994 KSAL land purchase is the same Ed Morse who did the 2008 appraisal for the DeArmond mill site purchase. He is the same Ed Morse who is the business partner of NIC Foundation director Stephen F. Meyer (husband of KSAL and NIC Trustee Judy Meyer) in Meyer-Morse Ironwood Partners.
What of the eminent domain possibility mentioned in earlier documents? The minutes of the KSAL Trustees meetings reviewed do not indicate that KSAL went to District Court to condemn Ford’s property. Whether the sale was voluntary or involuntary would be important to Ford if he exercised provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 1033: US Code Section 1033, Involuntary Conversions. In very general terms, that section provides some federal tax options to a seller if the property sale was precipitated by condemnation or the threat of condemnation under eminent domain. But it is disconcerting that KSAL was considering condemning Ford’s property “in case” the library wanted to expand in the future. If Ford had not sold voluntarily, would KSAL have initiated condemnation? Apparently so if the KSAL Board of Trustees was being truthful in its Resolution 94-1.
Regardless, in 1994 the KSAL used public money to acquire the Ford land (highlighted in green in this drawing) for approximately $46,896.25. That worked out to the KSAL paying about $1.25 per square foot of land plus some fees.
But this land was valuable to someone other than KSAL.
In 1994 Parkwood Business Properties and then later,Glacier Partners, were converting a light industrial area into what was soon to become the Prairie Shopping Center. A portion of the Ford property sold to KSAL had strategic value for parking for their new Prairie Shopping Center. A review of records available on the Idaho Secretary of State’s website reveals that Stephen F. Meyer and Charles R. Nipp are listed managers for Glacier Partners, LLC. A similar review shows that Stephen F. Meyer and Judith C. Meyer are registered to do business as Parkwood Business Properties. A similar review shows that Stephen F. Meyer and Charles R. Nipp are principals in Prairie Shopping Center, LLC.
To more completely understand what did and did not happen between 1994 and 2004 when Prairie Shopping Center, LLC, and KSAL signed a cross-use easement, review this chronological summary of the minutes of KSAL Board of Trustees minutes from 11/02/1994 through 11/09/2005. To more quickly grasp the significance of the events, each event type has been assigned a letter code and color coded. Orange-highlighted letter A signifies that significant action was taken in that meeting. Lavender-highlighted letter C is a comment of interest. Unhighlighted letters N/A signifies no significant action was taken in the meeting relating to the land acquisition. What didn’t happen when it should have is often as important as what did happen. Omissions or failures to act are as important as commissions. The entire timeline is very important to the reader’s understanding of the events.
Follow this link to Google Maps to see what the KSAL property looked like before the 2007-2008 renovation but after the shopping center had paved, striped and lighted it. The green arrow is in the approximate center of the 35-space parking lot on KSAL property. The photo below shows what the parking lot looked like from ground level after it was paved, striped, and lighted. (Note: This photo was taken in 2009 and has been cropped at the bottom to approximate how it appeared before the 2007-2008 Library expansion.)
KSAL "overflow parking lot" after paving, striping, and lighting
What is noteworthy is that until the 2007-2008 completion of the Hayden Branch expansion, that “overflow parking lot” was separated from the Library’s own parking lot by a 90-100 foot lot that was puddled in a wet spring and often snow-covered during the winter. Shown below is a photo taken in January 2007 before the Branch expansion. The photographer was standing in the Library’s west parking lot and pointing the camera west across the 90-100 foot lot toward the Cinemas. The 35-space parking lot in the Prairie Shopping Center (the property owned by KSAL — the “overflow parking lot”) is the plowed paved lot beyond the snow banks and near the Cinemas. It requires a vivid imagination to see how this could be seriously construed as an “overflow parking lot” for the Library when it was clearly inaccessible on foot from the Library.
Winter "access" between Hayden Branch Library and its "overflow parking lot" near Cinemas
Even under dry weather conditions, the photo below shows what a Library patron parking in the “overflow parking lot” would have to cross to get to the Library. The photographer was facing north. The “overflow parking lot” is out of the picture to the left, and the Library lot as it was in 2007 is to the right.
Pre-expansion lot between Hayden Branch Library and its "overflow parking lot" near Cinemas
To drive from the Library to what the KSAL Board of Trustees referred to as the “overflow parking lot” in the Prairie Shopping Center, a Library patron needed to exit the existing lot and make a right turn onto Government Way, then turn right from Government Way onto Centa Avenue, then snake through the parking lot to the “overflow parking lot.” Unfortunately, there was no signage in the existing Library lot to direct patrons to the “overflow parking lot” just as there was no signage in the “overflow parking lot” to identify it to patrons. It existed as an “overflow parking lot” only in the minds of the Prairie Shopping Center and KSAL. To put it another way, if a stranger were standing in the middle of the Library’s “overflow parking lot” prior to the 2007-2008 Library renovation, he would have associated that lot with the Prairie Shopping Center and most likely the Cinemas, but certainly not the Library. Even after the renovation when the separating lot was landscaped and a connecting roadway constructed, someone standing in the “overflow parking lot” would likely conclude it belonged to the Prairie Shopping Center, not the Library.
The chronological summary raised quite a few questions.
(1) Since the portion of the Ford property that ultimately became 35 parking spaces for the Prairie Shopping Center was obviously important to the developers, why didn’t they buy the property from Ford? Was it because they felt with Judy Meyer on the KSAL Board of Trustees they might get a much better deal to let them use Library-owned land for little or nothing?
(2) Why didn’t the KSAL Board of Trustees determine the commercial value of that land before agreeing to let the Prairie Shopping Center use it rent-free? Wouldn’t you think that when Stephen F. Meyer approached them on November 2, 1994, with his proposal, some of the Trustees’ first questions to their financial advisor and attorney ought to have been, “What is the commercial value of that property? How much could we rent it out for until we eventually need it (if ever)? How much would it cost KSAL to develop and maintain it as a parking lot and then rent it to Prairie Shopping Center? How much could we sell the land for if we decide we don’t need it?” Those are questions we would expect responsible Trustees to ask before making such a long-term contractual commitment, however the minutes we were given did not reflect that the KSAL Board of Trustees or their financial advisor or their attorney ever discussed those questions in an open public meeting. In fact, the minutes do not reflect the KSAL Board of Trustees tried to get anything of value in return.
OpenCdA.com learned from a commercial realtor that the 35-space commercial parking lot as it sits today would have a conservatively-estimated sale value of approximately $189,000. It could be more if the market improves. The question is, could KSAL sell that land without permission from the Prairie Shopping Center? Does the 50-year cross-use easement signed in 2004 with the Prairie Shopping Center allow or impair such a sale without penalty to KSAL?
The same realtor said that each of the 35 commercial parking spaces should rent for about $25 per month. The Shopping Center gets to use the 35 parking spaces rent-free but agrees to maintain the lot. Do the math. The KSAL Board gave away 35 parking spaces x $25/space/month x 50 years. That is $525,000 in rent the KSAL Board gave away — for the right to use land it already owned, paid for by taxpayers. And that doesn’t count the several years of free use the Prairie Shopping Center got while Judy Meyer was spearheading the effort at getting the cross-use easement.
The KSAL has been in discussions with Post Falls to consolidate the Post Falls City Library into the KSAL system. In response to questions raised by Post Falls officials about the cross-use easement with the Prairie Shopping Center, the KSAL administrators submitted this document. Compare it carefully to the chronological summary. As you read it, remember this: The costs to turn the Ford parcel into a 35-space parking lot were incurred by the Prairie Shopping Center developers at the same time they were constructing the rest of the surrounding parking lot (see Event #9 in the chronological summary). The Prairie Shopping Center gets to use the KSAL land rent-free. Even if the shopping center owned the land, it would still have to pay for paving, striping, lighting, and maintenance. And the path mentioned to connect the “overflow parking lot” to the Library? It was never built. It was not until the 2007-2008 library expansion was completed that library patrons and staff could safely and easily walk from the “overflow parking lot” to the Library.
What did the KSAL Board of Trustees get in return? Well, it appears the KSAL got to use its own land for parking — provided library patrons drove out onto Government Way and wandered back to the “overflow parking lot” between 1997 and 2007-2008. It is interesting that the Prairie Shopping Center imposes no controls over parking in its parking lots. That means library patrons could use any parking space anywhere in the Prairie Shopping Center for “overflow parking.”
(3) Since KSAL retained ownership of the land, is the Prairie Shopping Center paying Kootenai County property taxes on the land subject to the 50-year cross use easement, or is it using public land tax-free as well as rent-free?
(4) How effective are Idaho’s Ethics in Government laws? The KSAL Board of Trustees minutes indicate that Judy Meyer often recused herself and abstained from voting on this issue when votes were necessary. But she and her husband had a financial interest in the Prairie Shopping Center! The KSAL minutes (see Events #16 – 75 in the chronological summary) indicate she was the KSAL Trustee responsible for shepherding the cross-use easement with the Prairie Shopping Center. Whose interest was she representing? As a public, elected official, she had a duty of honest services to the citizens of Kootenai County. Why did it take years for that agreement to even be drafted? Who benefited from prolonging the consummation of the cross-use agreement? The Prairie Shopping Center. The 50-year clock on the cross-use easement didn’t start ticking until after the 50-year cross-use easement was signed and recorded, so every day up to then was another free use day for the Prairie Shopping Center.
But before you get too worked up about the preceding paragraph, understand that Judy Meyer‘s actions as a KSAL Trustee may have been legal under Idaho Code 59-704A – Non-compensated public official – Exception. In essence, Idaho’s legislators codified their head-up-their-___ mindset that someone who accepts a public position of trust and responsibility without formal compensation ought to be allowed have an interest in any contract made or entered into by the board of which s/he is a member as long as s/he conforms to the conditions in Idaho Code 18-1361A. Thank you, Idaho legislators — now you can go back to sleep.
In 2007-2008 the KSAL Hayden Branch expanded. Shown below is how it looks today with a road connecting the parking lots nearest the Hayden Branch to the “overflow parking lot ” in the Prairie Shopping Center.
View from south side of Hayden Branch looking westward toward "overflow parking lot" in distance
So now that we understand what happened at KSAL…
What Does This Have to Do With the DeArmond Mill Land Purchase By NIC?
The most fundamental thing readers need to remember about the KSAL transaction is that the KSAL Board of Trustees entered into an agreement that results in publicly-owned property being used for private gain by the Prairie Shopping Center. Remember: Parking lot spaces have monetary value for shopping centers. We don’t know what the Prairie Shopping Center developers (Stephen F. Meyer and Charles Nipp) would have paid for the property that ultimately they will be allowed to use rent-free for over 55 years, but we do know that the Kootenai County taxpayers paid about $46,896.25 for it. We know that the Prairie Shopping Center got a very good deal with help from the KSAL Board of Trustees.
We know that in addition to being a KSAL Trustee, Judy Meyer is a Trustee on the NIC Board of Trustees. We know that Stephen F. Meyer, husband of NIC Trustee Judy Meyer, is a Director on the NIC Foundation, a private 501-c-3 organization that is purchasing the DeArmond mill site for delivery to NIC. We know that the loan to purchase the property was arranged through Mountain West Bank whose directors include Stephen F. Meyer and Charles R. Nipp. We know that the appraisal of the DeArmond mill site was done by Ed Morse. As noted earlier and in Mary Souza’s newspaper column, Ed Morse is a business partner with Stephen F. Meyer. We know that Parkwood Business Properties (Stephen F. Meyer and Charles R. Nipp) has several properties near the DeArmond mill site. We know that Stephen F. Meyer, Judith C. Meyer, and Charles R. Nipp are in positions to influence the decisions on how the DeArmond mill site property will be developed commercially.
We know that during the Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission hearing and City Council meeting in June 2009 in which the annexation and zoning of the DeArmond mill property was considered, attorneys representing both NIC and its Foundation strongly supported zoning the mill property C-17, the least restrictive zoning in the City. The existing NIC campus is zoned R-17, residential, with special use permits in place and available authorizing everything it needs to do to fulfill its mission as a community college in Idaho. Yet, when asked by Planning Commissioner Heather Bowlby to explain what the C-17 zoning would allow NIC to do that it is not already able to do under the R-17 zoning, NIC Foundation President David Wold could only respond that it was important to give NIC Trustees “flexibility.” Flexibility to do what? It was a fair question, a good question, and one among others that Coeur d’Alene’s Mayor and City Council, the LCDC, the NIC Board of Trustees and Administration, and the NIC Foundation seem anxious to make sure doesn’t get completely answered until after the contracts have been awarded and the cement is flowing.
We know that as chairman of Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal agency, the Lake City Development Corporation or LCDC, Charles R. Nipp pushed very hard for the economic development project being marketed under the name “Education Corridor“. The acquisition of the DeArmond mill property by NIC was absolutely essential to the progress of that project. We know that commercial development will be a large part of that project. We know that state law allows NIC, the LCDC, and the Coeur d’Alene City Council to condemn or threaten condemnation of property through eminent domain. We know that Coeur d’Alene City Councilman Mike Kennedy is president of Intermax, a company owned by Stephen F. Meyer.
Citizens need to pay very close attention to the transactions surrounding the development of the DeArmond mill site. Over the life span of that commercial project, there will be millions of dollars of public money up for grabs. (Remember that the NIC Trustees and the LCDC Commissioners appear to be under the Idaho Code section 59-704A exception mentioned earlier.). If the project is to succeed, we all need to be alert to ensure it does not turn into another University Place scandal. We need to demand, loudly, that public officials in Coeur d’Alene and at NIC be completely open, honest, and responsive to citizen inquiries. We need to insist that all elected and appointed public officials behave entirely in the public interest. We need to insist that Idaho legislators evaluate the various Idaho Ethics in Government laws to ensure they reflect 21st century realities and adequately protect the public interest.
History can teach valuable lessons, but the lessons are meaningless when offered to those unwilling to hear. Here is the lesson that we, the people, must learn: We must pay very close attention to the quality and integrity of the people elected and appointed to public office. That admonition applies to every position from the President of the United States down to the least publicized boards and commissions in the smallest communities and counties. It is our duty of honest services as citizens to ensure our public officials put the public interest above their own private interest. That is their duty of honest services.
Bill, not sure if I should congratulate you or not – those folks bolded in red must really hate you. You asked a very poignant question in your expose’, “Why did it take years for that agreement to even be drafted?”
It was done under our noses, on the sly, so it would appear to be legal without public opposition – by design – and maybe skate my tort claim limitation statutes. They make the biggest mess they can, so it’s tougher to unravel. We are not supposed to know that we have recourse and we have been taught that if we do protest,we will suffer more. Very few folks have been able to keep a critical eye on our local government without retaliation or character assasination.
Your work is superior, most of us would never be able to put together what you have exposed. You have brought their spoiled milk to the table and have clued us in. Now, that it is there, they just expect us to drink it?
I agree that ethics laws in Idaho need to be looked at – because we don’t have any.
Comment by Stebbijo — September 23, 2009 @ 7:23 pm
So while we are raising our families in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, there are people behind the scenes, scheming to take advantage of the same families who are trusting our government leaders to take care of us and spend our tax dollars wisely. Talking about a bunch of [word deleted by Bill]!
Thank you so much for bringing this type of information to our citizens. All of you amaze me with your talents to uncover these crimes.
Comment by LTR — September 23, 2009 @ 7:32 pm
This only adds to my old man cynicism syndrome. Somebody should contact Frontline. Maybe it is overtly slimy enough for them to put on national television.
Comment by Wallypog — September 24, 2009 @ 3:57 am
Stebbijo, LTR, and Wallypog,
Thank you for taking the time to wade through all this material and then to comment.
If you read Event #79 in the chronology, you will see that there appears to have been one KSAL Board member (Dan Rix) who did not want the KSAL Board to go the direction it was going. I admire him very much for speaking up and for voting against the tide.
Many of the people, though certainly not all of them, who volunteer to serve either by election or appointment to committees, boards, and commissions do so with pure motives. They are often passionate and committed to whatever cause they serve. So intense is their passion for their cause that they sometimes lose sight of a very important point — if they are custodians of public money, often tax money, then they have a duty of honest services to the public. That duty must take precedence over their own passion for the cause, whether the cause is a school district, a library district, a fire protection district, a community college, a mosquito abatement district, a highway district, or any other public entity.
Comment by Bill — September 24, 2009 @ 7:05 am
To think that I voted for the propostion to expand the Hayden Library! I was happy with this vote until I read this posting. Now I realize that lost revenue from charging for parking use would have paid for the expansion.
The dealing of the County library system smells like the deceptions of the CdA Library. What a shame to to create offensive odors in both those lovely buildings. Again the principle that “the ends justify the means” prevails. We will have to put on a gas mask to to walk the “education corridor.”
Until we vote out the garbage nothing will change.
Comment by citizen — September 25, 2009 @ 7:30 am
Bill, This is an excellent post. Thank you for shining a light on what appear to be dark operations.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — September 25, 2009 @ 8:26 am
Bill, you have done and outstanding job on this report! Your facts, links and photos provide an in-depth, detailed account of the goings on. It sounds so shady to me!
How can the KSAL library board allow Judy Meyer to push through this obvious advantage for her business: FREE use of a big piece of land for more than 50 years? How can the NIC board and Foundation allow a similar, questionable path, putting the taxpayers at risk?
I liked what “Citizen” said about the shameful creation of offensive odors in these public projects.
Comment by mary — September 25, 2009 @ 8:29 am
This is an interesting analysis Bill; it elevates in my mind the apparent conflicts of interest that pervade the power structure in this area. One question I have however is whether you contacted or even attempted to contact the people that were/are involved to give them an opportunity to comment, particularly those in red. That act alone would push this piece closer to the realm of integrous journalism. Even, perhaps especially, a line indicating that people were contacted but that they refused to comment would lend a serious weight against them. Unfortunately, I see nothing indicating that an attempt was made.
Comment by eq72521 — September 25, 2009 @ 10:57 am
eq72521… Nowhere does Bill indicate that he is a ‘journalist’. The facts he has shown seem clear enough to stand alone. Besides in what fairyland would you believe that any of the ‘red’ folks would voluntarily give Bill the time of day?
Here is another fact. Ed Morse IS the go to appraiser on most if not all of the LCDC transactions and those involving many of these fine ‘red’ people. How nice to have the local gov’t, an appraiser and a bank at a developments firm disposal. It is as neat and as tight as a 17th century dovetail joint.
Comment by Wallypog — September 25, 2009 @ 11:35 am
I realize that and didn’t say that he said he was. But maybe he should. This is good work, but with some small nudges it would be that much better. They really don’t need to give him the time. Indeed it is probably best that they not, in the court of public opinion anyway. I really meant that just an attempt and the ability to write, “…chose not to comment” would be extremely powerful. Without that, there remains a shred of doubt regarding the piece, in that there could be some reasonable explanation for all this. I understand that the chances are slim, but the idea here is to remove those chances of doubt. A request for comment goes a long way toward this goal.
I think I generally agree with the slant here, but there are many sides to every story. The lack of attempt to gain comment from the other side(s) here honestly smacks of the same strong-arm tactics of which the other side is accused (at meetings, assemblies, etc.), even if merely in a passive-aggressive way. I’m not critical of the piece in general, but rather am really trying to make it better.
Comment by eq72521 — September 25, 2009 @ 12:34 pm
What we might do is make this a collaborative effort and we might all consider calling/emailing the folks in red and ask them for comment.
1. Here is Judith Meyer email contact off of the NIC website.
Contact the Board of Trustees
board@nic.edu
2.Charles Nipp – I am not sure how to get a hold of – this is the lcdc email:
info@lcdc.org or thru Mountain West Bank?
3.Ed Morse – Parkwood Business Properties
4.Stephen F Meyer – North Idaho Foundation, Mountain West Bank, Parkwood Business Properties
If anyone can add a way to contact these folks. I like email. Let me know. I am going to start with number 1.
Comment by Stebbijo — September 25, 2009 @ 1:46 pm
eq72521,
My goal is to provide information that readers otherwise might not receive. As always, it’s up to readers to decide how much weight and credibility to give to the information I provide. One of the reasons I like to use public records is because readers, including you, don’t have to take my word for anything or accept anything I say as accurate or complete. If you have the initiative, you can research the same public records I did. If you choose to contact the people named, you can do that as well. If you choose to follow other avenues of investigation, go for it.
Comment by Bill — September 25, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
What really gets to me about this obvious case of the cohoots is that so many other people who are members of the foundation ect. are just turning a blind eye. They have to know what’s happening. It makes you want to know what in it for for the rest of them.
http://www.sos.idaho.gov/tiffpilot/tiffpilot.exe?FN=\\sosimg\corp$/%2F10062008%2FAREPORTS08280145821.tif
I see that this guy is also on the NIC Foundation.
Senator John W. Goedde (R) E-mail
District 4, Coeur d’Alene
1010 E. Mullan, Unit 203, Coeur d’Alene, 83814
Home (208) 664-4652
Bus (208) 664-9223
FAX (208) 664-9336
He is also on the education senate committee. Think it will do any good to contact him?
Comment by Stebbijo — September 26, 2009 @ 4:05 pm
Stebbijo,
It’s always a good idea to communicate your feelings and opinions on issues to your elected representatives. We can’t expect them to know our opinions and feelings on issues unless we tell them.
Comment by Bill — September 26, 2009 @ 4:11 pm
Well Bill, I do call them, generally for my own personal entertainment because I like to listen to their useless rhetoric. I will,however, give som kudos to Marge Chadderon. She has been the nicest, receptive, and most honest politician I have talked to.
I cannot give to their campaign coffers or spend near the amount on advertizing that they can to promote their selected agendas, and if I do let them know about something they should be jumping on, it most likely just alerts them to keep a lid on it by ignoring it or go write a law to bail their friends out. They only care about the feelings of those who are in their pocketbooks. Just wait and see what they will do to ruin the public record’s laws after this no name mess here in CDA.
Comment by Stebbijo — September 26, 2009 @ 5:27 pm
Stebbijo,
When you find an elected official that you believe has represented you well, tell them. Even if you can’t contribute to their campaign and even if they’re not from your voting district, it’s always a good idea to give them an honest and heartfelt thank-you.
After Attorney General Wasden and his minions gutted the Idaho Open Meeting Law, I sent thank-yous to the eight representatives throughout the state who voted against the evisceration. Sometimes saying thank-you is all we can do.
Comment by Bill — September 26, 2009 @ 6:57 pm
Recently, in another blog or maybe a news item, I read a term I liked that seems to say it all, especially applicable to the views expressed by eq72521. The conduct in question can be summed neatly as, ‘SERIAL DECEPTION’
Comment by Gary Ingram — September 26, 2009 @ 7:27 pm
Good point about Senator Goedde Stebbijo. It is quite disturbing to me that Senator Goedde is not leading this charge to unravel the nest of snakes that cda council/lcdc/nic has become. I think the 2010 elections are going to be a real eye opener to our federal politicians, Dems and Reps alike. If they are viewed as go along to get along, they’re going to be back home. Local pols are very likely to be swept up, and maybe out, as well.
Comment by Will Penny — September 27, 2009 @ 1:46 am
Mr. Wasden, I hope you are hearing Will Penny.
Who knows when he he up for re-election?
Comment by citizen — September 27, 2009 @ 10:19 am
Will Penny – not that far off – Next Novemeber – 2010. Maybe some of these elected officials will start feeling some pressure and do something right?
Comment by Stebbijo — September 27, 2009 @ 2:19 pm
oops – last post meant to answer to “citizen”, but I am sure you all figured it out anyway.:-)
Comment by Stebbijo — September 27, 2009 @ 3:47 pm
I sure hope that someone good challenges Wasden in the primary. Thanks for the information, Stebbijo.
Comment by citizen — September 27, 2009 @ 9:16 pm
Lets not look a lot further than our own elected Prosecuting Attorney, Barry McHugh. He’s also paying higher taxes because of the shenanigans orchastrated by the nest of snakes. That coupled with his oath of office should spur him on.
Comment by Will Penny — September 28, 2009 @ 6:18 am
Will Penny, is our local prosecuting attorney McHugh legally allowed to conduct investigations on his own without the blessing of the state? Is McHugh the city or the county prosecutor?
Comment by citizen — September 28, 2009 @ 8:05 am
Citizen, Barry McHugh is the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney. Briefly, Prosecuting Attorneys do not ordinarily drum up legal actions on their own. I’m sure, if motivated to a cause, they could encourage the filing of a complaint that they could act upon, but this practice would be unusual and probably politically dangerous. PAs respond to complaints filed by law enforcement and decide whether or not the evidence can bring a conviction. Under certain circumstances they are required to investigate and enforce Idaho statutes, like the Open Meeting Law, for example.
Comment by Gary Ingram — September 28, 2009 @ 9:31 am
Thanks, Gary. I thought this was the case, but wanted to hear it for sure.
Comment by citizen — September 28, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
As far as I know, there would be nothing that stops the PA from opening his own investigation into illegal activity. Normally, as Gary says, they act upon complaints from LE agencies. Which begs the question; where are Chief Longo and Sheriff Watson? If any PA is more concerned about their politiacl future than their oath of office, then the wrong guy has been elected. Much like most of congress.
Comment by Will Penny — September 28, 2009 @ 10:48 pm
Where are our police authorities on these issues? Don’t we have city, county and state level law enforcement personnel? Is there any level in that queue whose jurisdiction covers these crimes? Are they not sworn to uphold the laws? Names and contact information please.
Comment by Wallypog — September 29, 2009 @ 6:23 am
McHugh, Bernard W.
Kootenai County Prosecutor
P. O. Box 9000
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83816-9000
ph.(208) 446-1800
(208) 446-1833
email: bmchugh@kcgov.us
I called the office and this is the prosecuter’s email: bmchugh@kcgov.us. I am going to foward this post of Bill’s to him. I was told that generally we are supposed to file a police report first, but I don’t know why not – if something is brought to the prosecuter’s attention, why they can’t act if they want to. Additionally, I am not sure if a crime has been committed, but it sure looks like it might be misuse of taxpayer money (grand theft?)- using that property as library overflow parking, considering who is involved.
So, I would encourage the rest of you to contact the prosecuter, if you are concerned.
Comment by Stebbijo — September 29, 2009 @ 10:02 am
Late to the afterparty, sorry.
Bill, I do still appreciate the story as is. I probably won’t be contacting anyone right now because, well, I’m just unlazy enough to post comments online. I don’t write my own articles (yet). Also, like Stebbijo, I disdain anything even approaching rhetoric, which is I know what I’d get if I got beyond, “No comment.” Still, if I had gone to the extreme effort that you obviously did, I think then I would go the extra mile and attempt contact. I was merely suggesting that you do so, as I think it would make this analysis close to iron clad. Do consider it in the future.
Will Penny, I hate to do this in a public forum, but you have no website or email linked (WordPress doesn’t seem to allow you to expose your email, which is annoying). Mine is my username at gmail. In any case, it does not beg the question. Look up the phrase (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petitio_principii), likely be confused (I still am unless I think really hard), and just stop using it. The actual circumstances for the phrase are actually quite rare, and even then the sentence or prose using it never (or at least almost never) ends in a question mark.
Comment by eq72521 — September 29, 2009 @ 10:18 am
Well pardon my Funk and Wagnalls. It may not beg the question but it sure as hell raises it!
Comment by Will Penny — September 29, 2009 @ 11:58 pm
There seems to be frustration about the initiative our law officials are taking in investigating questionable use of taxpayers money. It seems me pressure needs to be applied. Perhaps, a public forum with invitations to the prosecutors, sheriffs, and Mr. Wasden would be the ticket. Since there is no on going investigation I would think they could listen to concerns and respond to questions.
Any opinions on this suggestion?
Comment by citizen — September 30, 2009 @ 8:30 am
citizen – FYI an others, I emailed the prosecuter, Bill’s post and expressed my concerns. He replied and is reviewing Bill’s information and has let me know that he will get back to me, possibly some time early next week. I told him to take his time in reviewing the information. I will disclose his response when I receive it.
Comment by Stebbijo — September 30, 2009 @ 8:40 am
What about the thought of inviting them (law enforcement) to attend a forum and tell us their findings in person. Then we can judge for ourselves the level of concern they have.
Comment by citizen — September 30, 2009 @ 11:51 am
All this work to research and post this and the sad reality is that the apathy that pervades our population likely renders it null and void. It will take an outside investigation to bring change to this area’s dirty dealings, but will we ever see such an investigation??? What can we do to hasten the process Bill?
EXCELLENT Expose sir. Well Done.
Comment by CDAShenanigans — September 30, 2009 @ 1:11 pm
CDAShenanigans,
Welcome, and thank you for reading and commenting. You and others who have read the information and considered it have already begun to hasten the process. An alert and questioning community that interacts with its public officials is the solution. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes indictments and prosecutions to awaken a community. I’m hoping that can be avoided here in Coeur d’Alene. My sincere hope is that our community can be straightened out through internal self-correction rather than by the more extreme measures of criminal prosecution.
I recognize that most people are time-strapped, that they don’t have hours and hours to spend on what is over-generalized as “politics.” But the lawful and ethical conduct of the public’s business is worth spending some time on. It’s not as if every citizen must be an expert on all areas of local government. Still, most citizens have something that really interests them in the community. It might be schools, it might be public safety, it might be roads and streets, it might be wastewater management, and it might be something even more specialized. If a citizen has an interest in some facet of city government, that’s where the citizen should focus his attention. Then meet with your friends and neighbors who may have other areas of interest and start educating each other. Eventually, you will very likely want to share your concerns and constructive suggestions with some of our elected officials. Through that interaction, you will begin to see which officials are honest and effective and which ones are not.
The process won’t be fast, but it will be effective.
Again, thanks for the nice compliment and for being interested enough to read the post and comment.
Comment by Bill — September 30, 2009 @ 2:32 pm