In a lengthy and somewhat rambling presentation to the Polson City Commission last week, Polson resident Murat Kalinyaprak managed to accuse the Polson fire chief of deception, the city manager of ineptitude and the entire city commission of being “more stupid” than their predecessors.

He also interrupted Mayor Eric Huffine a few times, who at one point said, “So I'm running this meeting, am I not?”

Kalinyaprak also made some valid points about procuring land for a proposed new fire station.

The agenda for last Wednesday’s meeting included a proposed resolution of intent to trade four lots in the Ridgewater Development, owned by Mike Maddy, for a building (currently leased by Maddy’s B&I Holdings) and 7.7 acres owned by the city on Kerr Dam Road. It also included a presentation by Kalinyaprak, directing the city administration “to explore alternatives” to the trade “in the best interest of the city.”

Neither went beyond the respective presentations. The resolution failed for lack of a second from the commission and Kalinyaprak’s proposal received no traction at all.

The commission initially gave city staff the go-ahead to explore the land transfer in late January and authorized an independent appraisal of each property.  The appraisal by Jennifer McGinnis valued Maddy’s four lots at $588,000, and the city’s five acres on Kerr Dam Road with the building leased by B&I at $380,000.

Using a value of $1.75 per square foot for undeveloped land, the two parties agreed that a swap would need to include an additional 2.7 acres of city land in the same area in order to balance the trade. The land swap would entail no exchange of money – clearly appealing to the cash-strapped city.

In July, commissioners authorized city staff to develop the Resolution of Intent, which was presented last Wednesday.

In his comments, Polson Fire Chief Clint Cottle noted that discussions about building a second fire station have been ongoing since at least 2004. The need was reaffirmed by a study completed in 2013 that recommended the City build a station on the east side of town near the junction of Hwy. 93 and 35.

Since his tenure as fire chief began in 2015, Cottle said he has participated in four strategic planning sessions with various administrations and commission members. “At all four of those sessions, the need for a new fire station and/or a new police station has always been one of the top priorities,” he said.

The existing station, adjacent to City Hall, wasn’t built “to house modern fire apparatus,” he added. He enumerated some of the properties that the City has considered, including a lot on Kari Lane, another south of Walgreens, the old roller rink, land near Hawk Drive and Hwy. 93 and lots in Ridgewater.

In addition to more space and access to city water and paved roads, the chief said they sought a site close to the intersection of Hwy. 93 and 35, an area that’s seen substantial growth in recent years. For insurance purposes, it’s also critical that it be close (within 1.5 road miles) of areas that would need fire coverage.

The Ridgewater lots offer city infrastructure, appropriate zoning for a fire station, paved streets for ease of access and drive-through bays, a fire hydrant on the corner and controlled access to Highway 93, useful “for both responders trying to get to the station and apparatus trying to get out on the highway.”

He added that a future road connecting Ridgewater to Hillcrest Drive would also expand the coverage area and enhance response times for a new station.

Kalinyaprak, on the other hand, described the land swap as “farcical.” In his 40-minute-plus presentation, he cited concerns about the distance between the proposed location and the intersection of Hwy. 93 and 35, its proximity to an existing rural station on Caffey Road, south of Polson, and the availability of more affordable pieces of property closer to the highway junction.

From the four Ridgewater lots, fire trucks would need to travel a half mile to the highway. “So that's a wasted half a mile in any direction,” he said.

He also questioned the economic value of the proposed land swap, since it doesn’t take into consideration the value to the city of the $18,000 it currently receives in lease payments annually for the existing building. Nor does the appraisal place a value on the city’s 20,000 square foot building.

And he challenged the legality of swapping property valued at $380,000 without first making the same offer to the public. “You can't just cut a private deal like that with smoke and mirror effects,” he said, offering to buy the acreage himself to prove his point.

He also noted that B&I had proposed a similar trade in 2015, but the commission didn’t act on it. “They didn't want to go to court on this deal,” he said.

Among his suggested alternatives was a 1.6-acre parcel behind Walgreens that’s on the market for $350,000 and is 1.5 times larger than the four Ridgewater lots combined. He also pointed out that the city owns 1.9 acres on Morehead Lane that were donated to the Polson Parks Department about a decade ago and are located just off Highway 93 and .3 miles from the intersection.

“I'm sure they wished it to be like a park of some sort, but they didn't put a restriction on the deed,” he said. The city could carve out a portion for a station, and still accommodate a park, he suggested.

He urged commissioners to take action on one of the other properties immediately, and “put an end to this farcical scam tonight.”

Lack of transparency

Also during the meeting, Polson resident Mark Johnston voiced concerns about “the frequency and opacity of executive sessions, delays and concerns surrounding public records requests, and the structure and treatment of the public comment section during commission meetings.”

He noted that the city has eight advisory boards, and only 21 of the more than 40 seats available are filled. He also said most of those boards don’t post meeting dates or minutes on the website.

Johnston also complained that more than 50% of commission meetings held in the last year went into executive session, and that there’s no documentation of why a portion of almost half of their meetings is closed to the public or what the outcome is.

“I don't know if decisions are being made, money's being paid out. It's not very transparent,” he said.

Johnston also expressed frustration with the time it’s taken the city to respond to his requests for public records, and with the commission’s policy to not respond to comments or questions raised during the public comment period of meetings.

“I think there should be an opportunity for the public to participate and ask those questions and get some answers,” he said.

Duck debate continues

In other business, the commission briefly discussed the ordinance governing ownership of chickens within the city limits, in response to an appeal made this summer by Johnny Lapotka to allow ducks (which are currently prohibited).

After some conversation about whether the cost of a permit was $100 or $35 a year, city manager Ed Meece confirmed that the permit is $35, with a $100 fine for non-compliance.

“We restrict male chickens because they crow at dawn. Is there any reason to restrict male ducks?” asked Lisa Rehard.

Commissioner Laura Dever, who prefaced her comments by describing herself as “pro duck,” pointed out that ducks need water, and hence mosquito mitigation might be an issue. She also mentioned the need for predator protection, waste management, disease control, prohibitions on abandonment of ducks, flight restrictions, and considerations related to breed and size of the fowl.

Meece said most of those issues are addressed in the existing chicken code.

Commissioner Carolyn Pardini pointed out that few of those restrictions exist for family pets. “We’re really spending an awful lot of time and energy on poultry,” she added.