Paradise sewer opponents seek ouster of board members

In what has already become a tense standoff, there are now two possible ground-breaking actions in the mix.

And each side in the Paradise sewer project issue are hoping for only one kind of ground to be broken.

Residents and sewer board members who are for moving ahead with the proposed $4.5 million project designed by Great West Engineering and backed by Sanders County, are hoping to break ground on the project this spring.

Opponents of the project, who say it has been rammed down their throats without following Montana constitutional guidelines and that it is way over-priced, are hoping a recall petition they filed Friday in Thompson Falls will be ground-breaking in its own way.

According to opponents and Sanders County election officials with whom the petition was filed, the filing to remove at least two of the current Paradise Sewer Board’s members is something that may well never have been done in the state of Montana.

“I was told this type of action to recall members of a sewer board has never been done in Sanders County, and quite possibly anywhere in the state,” said Katy French, a Paradise property owner who is also a practicing engineer. They (the elections board) are trying to figure it out too.”

The move to recall sewer board President Sunny Chase and fellow board member Rick McCollugh comes on the heals of an informal vote last week showing overwhelming opposition to the project and the cost it would incur on the town’s residents.

Chase and three of the four other Board members, Adam Rice, Gary Kelly and McCollugh voted during a virtual public meeting last week to proceed with a land buy/sell arrangement with local property owner Bridger Bischoff to move forward despite an informal 59-29 vote against proceeding that was conducted by Board member Terry Caldwell, who abstained from voting in the meeting.

“We need to look deep in our hearts and think about who we represent and get our house in order before we move forward,” Caldwell said. “These are my friends and neighbors and we need to do this right to keep the peace.”

Bischoff has drawn ire from many Paradise residents for his role in the project, which initially involves selling a six-acre parcel of land he owns on the western edge of the town’s traditional boundaries to the Board. The parcel would be used to install a large underground waste collection facility that opponents say is not needed.

Protesters also say Bischoff would be the main benefactor of the project, which would allow him to develop at little or no sewer-related cost up to 19 residential sites on land he owns along the town’s northern edge.

Janice Barber, a long time Paradise resident who works as a hospice nurse outside the town, was among those who signed the recall petition.

“I’m really pissed about this,” Barber said. “They have gone about this all wrong. Why, for example, have the last two meetings been on Zoom? We have a perfectly good meeting place (the Paradise Center, formally the town’s school house) that would allow for social distancing with room to spare.”

Barber was referring to a major claim by opponents that Chase and the Board have not been transparent about their plans and have not followed guidelines to include public input and involvement.

Those sentiments were echoed by Paradise resident Dan Risland who also signed the petition.

“I don’t want it and I don’t need it,” Risland said following the Board’s decision to move ahead with the land purchase agreement. “I feel like the minority gets to decide on what the majority doesn’t want. My sewer (septic system) is fine, its good for a lot of years to come”.

As part of the recall process, opponents have delivered notices to the board members officially notifying them of the filing to have them removed from their jobs.

In the meantime, French and other opponents will await word from the county on what additional information may be needed to complete the process. If adopted via an official ballot process, the board would be liable for expenses related to that election under state law.

“What we’ve been told is the sewer board will have to pay for the election,” said opposition leader Lee Ann Overman. “The Board has no money, so they would have to pay for it themselves, or find a way to raise the approximately $8,000 it would cost.”

If that vote is taken and residents vote as the informal poll indicates, Chase and McCollugh would be the first to be forced off the board. Opponents say they may also include Rice and Kelly in future actions.

“We told the government (Sanders County) this is a citizens initiative because the government is failing us,” French said. “They (board) have not done this properly, this was done by a few and often in private homes. They broke their oath of office to represent the citizens.”