Category: City Commission

In recent weeks I’ve received numerous complaints and questions about the situation at the so-called “homeless camp” in the parking lot and property of the First United Methodist Church in downtown Great Falls.

The situation has caused a lot of controversy due to it’s location and the fact that the “camp” is growing, in the midst of our central business district and bordering on a residential neighborhood.

In previous city commission meetings Great Falls Police Chief Newton has outlined the very troubling increase in crime in the area associated with the activities at FUMC and at last night’s meeting City Manager Greg Doyon addressed the issue directly, making the following statement:

“I want to update efforts with regard to first United Methodist Church. As I conveyed to the commission previously the church has filed an application for a conditional use permit to operate an emergency shelter on their property and the city is currently engaged in reviewing that application and as the commission knows that process will work its way through a public process. Once that application’s completed the planning board level and then to the commission so the public has an opportunity to weigh in and comment in support and opposition to that proposal.

Formal notice of violation was also issued recently because of the tents on the property, the tents on the property constitute a zoning violation because under the code they’re not allowed to do that.

The City is also going to commence a nuisance complaint process and that is essentially based on the level of complaints that the city is starting to get as a result of the church’s efforts down there.

I’m not gonna say anything more on it because of the processes that I just outlined in some of those cases that will come before this body, especially the nuisance one, but if you had a legal question I would probably defer that to Jeff who I suspect is not gonna say a whole lot at this point either.

I will editorialize and say I know that people are frustrated on both sides. People want to help the homeless and they’re trying to find the right way to do that but we also have ordinances and laws in place for order in the downtown so to speak and so there is a process to address those grievances and I wanna let people know that the City is not ignoring it, we’re following the processes that we have available to us or under the law after working with the church and some other efforts.”

Rules? What rules?

I’ve been following the Great Falls City Commission for years and pointing out instances of, in my opinion, questionable conduct of business. I and others here in Great Falls would say the commission at times appears to make their own rules while ignoring city code when it suits them. The latest instance of this occurred at the December 21 city commission meeting. The city commission failed to follow its own codified procedure for city board appointees. I feel it warrants further scrutiny.

Appointment or reappointment of a city representative for the City-County Board of Health was on the agenda. The Board of Health, unlike most other local boards, is not merely advisory— it wields, or attempts to wield, regulatory power. Therefore, it is a very important position in our community.

The city commission reappointed Amanda Ball even though she didn’t submit an application for reappointment. The city also failed to advertise the position to the public to solicit for other applicants. To me, this is a clear example of the city doing what they please instead of what is required.

The procedure for board appointments is codified in Resolution 10235, Establishing a Policy Concerning Appointments to Boards and Commissions, which was passed by the city commission on June 5, 2018:

“In the case of a member eligible for and interested in reappointment, if the member is in good standing and the applicable board or commission recommends that the member be reappointed, his or her application shall be brought before the City Commission for consideration for reappointment without advertising for other citizen interest”

The Board of Health chose not to make any recommendation as is documented in the meeting agenda packet.

So then, in order to follow their own rules, the City of Great Falls should have advertised for applicants—but they didn’t.

They also failed to require Ball to bring forth an application for reappointment.

Most of the public, along with Commissioner Tryon who began his term in 2020 and newly appointed Commissioner Heinbauch, would have no way of knowing what Ball’s qualifications are, unless they accessed her original application from April 2019. Why not provide the commissioners and the public her application?

There were two other folks that sent in applications, even though the city didn’t open it up for applications as required. One applicant, Katrina Lewis, is a doctor and the other applicant, Jonathan Martin, a retired pharmaceutical representative. Their applications are attached to the meeting agenda packet found here:

https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/greatfls-pubu/MEET-Packet-f120724c58a140db8ae4e69899b7629a.pdf

Commissioner Robinson, who also serves on the Board of Health and is in fact, chair of that board, was the main proponent for Ball. The December 21 city commission meeting is posted at link below. The discussion about reappointment of Ball begins @ 00:13:00.

https://greatfallsmt.viebit.com/player.php?hash=pS5wqM3uGkne

At @ 00:16:00, Commissioner Tryon weighs in that the two other applicants deserve to be considered and brings up Resolution 10235. At @ 00:20:10 he asks the question of whether it is standard that the Board of Health doesn’t weigh in on appointment or reappointment of candidates to the board, to which Commissioner Robinson, at @ 00:20:24 states, “The answer is yes.”

But that is not true. The Board of Health has, in the past, weighed in on candidates.

For example, consideration for reappointment of Peter Gray, with the statement, “During the November 7, 2018 Board of Health meeting, the Board recommended reappointing Mr. Gray,” is found here:

https://greatfallsmt.net/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_commission/meeting/packets/157301/agenda_2018_11_20_cc_meeting_packet_revised_3.pdf

And there are other examples as well, including Sue Ann Warren in 2008 and 2015. So Commissioner Robinson’s claim that the Board of Health’s policy is to refrain from recommending reappointment is blatantly false.

Also disappointing, with the exception of Commissioner Tryon, is that the commission appeared to accept Ball’s brief statement at the November 16 city commission meeting as equivalent to a written application.

I, along with many other city residents, wouldn’t consider an introduction by a city commissioner and a brief statement by a potential board candidate as an application. Indeed Commissioner Tryon made that very point.

Commissioner Robinson introduced Ball at the Nov 16 city commission Zoom meeting. She spoke briefly about wanting to remain on the board. By the way, this is listed in the meeting agenda as a Community Health Update, but I don’t consider it as such. It is Commissioner Robinson assisting Ball’s quest to be reappointed to the Board of Health. Here’s the link:

https://greatfallsmt.viebit.com/player.php?hash=ukwZ3BgrDmOl

At @ 00:12:07: Robinson stated:

“I hope that ah, I think the board of health, under, under my, ah, ah recommendation, will recommend her to be, re, re, ah, re, ah, removed, ah, re—there she is she’s on their right now—reappointed, and so Amanda if you could just unmute yourself and show your face if you can hear us. And there she is, good. I don’t know whether you heard anything I said, but it was all good things, so. Anyway, I’m hoping that Amanda, ah, will, that the city commission, ah, the first meeting in January will reappoint her for another two year term.”

At @ 00:12:50, Ball begins her statement. She stated she works professionally in child welfare for the State of Montana. Then goes on to offer the following:

“I want to be clear that I am not speaking as a representative of the State of Montana,” she stated. “I am only representing myself and what I’ve found to be true for the majority of the children I’ve interacted with.”

Ball follows this some time later with what might be the most revealing statement of all:

“It is rare to hear a child complaining about a mask or social distancing themselves.”

It seems to me then that her reappointment would maintain the status quo of the current Board of Health, as far as mask mandate decisions.

Interestingly, public comment was received about unsolicited applicant Dr. Katrina Lewis who appears to me to be highly qualified for appointment to the Board of Health. The comment, from a Kathy Davis, states:

“Please reappoint Amanda Ball for the BOH. It is crucial to have members of that board science based thinkers. Dr. Lewis has been vocal against mask wearing , and espouses conspiracy theories.”

That comment, which is part of the public record, is found here:

https://greatfallsmt.net/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_commission/meeting/257158/fw_all_city_commissioners_board_of_health_appointment.pdf

These actions by the city bring up so many questions for me. Isn’t it a bit prejudiced to allow a city commissioner to personally introduce a potential board appointee and sing her praises? How can a commissioner who does that still be fair and balanced in order to vote on the matter? Doesn’t a personal recommendation by a commissioner give that person an unfair advantage over anyone else interested in the board position?

Further, Did Lewis’s unsolicited application contribute to the urgency in the city commission reappointment of Ball while Commissioner Robinson was still seated, instead of in January as originally proposed by Robinson at the November 16 commission meeting?

Are the city’s actions in this an indication that they will refuse to consider highly qualified applicants for the Board of Health, merely because those applicants are outspoken against mask mandates?

Sadly, as always, there was very little public comment at the December 21 commission meeting. Julie Bass makes her comment on reappointment beginning @ 00:27:04 and is summarily chastised by Mayor Kelly about using a good-old-boy reference. So much for free speech. My comment begins @ 00:44:41.

Former Great Falls city commissioner Tracy Houck announced her resignation from the city commission via Facebook post on her Tracy Houck for Great Falls City Commission page posted November 4, at 1:11 PM.

Houck stated that her resignation would be effective November 5, 2021, giving the public, City administration, and her fellow commissioners less than 12 hours notice.

The remaining commissioners will have to appoint a new commissioner to fill Houck’s seat by December 6, 2021.

The announcement came one day after the final results from the November 2, Great Falls municipal election were released. Houck was not on the ballot and had 2 more years to serve in her second 4 year term.

Houck used her press release to describe her new job as a small business consultant, “As my commissioner role sunsets, I will be out and about visiting with businesses and local leaders in my new role. I have accepted a position with Northrup Grumman’s Space Command GBSD program as a Small Business Liason Officer. In this role, I will be able to continue to support the community, the businesses, and the people that make me so proud of Great Falls.”

And she ended with this:

“So allow me to reintroduce myself… My Name is Tracy (Houck) Jerman. You can reach me in a variety of ways… please reach out!”

You can read Houck’s resignation post here.

Last week an E-City Beat reader made the following comment on one of our Facebook posts, referring to current Great Falls city commissison candidate Susan Wolff:

“And don’t forget Commission candidate Wolff’s part in the HUD scandal that exposed Commission fingers in the Block Grant pot.“

The comment apparently points back to a piece on E-City Beat called ‘The Who, What, And How Of The Great Falls Good Old Boys And Gals Club’ from May 2018 outlining the “…distribution of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) taxpayer funds by the Great Falls Community Development Council (CDC) and the Great Falls City Commission.”

The article cites a letter written from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the City of Great Falls about the plain conflicts of interest surrounding the local CDBG funding process.

Here is a portion of the HUD letter.

“The City’s letter dated December 20, 2017 identified 14 individuals who participated in the Commission or Council between 2012 and 2017, and who would also be identified as persons covered by Section 570.611(c). In total, $522,252.00 was awarded by the Commission and Council between 2012 and 2017 to entities from which the 14 members noted above, or those with whom they have business or immediate family ties, obtained a financial interest or benefit.”

Susan Wolff is named as one of those ’14 individuals’ because as a member of the Great Falls Community Development Council she was approving taxpayer funds for an organization on which she was a sitting board member.

“Susan Wolff – CDC Member – Board Member GFDA which received $40,000 (2017)”.

By the way, current Mayor Bob Kelly and City Commissioner Tracy Houck were also named by HUD as two of the individuals among the 14 with conflicts of interest.

That was then, this is now – and it’s important to understand how ‘then’ applies to ‘now’.

At the 10/5/21 City Commission work session the topic of how to distribute the over $19 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds received by the City of Great Falls was discussed in depth.

One of the options discussed was the possibility of granting large chunks of the ARPA funds to local non-profits like United Way of Cascade County and allowing them to administer the funds to sub-recipients.

In fact, according to the minutes from the meeting, United Way President Gary Owen participated in the commission Zoom meeting and “…spoke in support of United Way being designated as a potential recipient of the City’s ARPA funding.”

Here’s the connection to candidate Wolff: On review of all of the candidates’ campaign fundraising records it comes up that Kim Skornogoski/Ochsner is not only Wolff’s official campaign treasurer but also donated $152.62 to the Wolff campaign.

Kim Skornogoski is the Marketing Director for United Way of Cascade County and her boss is the above mentioned Gary Owen

While the ‘campaign treasurer’ designation is listed as Kim Skornogoski and the donation is reported to be from Kim Ochsner, they are the same person.

In addition, another donor to the Wolff campaign is the Volunteer Coordinator for United Way of Cascade County, Lynette Scriver-Colburn.

Here’s a handy tool to look up local candidate campaign info including who gives how much to each candidate.

Given that the final decisions as to how Great Falls’ ARPA funds will be distributed won’t occur until after a new city commission is seated in January 2022, it’s necessary to closely scrutinize the candidates who are seeking to fill the two open seats on the commission concerning their campaign finance connections to local non-profits lobbying for possibly millions of dollars of taxpayer money.

We don’t need any more CDBG fiascos or conflicts of interest on our city commission.

We’ll be watching. Very closely.