Somers meeting turns ugly

A meeting of Somers-area property owners was shut down and the Sheriff's Office was called for backup Monday night when audience members became unruly.

It was the third in a series of meetings to discuss the potential for a Somers neighborhood plan and was aimed specifically at explaining how the neighborhood planning process works, Flathead County Planning Director Jeff Harris said.

"We were there at the request of the community," he said. "It was entirely informational."

Audience members upset that their property would be included in a neighborhood plan didn't give Harris a chance to begin the presentation and the meeting dissolved into a shouting match, with comments such as 'snot-nosed planner," "bitch" and "kiss off" being hurled around the room.

Sheriff's Sgt. Ernie Freebury and another deputy responded to the scene at Somers School as the meeting was breaking up.

Kathy Robertson, one of the key supporters of a Somers neighborhood plan, said she was personally threatened by opponents.

"It was devastating," Robertson said. "I came home shaking. The right to assemble is gone … this is Montana at its worst."

Donna Thornton, one of the most vocal opponents at the meeting, said on Tuesday that she's upset the meeting disintegrated and admitted that "emotions got the best of us."

Thornton said her frustration goes back to the Lakeside neighborhood planning process when property she and her husband own was included in the plan but they weren't notified. They also claim the drafting process of the Lakeside plan was conducted partly behind closed doors.

The Thorntons weren't included in the initial notification sent to 422 Somers-area property owners. But during the second Somers meeting, those attending broke into small groups and drew potential boundaries, penciling in another 1,000 acres to the north of Somers, including property owned by the Thorntons.

"We went to the [Monday] meeting to say we don't want to be part of it," she said. "It doesn't seem proper that you spend your whole life hanging on to property and then they don't notify you. The process should be open and up front."

Flathead County Commissioner Jim Dupont said there's a perception that the county planning office influences community groups when it comes to neighborhood plans.

"I don't know what you do that gives them that perception," Dupont told Harris during a meeting with the commissioners on Tuesday morning.

Harris assured the commissioners "we're not there to coerce anyone."

He delivered a "white paper" to the commissioners outlining staff assistance for new neighborhood plans. The commissioners by consensus agreed that the county should play a role in notifying property owners during the formative stage of a neighborhood plan.

"Everyone should be notified," Commissioner Joe Brenneman said. "We want people not in favor [of a plan] to be aware."

The county growth policy lists six general steps for county staff assistance, including notification, an initial organizational meeting, creating a baseline of existing conditions, drafting the community vision and goals, preparing a draft plan, and approving the final plan.

BASED ON the responses that followed the mailing to Somers property owners, there is community support for a neighborhood plan, Harris said. The notification drew a 32 percent response, and of those, almost 70 percent favor a plan; 24 percent asked for more information and 6 percent were opposed.

"That's a first gut reaction saying there's interest," Harris said.

Property owner Jim Etzler disagrees. He said the county growth policy clearly states that a clear majority of residents and landowners are needed to form a neighborhood plan, and the number of people responding to the county's notification doesn't constitute that majority.

"They're not following the process," Etzler said. "They're spending money they have no business spending and only a handful of people want this."

Etzler also maintains the county planning office is promoting neighborhood plans.

An earlier Somers neighborhood plan drafted two years ago was shelved until the county growth policy was finished. Some elements of that plan still may be usable, but Harris said the Somers community "is starting fresh," even though planners and Somers plan supporters will take a look at the old draft.

Questions linger, though, about the planning process and consistency when it comes to neighborhood plans.

Three county Planning Board members who questioned Harris last week about the neighborhood planning process pushed for a vote to suspend the Somers plan until a clear majority of landowners in favor of it could be documented. The motion failed on a 4-3 vote.

Harris said he's not sure whether the next meeting scheduled for June 29 will take place and needs feedback from the Somers community.

"It's the first time I've called the sheriff, and it may not be the last," he said about Monday's upset. "There are some exceptionally good people in Somers … and we should not allow ourselves to be driven by a few critics. It's a fairness issue. No one should be able to hijack a process like this."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com