Private investigation: 'No wrongdoing by planning staff'

A six-month probe into alleged improprieties by Flathead County Planning Director Jeff Harris and his staff has cleared Harris and county planners of any wrongdoing.

Private investigator William “Ike” Eisentraut of Moonlighting Detective Agency on Wednesday released an 800-page report detailing his examination of 29 separate allegations.

The county paid Eisentraut $10,000 to investigate various allegations made by the American Dream Montana property-rights group and other private citizens.

The accusations were wide-ranging: Favoritism, pushing agendas, power plays, stubbornness, defamation, illegally waiving conditional-use permit and zoning fees, extortion, illegally destroying public records and noncompliance with county and state laws.

“I found no wrongdoing by the planning staff,” Eisentraut stated in a written synopsis of his report.

He said he “interrogated” Harris at his office over eight sessions totaling 25 hours.

“Mr. Harris answered every question head on,” Eisentraut said. “[He] was always polite, never shirked a question, spoke of his accusers with respect and never showed a tinge of anger or reluctance.

“The bottom line is my belief at this point is that the County of Flathead is very fortunate to have the professionals it does in the Planning Office,” he summarized, “and that includes their director ... I sincerely believe that anyone who makes the effort could have a subdivision or condo complex anywhere in the county where it is permitted, without worry they are going to run into an anti-planning Planning Office.”

At a press conference on Wednesday the commissioners said they hope the report brings closure to the contentiousness that has plagued the Planning Office in recent months.

“In my opinion American Dream Montana has no credibility,” Commissioner Joe Brenneman said. “Not a single allegation was valid.”

Brenneman added that “we got our money’s worth” from the investigation.

Commissioner Jim Dupont said there’s a need for better understanding on both sides, and with issues involving property rights or neighborhood concerns there has to be compromise.

“We can all sit down and talk about it,” he said.

The third-party investigation was an unusual tack for the county, one the commissioners said they don’t expect to repeat any time soon.

Harris said he’s “obviously very pleased” with the investigation’s outcome, but stressed that “all we did is do our jobs.”

Harris said he and his staff welcomed the investigation.

“It’s nice to be cleared,” he said. “I hope it puts closure on these guys.”

AMERICAN Dream Montana doesn’t intend to drop its concerns just yet, however.

Chairman Russ Crowder said once he and other American Dream members have had a chance to fully review the lengthy document, they probably will hold a public meeting to go through the findings.

In a press release issued Friday based on “inside information” Crowder received before the report was released, American Dream said Flathead County has “significantly lowered the bar in terms of the future treatment county property owners can expect when it comes to the county recognizing, respecting and protecting their rights as property owners.

“This is not a conclusion that county property owners will find acceptable,” the press release stated.

After reading portions of the report on Wednesday, Crowder said it’s the “finest work of fiction and revisionist history I’ve ever read.”

He added that some allegations, such as an illegal mailing list, weren’t investigated.

Eisentraut noted there were 12 cases he investigated that weren’t included in his final report.

While the report clears Harris and the staff, Eisentraut does point out instances where Harris “could have possibly had a better performance.”

In the Tutvedt gravel-pit case, for example, Harris told the state that Tutvedt’s permit was void even though it was still in effect. The error resulted in the Department of Environmental Quality pulling the Tutvedt permit.

The state Supreme Court remanded a lawsuit over the matter back to District Court to fix deficiencies in the permit, but meanwhile, the gravel pit was shut down for six months. Bruce Tutvedt estimated the loss at $50,000 to $100,000, plus additional court costs.

“He bends and twists and he’s very good at it,” Tutvedt said of Harris’ involvement with the gravel-pit case.

Eisentraut cut Harris some slack in his report, however, saying it didn’t appear his action “was an act of viciousness or malice.

“I think Mr. Harris beat himself over the head more on this one than he needed to,” Eisentraut said. “I would have exonerated him on this.”

In two other instances, one regarding an inappropriate poster hung on Harris’ office wall and another time when he called citizens who disrupted a Lakeside Neighborhood Plan committee meeting “fringe thinkers,” Harris received written reprimands that were put in his personnel file.

Kalispell attorney Tammi Fisher, who represents various citizens whose allegations were investigated, said Eisentraut’s report “contains multiple accusations of ethical lapses by Planning Director Harris, confirmed with documentation and Mr. Harris’ own admissions. Despite these facts, Mr. Eisentraut editorializes Mr. Harris as a competent ‘professional,’” Fisher noted.

“It is incomprehensible that any person reviewing Mr. Harris’ course of dealings in Flathead County could conclude he is a ‘professional,’ in light of clear and undisputed evidence of two written employment reprimands — one for violating the open-meeting laws and one for defaming certain members of the public who he serves.”

She also pointed to a District Court order (in the Tutvedt case) reprimanding Harris’ poor professional judgment.

“Frankly, the taxpayers of Flathead County deserve better from our public servants than the divisive culture created by Mr. Harris’ ethical and professional lapses,” Fisher said.

Donna Thornton, one of the citizens who made allegations against Harris, agreed with Fisher’s opinion.

“The fact that it took an investigation to get Jeff Harris to admit he’s made mistakes shows he can’t be an effective leader,” Thornton said. “He has polarized the community with his unprofessionalism.”

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