OPINION: A place to park - and a time to stand for principle

Mayor Johnson assured City Council members at the recent City Council meeting he would not be re-appointing anyone to a city board who sued or threaten to sue the city, and Councilman Guiffrida said he would not vote for anyone to serve on a city board who sued the city.  

I currently sit on the Kalispell Planning Board and my term expires in 2016.

Mayor Johnson and Councilman Guiffrida may have forgotten there are three arms to our government: an executive branch, a legislative branch and a judiciary branch. These three arms of government are to provide checks and balances on each other. Any legislative decision, including the recent west-side parking zone proposal, can be challenged in court and by dissent. It is each American’s right to legally dissent if they choose to do so without the threat of retaliation or intimidation.  

It made me wonder if Mayor Johnson’s position really is that legislative decisions cannot be challenged by his fellow citizens and if a citizen does challenge these decisions in court that citizen will not be reappointed by him to a city board.

Councilman Guiffrida’s position appears to be that a suit against a City Council decision is a suit against your neighbor or your community. He will not vote for your appointment to a board if that action is taken.

It is also notable that citizens and groups threaten to sue their neighbors, their family members and society all the time and some of them actually do it. I believe it is wrong to deny anyone in America their legal rights.

The recent Daily Inter Lake article on the potential lawsuit over the Flathead High School area parking plan quoted an email I wrote to City Manager Russell and Mayor Johnson as follows: “Residents of the Westside Parking district have contacted legal counsel and determined that there is no other option but for the residents to litigate.” The sentence that followed in my email stated: “That is a course they do not wish to take.” When you read both sentences together, there is a significant difference in intent.

My email written to City Manager Doug Russell and Mayor Johnson specifically stated its intent was to avoid litigation by meeting to work out a compromise. Mayre Flowers from Citizens for a Better Flathead and Charlie Harball, city attorney, were invited to attend. I actually sent two emails to the city manager and Mayor Johnson to request this meeting. I had hoped the idea of litigation going forward would be prevented by compromise.  

Some of the topics covered at the meeting, between the parties, held the afternoon before the council meeting, included my idea of tabling the second reading of the parking proposal to allow more time for consideration, limiting the unlimited parking permits to 100, and sunsetting the parking district to a resident-only district after two years. This allows FHS the time to provide the 230 parking spaces it says it needs and give the residents what they have requested — a parking district for residents only.

There was also some discussion between Mayre and Charlie about legal fine points which remained in question. My area is policy, so I did not participate in that discussion.

No one at that meeting said they were suing the city. In point of fact, Charlie told us at the first meeting held between residents, city and school officials the topic of a suit had come up. In other words, he was aware some residents did want to sue as early as the first meeting in 2013. That was news to me.

Mayre and I both attended the City Council meeting where we learned an email had been distributed by City Manager Russell leading council members and the mayor to assume from their comments I was personally suing the city.  

I really had not signed on the dotted line to sue the city but I started to think about those residents who had the courage to consider it and I wondered if they were prepared for the reception they would receive from Mayor Johnson and Councilman Guiffrida.

I think, now, I will have to stand with my neighbors as I believe in our government, its unique checks and balances and the lawful right to dissent.

Osorio-Khor, of Kalispell, is a member of the Kalispell Planning Board.