[Vision2020] Latah Commission 'Shocked' By City's Action

[Jerry Weitz]

No Bill, It was Chaney that made Randy Fife serve the order.  Randy was 
following orders.  Randy Fife is a person of integrity. Another 
example,  Chaney's actions on unbundling the development process caused at 
least a 20% increase of building cost for Good Sam as our community now 
lacks space for those in need of long term care.  Antigrowth and lack of 
respect for the UI really stinks and it hurts to see it happen for people 
who care.  Unfortuately, the bottom does not seem to be in sight.  Chaney 
must go.  Jerry


At 11:52 AM 1/20/07, Bill London wrote:
>I want to thank Aaron Ament and Bob Stout, the two council members who are
>clearly explaining that city attorney Randy Fife should never have issued
>that cease-and-desist order shutting down the ice rink.
>Fife made a mistake.  The Council was trying to mellow out this little turf
>war thing with the county and Fife threw gasoline on the fire.
>I agree that Fife needs to go.Fife
>BL
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
>To: "Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2007 7:47 AM
>Subject: [Vision2020] Latah Commission 'Shocked' By City's Action
>
>
> > >From today's (January 20, 2007) Lewiston Tribune -
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Latah commission 'shocked' by city's action
> >
> > By DAVID JOHNSON of the Tribune
> >
> > MOSCOW -- Bottom line: The Moscow Rotary Veterans Memorial Pavilion ice
>rink
> > at the Latah County Fairgrounds should remain open through the current
> > skating season and probably beyond.
> >
> > It also appears the powers-that-be have joined ranks to ensure a permanent
> > enclosed multipurpose building, which includes a bigger ice rink, will be
> > built in the near future.
> >
> > Those predictions prevailed Friday after miffed members of the Latah
>County
> > Commission voted unanimously to appeal a Moscow cease-and-desist order
>that
> > threatened to shut down the popular ice rink next week.
> >
> > "That's the first cease-and-desist order I've ever gotten," Commissioner
> > Jack Nelson said, adding he was "shocked" with the city's action.
> >
> > The order came from City Attorney Randy Fife, apparently with Mayor Nancy
> > Chaney's concurrence. "I think it's in keeping with enforcing the city's
> > laws," she said earlier in the week, and she stood by the statement after
> > the commission meeting.
> >
> > But two Moscow city councilors, Aaron Ament and Bob Stout, washed their
> > hands of the tactic. Stout said he was "embarrassed" by the
>cease-and-desist
> > order and Ament said the administrative action was a "slap in the face" to
> > city council members and county officials.
> >
> > The rink is located on county-owned fairgrounds property within the Moscow
> > city limits.
> >
> > The city order, issued last week, said the threatened shutdown was based
>on
> > the county's failure to finish a parking lot paving project around the ice
> > rink under a city special-use permit. Several people at the meeting said
> > afterwards they couldn't believe city officials would actually close the
> > rink, especially to all the children who use it, over an unfinished
>asphalt
> > project. They said the situation smacked more of a power struggle between
> > political entities.
> >
> > Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson Jr., acting as the commission's
> > legal council, said evidence shows the county had done much of the paving
> > work and substantially complied with the special-use permit.
> >
> > But the bigger issue, Thompson suggested, revolves around a legal question
> > whether the city has any authority over what happens with the ice rink.
>The
> > county, Thompson said, has never acquiesced to city authority. The
> > commissioners agreed to provisions of the city special-use permit, he
>said,
> > mostly as a good-neighbor gesture.
> >
> > The county appeal of the cease-and-desist order will go to the city's
>board
> > of adjustment, Thompson said. The appeal should result in a stay of any
> > enforcement action and the rink will remain open. If the board denies the
> > appeal, the matter can then be appealed directly to the city council. The
> > courts ultimately could get involved and that would buy even more time,
> > Thompson said.
> >
> > That's good, said Tim Ewers of the Palouse Ice Rink Association (PIRA),
> > because the rink is extremely popular and hundreds of people devoted to
> > figure skating, hockey and open skating would be left without a facility
> > should the city take enforcement action.
> >
> > In the meantime, the commissioners, PIRA representatives, members of the
> > Latah County Fairground Board and apparently city representatives have
> > apparently agreed to resume talks leading to construction of a permanent
> > enclosed structure at the site.
> >
> > Chaney said the city's cease-and-desist action served as a catalyst to
>bring
> > all interested parties together to ultimately build what the majority of
> > people want at the fairgrounds. But Stout and Ament said the same ends
>could
> > have been reached through less drastic means.
> >
> > The meeting was attended by about 50 people, most of them ice rink users.
> >
> > Mike Fredrickson, chairman of the fairgrounds board, said he and other
> > members want to work with PIRA to develop a multi-purpose facility that
> > meets the needs and wants of those who like ice-skating and others who
>could
> > enjoy different activities under the same roof.
> >
> > Steve Bush, spokesman for the Moscow Rotary Club that's supplied most of
>the
> > financial backing for the ice rink, said it's time to keep all entities
> > working together toward construction of a facility that meets the growing
> > demands of a public hungry for ice time. He said a better building will
> > easily attract more people and pay for itself.
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Seeya round town, Moscow.
> >
> > Tom Hansen
> > Moscow, Idaho
> >
> > "Only by going too far can one possibly find out how far one can go."
> >
> > - Jon Dyer
> >
> >
> > =======================================================
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> >  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
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> >           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> > =======================================================
> >
>
>=======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
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>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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