<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3020" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Donovan,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Thank you for your kind words about Nancy. I, too,
think she is a kind, warm, generous, giving and thoughtful person. And I
agree she is going through a tough time right now. Unlike you, I voted for
her, and I worked very hard to elect her. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>If only I wasn't so mad at her right now for signing that
cease and desist order... She works her tail off. She tries to
do her homework, in a way that I don't think Peg ever would
have done. I think you hit the nail on the head about her being
inexperienced; she is definitely getting some on-the-job training in a job
she loves, and thankfully, for her sake, a job for which she doesn't have to
stand for election until November 2009.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I think this ice rink matter was very poorly handled, and
I disagree with those who think that the City should have "enforced the law" and
sent that cease and desist letter the day after last Tuesday's </FONT><FONT
face=Arial>Council meeting. We had a pretty clear consensus on the Council
that this was an unfortunate situation that was hurting the ice rink.
Really what was needed was someone to rope everyone together in one room,
including the recalcitrant County Commissioners, and come to a solution for
the common good. Have that meeting, and if things don't work out, then
enforce the law.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The lawyers at the City, Randy and Gary (who was City
Attorney before he was supervisor), pushed this step. I think they
exercised appalling judgment, and I am sorry that Nancy paid so much attention
to them. Other than the fact that she listened to her lawyers, I don't
understand how she agreed to send that letter, when it seemed so
counter-intuitive to me and nearly everyone with whom I have discussed the
issue. All of us are taxpayers to both the City and the County, and paving
a parking lot that is probably going to have to be torn up is, well, as Chris
Storhok basically said, it's stupid, and it's going to end up costing us
money. Why didn't our lawyers advise the council to pass a moratorium on
enforcement for a brief period, maybe while delivering an unsigned cease and
desist order to let the County know what was coming, instead of egging the
parties into a game of litigation chicken? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I seem to recall the City staff -- that would be Gary
and Randy, the men of principle that believed in enforcing the law at
all costs against the skating rink and the County -- advised the City
not to enforce the law and seek to close down someone else a while back.
Remember? That would be when New St. Andrews was found to be in violation
of the zoning code a year or two ago. Why not exercise some similar
judgment now? Apparently, the reason is that with NSA, the City's butt was
in a sling for letting them move in and invest a lot of money in refurbishing
the Skattaboe Building when the code didn't allow a school there. In my
opinion, that was the right call then, NOT to boot NSA after such an
incompetent gaffe in the first place, (by a different member of city staff
who still doesn't recognize that he biffed it). If that had been my
investment and the City misled me into thinking it was ok to invest, well, I'd
have been mad as a hornet too, if they'd tried to kick me out. So reason
prevailed then.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Where is the reasoned judgment now?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Since it's somebody else's butt that is in the sling now,
the County Commissioners, well, our City's lawyers seem quite
comfortable moving right ahead with enforcement, notwithstanding the offense to
the skating community and the Moscow taxpayers who will have to deal with some
silly stop-gap measure that wastes more of our money. Why not advise
Council to pass a short-term moratorium against enforcement and get the clear
and focused attention of our County Commissioners, one of whom is brand
new?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>That wasted money from putting in a short-term,
possibly torn-up-in-the-near-future, parking lot: couldn't it be put toward
the much better use of building an enclosed skating rink, if not at the
Fairgrounds, then next to the HIRC, or at the ball fields, or somewhere else in
town? An enclosed skating rink is a profitable enterprise. It is
Smart Growth, because it builds community. It is economic development,
that increases the quality of life substantially, while luring visitors to town,
if only we would build it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Let's take this opportunity to move forward and pull
together for something positive out of this. I am sorry that Nancy got
some bad advice. I do know she means well, and I wish Aaron weren't so
brutal to her, but I have got to say that he wasn't the one who signed an
imprudent cease and desist letter before exploring options just a little bit
more. I simply don't accept the City's lawyers' take that it was time to
go to the mats. I don't think the rest of the community does,
either. Maybe Bill Lambert really does think we should have sent that
letter and maybe he really was offended at the idea of letting the Commissioners
slide for even one more day, but frankly, Bill's a good man, too, and like
Nancy, I think he was listening to the City's lawyers. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>At some point, I wonder why we don't consider getting
another lawyer's opinion about what quasi-judicial really means.
Maybe then the lawyers would stop preventing our elected officials from
talking to their constituents about things in the community that our elected
officials ought to hear. Not all lawyers share Randy's, and maybe
(probably?) Gary's, very limited and, in my opinion, overly
conservative view of quasi-judicial matters. This last point on
quasi-judicial, it's a bit of a digression, but it's been bugging me for a
long time. There is a continuum of possible interpretations on legal
matters, many gray areas of differing degrees of debatability, between
the black and white extremes where the answer is clear and not
debatable. It is not always the most prudent course to take the most
risk-averse option in every instance, but that seems to be the current
philosophy of lawyers at City Hall. I think it is ill-advised with
respect to the extraordinarily narrow view of quasi-judicial matters.
Likewise, to the extent that there was no risk because the County was in
clear violation of the Special Use Permit, I don't think it was well advised to
push that cease and desist button as soon as they did, when things could and
should have been worked out in a more cooperative, we are one
community, manner.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Good night and good luck, and sorry to get on my soapbox,
but this has been a very frustrating week for me, along with so many other good
members of all spectrums of our community. </FONT><FONT face=Arial>I wish
Nancy the best and hope that she learns from this one, and I hope the Council
pulls together, and I wish John Dickinson hadn't disappeared, and I really
don't think any of these folks are bad people, and I hope we move on to the best
future we can make.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Bruce Livingston</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=donovanjarnold2005@yahoo.com
href="mailto:donovanjarnold2005@yahoo.com">Donovan Arnold</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=areaman@moscow.com
href="mailto:areaman@moscow.com">Dan Carscallen</A> ; <A
title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 20, 2007 11:33
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] More on the ice
rink</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>So now Aaron Ament knows why Nancy Chaney was elected??? To bring Randy
and Gary under control? </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Nancy was elected because the People of Moscow elected her. I didn't vote
for Nancy to be Mayor of Moscow. I voted for her for city council though, and
she was an excellent council woman. But I don't think, and still don't think
she was yet up to the task of being mayor with only two years of experience,
and think she is proving me correct. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I voted for Peg because I know that she had the experience, and the
understanding of the job. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Moscow has not done well under Nancy's time. She is a good person. She
means well, and is very determined to be a good leader. However, I think I was
correct to point out in 2005 that she was not yet ready. I am willing to bet
that she would not be reelected at this point because of the major errors she
has made. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>However, nobody is perfect and being mayor is a hard job. I hope
rather than bashing her like Aaron Ament does, we can help her out,
because her failure to lead and make good decisions makes all of Moscow
suffer. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I like Nancy, as a person, and think she is one of the kindest people I
know, remember she is a nurse. But clearly she needs some help in
this job she has taken on. I hope Aaron shuts his loud mouth, at least around
the DN and LMT and tries helping instead. I don't know of one thing he
has accomplished (besides ending the pledge) since being in office unless
complaining about others is an accomplishment. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Best,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Donovan</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR><B><I>Dan Carscallen <areaman@moscow.com></I></B>
wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><BR>Excerpts
from today's Daily News:<BR><BR>"'This is a slap in the face to the City
Council,' [Ament] said. 'It's<BR>against everything we'd discussed.'
<BR><BR><BR>Conflict between city staff and members of the City Council has
existed<BR>in the past, Ament said, including last summer's request by the
Moscow<BR>Police Department to unionize. <BR><BR><BR>He said city
administration officials like [City Attorney Randy] Fife<BR>and Moscow City
Supervisor Gary Riedner 'need to go.' <BR><BR><BR>'This is a strong mayoral
system but I don't see the mayor leading. I<BR>see city staff in control,'
he said. '(Mayor) Nancy Chaney was brought<BR>into office to bring them
under control, but that hasn't happened. If<BR>Nancy (Chaney) doesn't want
to step up to the plate, Nancy needs to<BR>leave too.'"<BR><BR>Ament wanting
to recall Chaney? Wow.<BR><BR>Looks like someone other than the County
Commissioners is "shocked" .
.<BR>.<BR><BR>DC<BR><BR><BR>=======================================================<BR>List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities
of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net
<BR>mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
<P>
<HR SIZE=1>
It's here! Your new message!<BR>Get <A
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=49938/*http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/">new
email alerts</A> with the free <A
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=49938/*http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/">Yahoo!
Toolbar.</A>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>