City council shoots down citation appeal fee

In the face of vocal public opposition, the Lewiston City Council rejected a proposal Monday that would have established a $75 fee to appeal a citation stemming from emergency civil defense orders such as the city’s mask mandate.

A 4-3 majority of councilors passed the mandate last month. There are significant exceptions, but in general it requires people who are in the city limits to wear face coverings when they are indoors and unable to physically distance from other people, to slow the spread of COVID-19.

But the council didn’t establish a fee schedule for those who wish to appeal the fees. Last week, Lewiston Police Chief Budd Hurd said his officers have yet to cite anyone for violating the order, but he noted such fees exist for the other citations the department issues.

And Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Schroeder said the city has routinely established appeal fees for violations of other city codes.

“So why would we not universally do the same thing?” Schroeder asked, noting such fees are designed to recoup the cost of staff time required to process appeals. “We have appeal fees already. This is across the board what we already have in our system.”

And while Councilor Bob Blakey expressed some support for that view, Schroeder ended up being the only member who voted in favor of the fee proposal. Several councilors said they were opposed to establishing a relatively high financial bar for those who are cited and want to appeal.

Several people spoke against the mandate during the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting and a separate public hearing in advance of the council vote. Many of those who echoed the councilors about the cost of the appeal being prohibitive were the same people who spoke against the mask mandate last month, some repeating the same debunked contentions about the efficacy and safety of wearing masks.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended masks as one of the best ways to prevent the spread of the respiratory droplets that can readily transmit the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The United States just surpassed 300,000 people who have died from complications related to the disease.

Councilor John Bradbury called out some of the commenters who accused the city council of not listening to their concerns. He said the council has held several lengthy meetings where they have been allowed to speak, and that they have been met with civility by the council. And while he said most of the commenters have also been civil, many have not.

“Your disrespect doesn’t persuade anyone, and it certainly doesn’t persuade me,” Bradbury said at the end of the 3½-hour meeting.

In other business:

Councilors unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance to rezone approximately 25 acres owned by Echo Hills Church in the Elks Addition from agricultural transitional to suburban residential. The agricultural transitional zone allows residential development, but only on 5-acre parcels. The suburban residential zone would allow development on 10,000-square-foot parcels, including duplexes.

A representative for the church said the rezone request would greatly enhance the value of the land while the church seeks a buyer. But several nearby residents have opposed the change over their belief that multifamily residential development would increase traffic to the area and not fit in with the existing neighborhood.

The Lewiston Planning and Zoning Commission previously reacted to those concerns by recommending the council change the property to the suburban residential zone, rather than the residential zone originally sought by the church that would allow smaller, 7,500-square-foot lots.

Councilors approved the first reading of the ordinance on a unanimous vote and will need to approve two more readings before they can consider it for formal adoption.

During the council’s routine payment of city bills, Blakey pointed out a charge of more than $10,000 to law firm Clements, Brown and McNichols for outside legal services. With the go-ahead of City Attorney Jana Gomez, Blakey revealed that the firm has been contracted to help defend the city against lawsuits threatened by Bradbury.

Bradbury leveled his threats in August over his objections to the city’s provision of water to the city-owned Bryden Canyon Golf Course, interdepartmental loans to the golf course and the library, and city utilities paying a fee to the street department for their impact on city streets.

In total, city Administrative Services Director Dan Marsh said the city attorney’s office has spent $13,539 on outside counsel. Its total line item for that type of expense is about $39,000, Marsh said.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.