Groups divided on Condon move

SEELEY-SWAN — With an audience of the Lake County and Missoula County commissioners, residents of Condon argued both sides of the heated debate surrounding the proposed secession of the town from Missoula County to Lake County last Thursday evening.

Those in favor of secession spoke mostly about concerns with building permits from Missoula County and the feeling that the people in Condon have more in common with Lake County than with Missoula.

“Services from Missoula County have been good, they’ve done well by us,” Jim Thurston, a secession supporter, said during Thursday’s meeting. “But when we ask for something, there’s an air of arrogance from Missoula County that we don’t feel we’d have in Lake County.”

Many in attendance blasted the media coverage of the issue, with more than one resident accusing TV stations of making Ken Donovan look like the representative of the Swan Valley.

Donovan has been a vocal proponent of the secession movement and the spokesman for the Swan Valley Preservation Group, the corporation formed to work towards secession.

During the meeting, in which most commented from their seats, Donovan took the podium and assured his fellow residents that he “in no way said [he] spoke for everyone in the area.”

Donovan spoke directly to the Missoula County Commissioners, asking for clarification on the petition process. Donovan said he thought the petition, once completed, should be sent to the Lake County Attorney’s Office and not the Missoula County Attorney’s Office or the petition should be submitted at “the same time.” Donovan based his question on his reading of the 1914 law dealing with moving counties.

Jean Curtiss, a Missoula County Commissioner, said the petition was submitted to Missoula County so the signatures on the petition can be verified against the signatures on voter registration cards. “Lake County couldn’t do anything with the petition,” she said.

Much of the evening was spent asking about taxes and services and the comparison between the two.

Lake County Commissioner Paddy Trusler said that should Condon enter Lake County, the county would provide the best services it could. However, it is unlikely that Lake County could provide the same level of services as Missoula.

Lake County has different needs and populations that Missoula, he said. “We have a reservation we provide services for, but don’t collect taxes from. It’s really different,” Trusler said to the gathered crowd.

Dale Bicksell, Missoula County’s chief administrative officer, prepared a chart that compared taxes and fees for both Missoula and Lake counties. In property taxes, Missoula County residents pay 21 percent more, on average, than Lake County. However, overall including school levies and fees including a solid waste assessment, as part of Lake County the Condon residents would have to pay about 3 percent more than they are now.

Despite higher taxes in Lake County, the proponents of secession still advocated the change based what one man called “roses and lollipops.”

Dan Baker, who made the roses and lollipops comment, said that the difference between Lake and Missoula counties is honesty. Baker alleged several charges against Missoula County including a story where one Swan resident ended up with a felony conviction because of a building violation.

Missoula County Commissioner Michele Landquist said to the whole gathering that the meeting was about “positive communication” and she didn’t think spreading rumors and untruths about a situation helped that communication process.

Donovan, during his address, encouraged registered voters to sign the petition even if they didn’t agree with what the petition said. “One of our most sacred rights is the right to vote,” he said. “By not signing the petition, you are taking away a person’s rights.”

In response, Curtiss said that if the petition passes it goes to a county-wide vote in both Lake and Missoula counties where the affected Swan Valley residents only constitute “one percent of the voters.”

The place to protest is on the petition. “The only time this area is going to have a real say is on the petition,” she said.

Dan McQuarrie, a Swan resident against secession, said the whole area was being represented by a vocal minority of builders and the “silent majority” is in favor of staying where they’re at.

“A lot more of us think that the current system supports the needs of the community,” McQuarrie said.

In order for Condon to successfully secede from Missoula County and join Lake County, 50 percent of the 455 registered voters in the two precincts included in the secession plans have to sign a petition supporting the move.

After, a ballot initiative would appear on ballots in Lake and Missoula counties. Lake County voters would have to approve Condon moving it, and Missoula County voters would have to approve it leaving.

History does not favor the secession side. In the early 1980s, residents in the Clinton area of Missoula County attempted to join Granite County. Missoula voters approved the departure, but voters in Granite County did not approve their joining. Clinton remains in Missoula County.

Currently, there is no official petition though supporters, including Donovan, Thurston and Baker are working on getting it ready to circulate.

“We’re not mad at Missoula County,” Thurston said. “And we’re not in love with Lake County. There’s gonna be things to complain about. But we’re a better fit with Lake County because Missoula County is a city county and we’re a rural community like Lake County.”