Districts move to block water vote

ST. IGNATIUS —  The simmering dispute over the water compact is headed back to court. The latest development comes as the Flathead Joint Board of Control (FJBC) pushes to send out a referendum ballot to local irrigators, asking whether they approve of their districts’ withdrawal from the regulatory irrigation board. However, the referendum may never reach its intended audience, as the Jocko Valley and Mission irrigation districts have taken legal action to block the vote, contending that it not only wastes time and money, but also seeks to illegally undermine the districts’ decisions to withdraw earlier this year - a move primarily motivated by the camps’ differing opinions on the proposed water compact. The ballot was originally intended to be mailed out to about 2,000 Lake and Sanders County irrigators on Oct. 25, but could now be delayed by a court-issued restraining order.

The referendum is non-binding and would not necessarily lead to any direct course of action, says Jerry Laskody, a commissioner from the Mission district.

“Because it’s non-binding it means we don’t have to do anything. It’s more for informational purposes,” he said.

Laskody believes that the vote is a crucial way to “gauge the opinion of irrigators” and end inexact speculation about their sentiments on the compact. He says that the commissioners who moved to withdraw their districts from the FJBC have insisted that a silent majority of their constituents support their action. This referendum, he says, will put that claim to the test.

“We just want to find out how these three districts feel,” Laskody said.

“I believe the guys on the Joint Board are doing the best job they can to find out what’s important to the irrigators.… All we’re doing is asking people if they approve of what we’re doing [with regard to the water compact.]”

Laskody says that the commissioners opposing the ballot owe it to their constituents to have it sent out.

“They should want to know this answer,” Laskody said.

But opponents such as Kerry Doney, a representative for the Jocko Valley district, argue that they are already in tune with the voices of their member irrigators.

“From talking to irrigators, I can honestly say that they’re behind us when we make a decision,” said Doney, estimating that nearly 90 percent of the Jocko Valley irrigators he has spoken with have been supportive of the split with the FJBC.

“What they’re doing is illegal. It’s up to the districts to initiate the referendum,” Doney said, going on to explain that the Board no longer represents the Jocko Valley or Mission districts.

Besides the legal component, Doney said the cost of the endeavor is another reason to halt the vote.

“There are primarily monetary reasons against it,” Doney said. “It’s wasting a lot of time and money.”