*  *  *

City misled appellants

When I appealed the New Saint Andrews College expansion downtown I assumed their permit would be granted, but I hoped to have some effect on the impact of the expansion. I also assumed I would be treated fairly by city staff and City Council. My treatment and the treatment of other people involved in the process, however, has been galling. When the process started, the city attorney told business owners who had sought to appeal that they had “no special standing” or didn’t have a right to appeal — only to find after the fact that it wasn’t true. The city failed to notify me of hearing dates and my role at those hearings. Then, the city attorney lied to me about these issues — saying the process was just too complicated for me to understand. The process is simple, but the city has purposefully misled appellants about that process. Often, the only information I had regarding my appeal was via the newspaper.

I was shocked that the council refused to even hear my appeal on Monday night. Instead, the city attorney bastardized my argument and, based on his summary, no appeal was heard. Because of that, the city council never learned about a whole host of issues, including a significant error in the parking counts: eight blocks in the central business district were undercounted, many by over 10 percent.

In three months, I’ve been allowed five minutes to present my case. I’ve sat and listened to city councilors malign my character in public hearings; city staff malign my motivations in public meetings; and unelected officials running interference to sway councilors’ decisions. This isn’t how city government should be run; it’s not how citizens should be treated.

My friends, don’t walk, run for office. Put the citizen’s voice back in local politics.

Ryanne Pilgeram
Moscow

*  *  *