Judge weighs BLVFD suit

The Bull Lake Fire District and Lincoln County got one step closer to determining who has oversight authority over the rural fire department by submitting their written arguments to a district court judge last week. 

District Court Judge C.B. McNeil is hearing the case, which was filed last year against the county by the Bull Lake Fire District. 

Verna Shannon, McNeil’s secretary, said the judge has received written arguments from both sides in the case. She offered no indication as to when McNeil would hand down his decision. 

The Bull Lake Fire District filed the lawsuit last year, naming Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe, Troy Area Dispatch Libby Volunteer Fire Department, Libby Volunteer Ambulance and Troy Volunteer Ambulance. The suit was intended to challenge the county’s authority over the fire district’s operations. 

The Bull Lake Fire District argues that the Bull Lake Board of Trustees is the governing body for the Bull Lake Fire Department, rather than the county. Kim Christopherson, a Kalispell attorney representing the Bull Lake Fire District, said the county allowed for self-governance when it allowed the fire district to establish a board of trustees. 

Attorneys Jinnifer Mariman and Sean Goicechea, who have been retained by Lincoln County, said the county is the overall governing entity within its jurisdiction, which includes the Bull Lake Fire District. Neither attorney returned calls seeking comment on the case.

Last year, the Cabinet View Fire Service Area filed a lawsuit challenging the county on similar grounds. A ruling by McNeil began a series of legal wrangling that ultimately led to the dissolution of the Cabinet View Fire Board of Trustees and its charter to fight fires in the area.