Cabinet View signees now want off petition

Faced with a mutiny of signed petitioners, members of the committee attempting to organize a fire district with similar boundaries of the now-dissolved Cabinet View Fire Service Area are reassessing the petition to see whether it still meets criteria for consideration.

Lincoln County commissioners on Tuesday informed the Citizen Board in Support of Cabinet View Fire District with a statement before the 11 a.m. hearing that a sufficient number of residents had asked that their names be withdrawn from the petition to call into question the total validity of the petition. The petition was submitted Oct. 2.

“We believe it’s definitely below (the requirement),” Presiding Commissioner Tony Berget said. “Remember, it’s not only residents who live out there but it must include (40 percent of) real property owners, too.”

Despite the county’s assessment, the commission has asked the organizing committee to assess the petition, which the group reportedly will be doing in the coming days.

“We gave the petition back to (the organizing committee) to review,” Berget said.

During Tuesday’s hearing that wasn’t, Citizen Board in Support of Cabinet View Fire District John Rios said the formation of a fire agency is a basic right.

“The bottom line is we have the right to be protected,” Rios said. “If you, the people, want a fire district, we’ll work with you to get that done.”

Thursday, Rios said the board is reviewing the petition.

“We’re working on verifying the numbers,” Rios said.

With the validity of the petition questioned, the formal hearing did not convene. Still, there were questions and comments after Berget read from a prepared statement.

“After the notice of the public hearing was mailed, several individuals requested that their signatures be withdrawn from the petition,” Berget said, reading the statement. “As a result, the petition does not contain the number of signatures required by Montana law, and the Lincoln County commissioners are prohibited from creating the Cabinet View Fire District pursuant to MCA § 7-33-2103.”

Asked about the number of petitioners who requested to withdraw their names, County Administrator Bill Bischoff said it was “five or six.”

Then Berget reiterated the requirement that 40 percent of real property owners must be included on the petition, hinting those seeking to withdraw may be landowners with substantial holdings.

In addition, commissioners indicated they have received requests from as many as 30 property owners who did not sign the petition who sought to have their properties excluded from the district. Later in the day during subsequent questioning, commissioners said that number had actually swelled upward to 50 property owners who sought exclusion.

For some landowners, the added expense of a fire district over a fire service area is reason enough to question the committee’s efforts.

Yvonne Luscher, who lives at 260 Luscher Drive adjacent to the Cabinet View firehouse, questioned why the committee seeks to establish a fire district over a fire service area, which previously provided protection.

In a fire district, fees are determined by property value, which includes property without dwellings or buildings. A homeowner with a larger, more expensive home would pay more than someone who lives in a mobile home. In a fire service area, the fees are flat, the same for everyone. Recent fees included $125 for a home and $25 for outbuildings such as a barn. It was that difference that led Dennis Kocher of 538 Hammer Cutoff Road to speak out.

“Fire doesn’t discriminate,” Kocher said, noting the difference in the fees. “Why should we pay more?”

Then there is Karin Lind of 257 Sunnyside Drive. Lind is on a fixed income and can scarcely afford to pay higher fees than what she has previously with the fire service area. Still, she said she prefers the close proximity of a department in her neighborhood.

“I’ve learned it’s only about $5 more a month,” Lind said. “I think it’s important to have a department here rather than way in Libby. I have a log home, and I can’t afford to wait for a truck from Libby.”

Near the conclusion of the hearing, Jeff Forster, who lives at 243 Luscher Drive, offered a solution that drew applause from the nearly 100 people when he suggested the firehouse become a branch of the Lincoln County Rural Fire District.

“It needs to be part of the (Lincoln County Rural Fire District),” Forster said, referencing the long history of firefighting in south Lincoln County. “If everyone would just play together nicely; if people would end all the bickering, all the whining and crying and come together we could have a fire department out here. When I moved out here, I thought, ‘great, a fire department right here,’ but it was already in turmoil, and I thought, ‘I don’t’ want any part of that.’”

Asked to respond to Forster’s suggestion, Libby Volunteer Fire Department’s Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Steve Lauer said he thinks it’s a viable solution.

“Absolutely,” Lauer said. “And, I’m not going to say anything more on that.”

As for the status of the current petition, should the number of valid signatures fall below the 40 percent mark but the potential still exist to achieve 40 percent of real property landowners on the petition, the Citizen Board in Support of Cabinet View Fire District would need to start a new petition and recollect more signatures. The current petition that was submitted could not be amended and would become void.

Initially, the group submitted a petition with 171 signatures, of which 166 were found to be valid, prompting commissioners to schedule the hearing.