LETTER TO THE EDITOR
John Weber should be our next Mayor. His administration will bring transparency, honesty, and integrity to the Office. Walter Steed should be re-elected for his hard work and courage to tackle tough issues.
Important information on the Hawkins water situation has not been discussed during this campaign
On November 19, 2007 Mayor Chaney wrote a memo in which she stated: "My preference is to: As a back-up strategy, I propose that we ask IDWR, the Idaho Attorney General and the citizens of our community for permission to offer Hawkins water from our municipal supply, for a price and with conditions."
(See http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/10/21/70460.aspx for this document)
Contrary to what has been written, Walter Steed had not been sworn into office at this time!
Shortly thereafter, the city entered mediation and a SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT was signed by Mayor Chaney on February 4, 2008. In it, Moscow promised to provide water and sanitary sewer treatment to the Hawkins project. The City further agreed that "The parties agree to cooperate in good faith to effectuate the implemention of this Settlement Agreement..."
(See http://www.moscow.id.us/Hawkins/HawkinsSettlementAgreement.pdf for this document, 300K PDF file)
Subsequently, Whitman County would not agree to a "joint powers" agreement and the Idaho Attorney General advised that without a change in state law, Moscow could not effectuate the implementation of the Settlement Agreement the Mayor had signed.
To prevent litigation against the City, I introduced a bill, as requested, to change state law so that Moscow could live up to the terms of the Settlement Agreement that the Mayor signed. The bill passed the Senate and was held up in a House Committee.
Read the documents yourself and then ask why Mayor Chaney is hiding her leadership role in this process?
It's time for a new Mayor.
Gary J. Schroeder