Two apply to fill empty council seat

More than a month after Alderman Brian Barrows resigned from the Havre City Council, longtime Havre residents Faye James and Denise Brewer said at Monday night’s council meeting that they want to fill the seat.  

They are the first to apply for the position since Barrows resigned April 3.

James and Brewer were both invited to tell the council about themselves and why they would like to occupy the Ward 2 seat, which represents the Smithville and Highland Park sections of the city with sections around Montana State University-Northern and Havre’s public cemetery.

The person eventually selected to fill the seat will have to file to run if they wish to continue to finish Barrow’s term after city elections are held next November.

James said she moved from Idaho to Havre 53 years ago when she married her husband, Bruce, a Havre native and now-retired BNSF Railway engineer.

In an interview after the meeting, James said her background includes having worked for the Hill County Treasurer’s office and as an independent grant writer and was former owner of the 48 Freight Center. She also served occasionally as a bailiff for Havre District Judge and future Montana Supreme Court Justice John Warner.

James said she has wanted to run for City Council for a few years.

“And so this came up and I thought I am going to jump in,” she said.

Brewer, the wife of Great Northern Fairgrounds manager Dave Brewer, has lived in Havre for 28 years. She retired last year after 27 years as Montana State University-Northern’s activities director. The demands of her job had prevented her from volunteering in the past, she said, but when she retired in March 2016 it was at the top of the list of things to do.

She said that a few weeks ago she saw the notice advertised in the paper and was urged to apply for the seat by several people including Barrows, who is a neighbor of hers, and state Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre.  

She said she does not know a lot about the council, but has often worked with various people and businesses in the community in her position at Northern.

In an interview after the meeting, Brewer said that at Northern she was involved with negotiations regarding contracts and mediation. She said that experience could be useful when the city finds itself in contract negotiations.

Because a vote by council on the applicants was not on the agenda, the council was unable to vote on which applicant will fill the vacancy. The vote on Barrow’s replacement will take place at the next Council meeting, Monday, June 5, at 7 p.m.

City Council President Andrew Brekke said people still can apply to fill the seat before the next meeting.

The city ordinance pertaining to council vacancies says people interested in filling the position must submit an application with their name, current address and why they want to be appointed. All applicants must be at least 18, reside in the ward for at least 60 days prior to submitting the application and be a registered city voter.

If more than one person applies, the applicants are interviewed by council, which then votes to appoint an applicant to occupy the seat until the next election.

In other business, the Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution amending the city’s FY 2017 budget after the Havre Fire Department was awarded a $9,000 grant from the Town Pump Charitable Foundation.

A letter dated May 5 from the Foundation to the Havre Fire Department said 113 applications were received for the grant, which is meant to provide departments with money for new and updated equipment.

Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson said the money will be used to purchase safety outerwear for the firefighters.

“Our old coats are pretty antiquated and are about 20 years old,” Paulson said.

The coats will be multipurpose with a fleece they can wear in the fall and an outer shell for the winter, he said. They will also be more reflective meaning increased safety for firefighters on the highway.

Brekke requested a meeting of the Ordinance Committee for Tuesday, June 5, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall to discuss a proposal to adopt a vacant property registration ordinance, or VPRO.

  A VPRO requires landowners pay a fee for registering vacant properties and maintain the property to certain standards.

The VPRO was suggested last month by Samantha Clawson, the wife of council member Caleb Hutchins, as a way to reduce the number of vacant and dilapidated properties.

At last month’s meeting, she said a VPRO consists of a clear definition of which properties and parties must register, a registry that would be public and accessible, mostly by a website, and fees that can be used to support the registry and encourage property owners to either maintain their properties or sell them to someone who will.

Clawson said she was inspired to take action after last year’s award-winning series by the Havre Daily News about Sunrise Financial, an organization that has acquired properties within the city but has not maintained them or accepted reasonable offers for them from willing buyers.