INSIDE

Attempt to invalidate appointment fails

By Meg Olson

Art Wilkowski took his position as the newest Point Roberts water commissioner despite a one-man campaign to have his appointment invalidated. Ignoring attempts by water board chairman Madeleine Anderson to keep him in check, John Lesow was on the warpath at the board’s March 12 meeting.

“Why don’t you admit you made a mistake and not push it any farther,” Lesow asked. “Have rules and regulations been changed so this won’t happen again and we can stop beating this dead horse?” he added. Lesow maintains the decision to appoint Wilkowski at the February 12 meeting was made in executive session, in violation of the state’s Open Public Meetings Act. The law states that commissioners may meet in private to review candidates’ qualifications but that final action appointing a new commissioner must be made in open session.

Anderson and fellow commissioner Lorne Nielson maintain they stuck with the law, though perhaps not with as much formality as some might have desired. “I didn’t realize a motion had to come before an announcement,” Anderson said. “There was a little hiccup.”

While Lesow does not recall a motion being made to appoint Wilkowski, district manager Dan Bourks recalls reminding commissioners formal action was needed as Anderson was announcing Wilkowski as the new commissioner.

Nielson recalls making the motion and Anderson recalls seconding it. Minutes of the meeting support the commissioners’ version of events, as do the recollections of several members of the audience.

Nielson told Lesow that they had submitted his emailed request to set aside Wilkowski’s appointment to legal counsel and had no concerns about the legality of their action. “I told you not to do that!” Lesow shouted, demanding a joint meeting with commissioners and the county auditor, and a copy of the legal opinion. “That’s not available. It’s not a record open to the public,” Anderson said, closing the public comment portion of the meeting over Lesow’s protests.

Commissioners took no action at the meeting except to approve bills, minutes and a local improvement district segregation certificate for a subdivision. However, they did decide to put a number of items on the agenda for their April 9 meeting, including a detailed review of the budget and a proposed new fee to turn water service on and off more than once in the spring and once in the fall.

The final draft of the district’s new sewer comprehensive plan is also expected to be ready for commissioners to review at that meeting. “It’s basically ready to go to the state. He’s just working more on the numbers,” said Bourks, adding district engineers had set April 4 as the final draft release date. The plan, funded by an 80 percent federal grant, looks at the feasibility of building sewers to serve all of Point Roberts or the commercial core. The U.S. Department of Agriculture grant required the plan be completed by December 2002 but the district received official notification of a one-year extension at their last meeting.

BACK TO TOP