…something seems more tipped than just campaign signs…They got “game,” but it ain’t fun for Taxpayers!
In Ron Vieselmeyer’s campaign literature, Vieselmeyer has a photo of himself pointing to the United States Constitution as if Vieselmeyer thinks it is a document we need to adhere to. Yet Vieselmeyer was “front and center” in a local and notably blatant violation of the Idaho Constitution, a Constitution he has, purportedly, taken an oath to support! We are talking about the so-called “lease” that North Idaho College (NIC) entered into with the North Idaho College Foundation; both located at the same address. Why would ANY college “lease” bare ground?
The Idaho Constitution requires, at Article VIII § 3, that any political subdivision of the state must get two thirds voter approval before entering into any debt payment scheme of more than a year in duration. The following is part of the language of Article VIII, § 3:
“Limitations on county and municipal indebtedness. No county, city, board of education, or school district, or other subdivision of the state, shall incur any indebtedness, or liability, in any manner, or for any purpose, exceeding in that year, the income and revenue provided for it for such year, without the assent of two-thirds of the qualified electors thereof voting at an election to be held for that purpose,…”
Constitutions are written for The People. They are ratified by The People. Consequently they must be interpreted by The People. So what does the above language require? Well, it means what it says it means. If any political subdivision of the state wants to enter into any long-term debt, the public must vote on it. The Idaho Constitution places the bar high; two thirds of the voters must approve the indebtedness.
If there is any question over the interpretation of the language of a constitution, we go to the same dictionary that the average person uses. So what does the word “any” mean, as in “any indebtedness”, “in any manner”, “or for any purpose”?
Looking at a typical dictionary, we see that the word “any” mean, “1. One or more, no matter which, out of three or more… 2. Every;…” In other words, “any” is an expansive word to include all potential possibilities. This would also include the “lease agreement” that NIC entered into to “purchase” the former DeArmond stud mill immediately north of the existing NIC campus. Yet, there never was a vote of The People before the NIC Board approved millions of dollars of public indebtedness!
In that agreement, before the deal was done, NIC argued that the property should be re-zoned Commercial –17, the most valuable zoning the property could qualify for. This would double the price that the taxpayers would have to pay for the property. What? The college wanted to make the taxpayers pay a higher price? For what purpose?
Was it so that real estate developer Chesrown would make more money, as he was a party to the deal? Or was it to make the potential real estate development of this part of town more attractive for the benefit of the Lake City Development Corporation? Or maybe it was to make that part of town more attractive to other local real estate developers, like Steve Meyer, whose wife sits on the NIC Board? Could this be why, Ed Morse, the real estate appraiser for the deal, used “extraordinary assumptions” to inflate the value of the property? Morse is a business partner with Steve Meyer; the same Steve Meyer that is married to Judy Meyer, a trustee on the North Idaho College Board. Hmmmm, makes us pause…what could be going on here?
The mill property is located in the Lake District of the LCDC’s urban renewal agency. And LCDC has been promoted the entire transaction, facilitated it’s every step and ponied up more taxpayer money to make it happen.
So, the North Idaho College Foundation buys a property, insisting on a rezoning of that property to double its price, and then leases the bare ground to North Idaho College for four years!? If you read the lease, you will find numerous references to the ultimate goal of having the College take title to the property. The College also “loaned” its credit rating to the NIC Foundation, so that the Foundation could get more favorable terms for the Foundation’s indebtedness in buying the property. This is a lease? Not a purchase?
The North Idaho College Board must think we are all so stupid that we can’t figure out their shell game.
This vacant ground lease was for four years. All you could do with a four year ground lease is use the ground for storage or parking. Any ground lease used for the purpose of building a building is typically of ninety-nine years duration. Why would anyone lease vacant ground at a payment rate that pays off the property in four years if they weren’t trying to actually buy the property?
Three Kootenai County citizens sued to stop this violation of our state constitution. Yet the court ruled against them. The only way the court could do so was to invent some esoteric and narrow definition of the word “any”. Yet words used in the Constitution are to be interpreted as everyday people use them. It appears the court was also a party to the scam. The People of Kootenai County ought to view this court decision with contempt.
This entire affair smacks of insider dealing for good old boys. Both Vieselmeyer and Morse are running for the legislature. Vieselmeyer wants us to think he is a champion of the Constitution, yet when he had a chance to defend it, he failed and voted to support this sophisticated shell game to circumvent Article VIII, § 3 of the Idaho Constitution.
Vieselmeyer gave his support to the doubling of price of the property and picking of the pockets of the taxpayers. He should have opposed this deal every step of the way, arguing for the taxpayers to vote on the proposed indebtedness. Vieselmeyer has not been a conservative voice on the NIC Board, but has instead been a “go along to get along” benchwarmer!
Likewise, Ed Morse is campaigning on the need for urban renewal reform. Yet Morse is one of the insiders using urban renewal to “game” the taxpayers. Both Vieselmeyer and Morse are talking out of both sides of their mouth. That is exactly why we’ll be skipping over their names on the May 15 primary election.
While you’re here see our candidate opinion “cheat sheet”: http://chuckleberriesonline.com/?p=627
Unbelievable these swindlers are given carte blanche to do as they please with the tax-payers money. They act as if they’ve won the lottery. Yet the very people they view as dullards, are catching on to their schemes.