Water And Sewer Key Topics For Harrison Election

Despite surviving a recall attempt, Harrison Mayor Dave LePard became so fed up with politics in this lakeside town that earlier this year he said he wouldn’t run again.

He changed his mind. Come Nov. 2, LePard will face off against Dean Christensen. He’s the former mayor who lost his office to LePard in a coin toss that settled a tied vote in 1995.

The issue that’s keeping LePard in Harrison politics, he said, is the one that got him started: the need to fix the town’s utility systems.

“I’ve got to finish up the water and sewer project,” LePard said this week. “The people who knew me knew that’s what I set out to do … They’ve always accused of us being underhanded about this. No, it’s always been up front.”

Under LePard, the City Council approved creation of a local improvement district (LID) that will pay for half of the nearly $1 million project. The rest will come from a federal grant, which LePard said is expected next year.

Although Christensen believes repairs are needed, he is among those who think the mayor and council have shoved aside public opinion. Most people didn’t want to pay for the work with an LID, he said.

“It needs to be a more open government,” he said. “They cannot give you a firm figure on what it’s going to cost anybody. They’ve come up with some figures … It’s all pie in the sky.”

The city government isn’t listening to people, Christensen said.

“They don’t like the way I run council meetings, so they don’t come so they don’t know what’s going on,” LePard countered. “I don’t put up with the free-for-all that it used to be. It’s a business meeting.”

As for the cost of the sewer/water project, LePard promises that more definite figures should be out soon, when engineering design work is done. “We should have another hearing before the end of the year.”

LePard, 48, is a state dam inspector. Christensen, 65, is a retired dairy farmer. The part-time job of mayor pays $400 a month. The town’s official population is 283, though it swells considerably each summer.

Four people are running for the three open seats on the City Council.

Incumbent Arlene Woodside, who was appointed to fill a vacancy a year and a half ago, also wants to stay on to see the utilities project completed. The owner of the Osprey Inn bed-and-breakfast, she is also eager to see the parks and waterfront developed.

“We have so many natural resources here. I’d like to see them usable for the community and for the kids, and not at a lot of expense,” Woodside said.

Lifelong Harrison resident Richard Hodge, a retired logger, is making his first run for elective office. He also dislikes the way LePard runs things. He felt that criticism of the LID proposal was stymied at the public hearing.

Candidate John Aktepy said he supports the mayor and council in their decisions about the project.

Aktepy, a retired logger, has lived in Harrison for two years. He organized hydroplane races on Lake Coeur d’Alene as a tourist attraction this summer, and is pleased that the town has a revitalized Chamber of Commerce.

Annie Russell, the fourth candidate, came to town a year ago and was soon appointed to fill a vacancy on the City Council. She, too, supports the water and sewer improvements and wants to see the project through.

If elected, Russell will press for improved city employee salaries and training. Like Woodside, she considers youth programs a priority in the scenic but isolated town.