County admits planner’s error

The Kootenai County Commission called an impromptu press conference Tuesday to acknowledge that a county planner erred by signing off on her own development but reiterated that she is a competent and valuable employee.

Commission Chairman Rick Currie summoned two reporters to the meeting and then kept them waiting for 45 minutes before starting the press conference regarding planner Sandy Young and a stop-work order issued Friday on her family’s Greenridge development off Greensferry Road.

“People are talking and there is a lot of misinformation out there,” Currie said. “This will help us clear the air with the information swirling .”

Currie and Commissioner Rich Piazza – along with Planning Director Scott Clark and two county attorneys – emphasized that the county stopped work on the Greenridge development road because an engineer hadn’t reviewed the road construction and that recent rain had caused runoff and other erosion problems.

Clark, who had just returned from the construction site, showed photos of a hydroseed machine and crews placing straw along the road’s edge to stop erosion – all preventive work allowable while the stop-work order is in place.

Currie said some residents had called Tuesday complaining that work was happening even though the site had been red-tagged.

Clark said the preventive work was recommended by Ruen-Yeager, an engineering firm the county hired to independently review the site. The county declined to make the engineering report and recommendations public because the investigation into Young’s violation is still pending.

The firm was hired after it was publicized that in July 2006 a planner supervised by Young signed the site-disturbance application for the project. Young said both Planning Director Rand Wichman and interim Director Cheri Howell were aware of the application and had no problem.

Howell said she couldn’t comment Tuesday, and Wichman didn’t return phone calls. The commission said they were unaware if Wichman or Howell had knowledge, but regardless, Young should have had no involvement processing her own application. The county has a new policy prohibiting such practices.

Currie said the issue has been dealt with but wouldn’t comment further, citing personnel exemptions.

Young said Tuesday that the commission hasn’t talked to her about a conflict of interest or any disciplinary actions. She added she hasn’t had any conversations with Clark about discipline.

“They’ve always treated it like a non-issue,” she said.