Calling Them Like you See Them

POLITICS OVERSHADOWS JUSTICE - CITY UNABLE TO

INVESTIGATE ITS OWN CODE ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES OPENLY

Filling the vacuum created by cancelled city council meeting enables us to reflect upon our own CALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS as they pertain to City Code Enforcement….. In which past articles have requested transparency of action taken by city…. Made necessary by ALLEGATIONS of wrong doing on the part of SGCE (Code Enforcement officers) and our own beloved City Councilman, Gil Almquist. (I say Beloved for the many Callings he has accepted in service to the community in various capacities…. Because of the many gifts and talents he has been given….Much is expected of him. He has made many meaningful contributions…..yet the public must know that he is treated the same as the rest of the community he serves). NO DOUBLE STANDARDS OR SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT BENEFITS.

To recap the situation for readers…..I believe it is safe to say that the tactics employed by SGCE …..And which Former Mayor McArthur was charged with Oversight Responsibility…..And which continue to be under the direct supervision of City Attorney, Guzman….. to put it mildly, have been questioned.

QUESTIONED in the form of a Class-Action Law Suit….Filed by Attorney, Aaron J. Prisbrey on behalf of his clients…..NAMING as DEFENDANTS…..Daniel D. McArthur (Former Mayor) ; Gary Esplin (City Manager) ; Jon Pike (Current Mayor) ; CITY OF ST. GEORGE; Malcolm Turner (SGCE Officer) ; Jeff Cottam (SGCE Officer).

The raging issue on Code Enforcement has been going on for several months…..WITHOUT resolution and any meaningful form of transparency from City Hall…. In fact it may be said that the Public has been STONEWALLED from knowing the results or status of the investigation requested by Attorney Aaron Prisbrey.   It has come to be well known…..And accepted by those in a position to know that Code Enforcement Reform is needed…..In fact many city officials have privately if NOT publicly committed to taking action to…..Shall we say to improve upon current and past practices. (I put it this way to avoid the appearance of acknowledging the veracity of the Law Suit Cited) This seems to be the stumbling block facing city officials (Preventing Immediate action) and which appears to have them over a barrel….. Frightened to such an extent that allegations of wrong-doing  led the city to refer the investigation of allegations to the County Attorney’s Office. WOE upon the city…..NO, this warrants a triple WOE for failing to meet SGCE issues straight on…..And DO the right thing to correct those things that need correcting!  (CITY CAN WALK AND CHEW GUM AT THE SAME TIME).

SPEAKING of doing the right thing….. The SAVING GRACE in all of this mess has been the straight forward and transparent action taken by the County Attorney’s Office. KUDOS to County Attorney Brock Belnap and Barry Golding, Captain/Investigations Bureau for their openness and courage displayed in seeking an INDEPENDENT evaluation of the County Investigation.

While I am handing out WOE’S…..In my opinion Attorney Prisbrey is deserving of Triple WOE’S…..If the wording attributed to him by a local reporter is correct (Spectrum dated 4-10-14) the manner in which he characterized Mr. Golding was inappropriate and mean spirited. (“Prisbrey said he believes Golding’s investigation was conducted specifically so as not to find evidence of any crime before handing over the investigation to an outside office, so Washington County officials would not have to make the decision whether or not charges should be filed”) Note: The completed investigation by Washington County was referred to Beaver County for Screening and who subsequently made the decision to “Decline Prosecution on this matter).

Criminal Trespass….. Beaver County Attorney, Von J. Christiansen Golding’s investigation failed to establish evidence of Criminal Trespass.

Intent to “Simulate” a Summons City of St. George…..Beaver County Attorney, Von J. Christiansen “In sum, this is a matter to be resolved by the administrative law judge---not by criminal prosecution, which would be counter to the interest of justice”.

No Evidence Gathered of Other Crimes…..Beaver County Attorney, Von J. Christiansen “Mr. Golding likewise did not investigate complaints about city council member (Gil Almquist) keeping an excessive number of plants on his property—relying instead on St. George City to take action internally through its own legal department. Accordingly, further prosecution is declined because there appear to be no other actionable criminal offenses”.

It is abundantly clear…..The Washington County Attorney’s Office had no standing to investigate the “City Ordinance” concerning Councilman Almquist. (County’s Standing is to investigate violations of State and County Laws).  Therefore the matter lies/remains in the hands of the St. George City Attorney’s Office which as of this writing is yet to reveal PUBLICLY its intended course of action. (If Any) 

Perhaps the only way to get a straight answer from the city is to elect our City Attorney so that he might be held accountable to the public.  ED BACA