Last Wednesday's City council session was like feeding time at the zoo. The pro-development forces in Sultan sit in the back of the council chamber, sending up cheers of agreement when actions are taken in their favor. This type of behavior has no place within the confines of a government body, and it began at the September 6^th council meeting and has continued and been encouraged by Mayor C. H. Rowe's leadership.

At the September 6^th Council session Kenton Coy, owner/operator of a local internet company called Sky Valley.net and Computer Works, and Ed Boucher, the environmental "envelope-pusher" of the city, gave a 20-minute presentation to the council, denouncing the organization known as G.R.I.T. (Governmental Responsibility, Integrity and Truth), which was founded by myself and my husband, Ray Kistenmacher, in mid-June of 2000. Mr. Coy's surprise announcement that we were not G.R.I.T., was astonishing, in light of the fact that he had formally and illegally applied to the State Secretary of State to form a non-profit organization under that same name on August 2^nd, a full six weeks after our well-publicized use of it. This "presentation" was aided, abetted and encouraged by, at the least, Roy Bysegger, the City's Administrator, and, we believe, by others highly-placed at city hall.

In the council meeting of September 20^th, Messrs. Coy and Boucher proceeded to administer the coup d'grais by accusing our group of being liars, file tamperers, and of such illegal activities as placing hidden recording devices strategically inside city hall.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Coy called in, and subsequently filed, a false police report against me, accusing me of violently threatening his life on the phone. $1,500 and many agonizing weeks later, the charge was dropped by the Prosecutor's office. However, for someone who has lived by the law all her life, and expected government officials to not only abide by our laws, but set the example for us, that particular experience was an anguishing one.

Since those two council sessions, the "pro-development" forces in town (I have now begun referring to them as the "anti-law forces") have been straining at their choke chains in a brazen attempt to squash all remnants of its opposition by a few bold strokes. This attempt, in my opinion, will only hasten their demise.

The latest series of events to have occurred here are startling in their audacity, and I believe shows an administration "on the run," trying to get so far ahead that no one can catch them. Not even the law.

The most horrifying event is the news of a huge, 600-acre DNR-sponsored gravel pit operation that is planned to go in just north of the city limits. We have it on good authority that this operation was actively encouraged by individuals of influence within the City of Sultan.

Another occurrence is the behind-the-scenes courting of a Wal-Mart. Some in town might approve of this action, but it is my belief that most of us live here because of the town's rural character. After all, we can certainly drive 6 miles to Monroe for shoes or a coat, but once our city is paved over, how far will we have to go to breathe clean air and to feed our soul?

Recent acts related to the handling of certain invasions of stream buffer zones, and the lack of proper enforcement and reparation, have left Sultan with an moderately-outlaw-like reputation among the State EPA and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. This is primarily because of the Wagley Creek debacle, which has left this city with a financial and moral debt. Mr. Boucher's decimation of his 100-foot buffer zone on his Gohr Road property is nothing short of appalling. In our opinion, Mr. Bruner, who is the city's lead enforcement authority on this subject, should certainly have been fired at the least, and in my opinion should be charged with malfeasance.

But perhaps the most frightening event is Mr. Rowe's handling of, and appointments to, the Planning Commission. Two practically back-to-back appointments of heavily-pro development types, Tom Green and Bart Dalmaiso, made clear Mr. Rowe's plans to strip away the last vestiges of the heretofore wise-growth advocates on the Commission. But the appointment of Mr. Kenton Coy at the January 3^rd Council meeting was, to put it mildly, a fiasco. The distressful aspect of this appointment is that Mr. Coy is not a legally-registered voter, a basic criterion of a P.C. appointee. The mayor was forced to rescind this appointment the following day, leaving in its wake questions as to the legality of the method of removal. Further, it appears that our mayor jumped the gun a bit, since there was not yet an officially-open position to fill.

What is so alarming about Mr. Coy's appointment to the P.C. is the manner in which it was done, and the utter disregard for the concerns of its citizens with regard to our growth. Obviously, by packing the P.C. with his cronies, Mr. Mayor is certainly "paving" the way (pun definitely intended!) to turn the color of Sultan from its current rural green to a soon-to-be concrete white. Or worse, asphalt black. But the way in which all of these appointments have been made is disgraceful. Councilmembers are not given a resume or even the most basic credentials of prospective P.C. appointments, and they are expected to rubber stamp Mayoral selections. (In introducing Mr. Dalmaiso during his appointment procedure, Mr. Rowe indicated he didn't even know who he was. An "aw-shucks" ploy or simply total incompetence?) Why should the city even have a confirming Council vote if this is such a slam-dunk action? The last time there was an open position on the P.C., it was openly advertised, and some fine people came forward to apply. One of those applying (the husband of a city resident bravely and openly critical of the city for not following its own codes), is imminently qualified for this position, but the victim of a common city syndrome, "File Lostitis."

Amongst the moral rubble of city hall, some city employees are standing up, determined to do their jobs and uphold our codes. We can only hope they stick around long enough to give the good people of Sultan time to redress the mistake made by all of us when we voted for Mayor Rowe by "taking" their city back.

I used to think C.H. was a bumbling, shuffling type of fellow, basically a good-hearted and likeable guy, but not a very good mayor. I have revised my point of view. I now believe that the mayor is a motivated brigand who surrounds himself by unprincipled and greedy individuals, all of whom have a common goal: Making money at any cost, the result of which will be the swift ruination of Sultan.