Dalton officials stand firm None quit, with recall election now looming

A recall election for city officials in Dalton Gardens will likely be held in March.

Dalton Gardens residents who have pushed for the recall of the city’s mayor and council and who gathered enough signatures on a recall petition last month expect a recall election to be set March 12, the second Tuesday of that month.

None of the Dalton Gardens city officials, including Mayor Steve Roberge and council members who were given five days to resign after the petition was validated earlier this month, have given up their seats.

“Five business days have passed from the notice, without any resignations being received,” Dalton Gardens clerk Valerie Anderson wrote in a letter to Kootenai County officials who will oversee the recall election.

The recall was spurred after a group of Dalton Gardens residents learned the City Council had violated city ordinances by making a deal with a local family allowing a four-home development on a 5-acre meadow at 7079 N. 16th St.

Dalton Gardens resident Jeff Crandall and a group called Save Dalton Gardens accuses city administrators of making a back room, land development deal with the Streeter family, that flies in the face of a city code prohibiting home building without public street frontage. The development would require a private road be built into the field to reach at least two of the residential lots, which is an ordinance violation.

Crandall says the illegal deal will set a precedent in a city known for its sparse development on big, rural-style lots.

City officials though, say the land deal was mediated after the Streeters threatened to sue the city, and they stand by their decision to allow the development.

The petition secured over 420 signatures, representing over 25 percent of the city electorate. Petitioners needed 311 signatures to certify the recall and have it placed on the ballot.

To recall an official, the number of votes must be equal or greater than the number of votes each official received to be elected.

That means at least 110 votes must be tallied in favor of recalling Dalton Gardens council member Joe Myers and at least 122 voters must elect to recall council member Denise Lundy. Recalling Mayor Steve Roberge would require at least 345 votes, council member Scott Jordan requires 337 votes for a recall, and council member Jamie Smith requires 418 votes to recall.

“We believe this is a monumental issue for our city,” Crandall said. “We’re determined to see it through.”