Day: February 21, 2020

by William Skink

The study regime powered by public money just won’t stop, like a train chugging down the tracks. A loud train. With loud whistles.

Hey, I know, let’s spend $26,300 in public TIF money to fund a…RAILROAD QUIET ZONE ANALYSIS and TRAFFIC STUDY!!!!

I am unfortunately not kidding, the critical issue of loud train noises by train tracks is seriously something that public money will now be used to study:

On Thursday, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s board authorized the agency to provide up to $26,300 in Tax Increment Financing to fund a Railroad Quiet Zone Analysis and Traffic Study. The area affected would be generally near the lower Rattlesnake.

Tod Gass, a project manager with the MRA, said Missoula Mayor John Engen, City Council President Bryan von Lossberg and many concerned citizens have brought the issue forward recently.

TIF money is supposed to be used to address blight. How does the Missoula Redevelopment Agency justify using TIF funds for studies? Are loud sounds now considered blight?

I would also like to know exactly how many “concerned citizens” are making this an issue. Is there some threshold of concern that must be met, or can a few entitled idiots in the lower Rattlesnake neighborhood trigger the use of public money because they didn’t realize living by train tracks comes with loud train noises?

Train noise is not an issue that warrants the use of public money meant to address blight. The real issue is how public money is being misused.

In a Reptile Dysfunction exclusive, I have obtained a photograph of Mayor Engen handing over the City credit card to a stingy member of the private sector:

  
Is it time for another intervention?

  

I think the answer to that question is yes!

by William Skink

It’s been well over a month since a fight at the Poverello Center left Sean Stevenson dead and his family with serious questions about what happened that night and why local authorities have yet to file any charges.

While the alleged killer, Johnny Lee Perry, hasn’t faced charges for his role in Stevenson’s death, he has been in and out of jail for extra jurisdictional warrants.

In fact, just last night Perry was again picked up by authorities and put in jail on two outstanding warrants:

  

While Perry will probably be out on the streets again in time for lunch, Brandon Bryant’s appearance yesterday in court did NOT result in any change to the $100,000 bond keeping locked up:

Missoula County’s chief criminal prosecutor Matt Jennings requested Vannatta hold Bryant’s bail at $100,000 for concern of public safety. In the YouTube video mentioned in charging documents, Bryant speaks about the City Council, adding “those people who have wronged others … will be eliminated.”

“This isn’t the time or place to argue the merits of the case,” Jennings said.

Jake Coolidge, another public defender on Bryant’s case, said he had been in contact with Veterans Affairs staff to help handle Bryant’s disabilities if released from jail ahead of trial. Additionally, Coolidge said Bryant would abide by previously set conditions, which prohibits him from contacting City Council members in any way.

Vannatta declined to lower Bryant’s bail on Thursday, so Hammond asked for the earliest possible trial date, April 27. The move essentially limits the amount of time for prosecutors to gather more witnesses and evidence tying Bryant to the video, rather than waiving Bryant’s right to a speedy trial, which would allow the defense more time to bolster its defense.

The juxtaposition between how these two men are being treated by the criminal justice system in Missoula continues to be stark and confounding. Stay tuned as more information becomes available, like that autopsy report the County Attorney’s office should have by now.