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Vol. 18, No. 33
May 4, 2022
Public comment heard over proposed Polson business license By Taylor Davison Valley Journal
Planting pg. 9
Bakery pg. 12
Art
pg. 20
POLSON — Passions ran high during a workshop meeting for the proposed Polson business license on Wednesday, April 27, but ultimately settled into productive conversation about possible improvements and alternatives. The proposal by City Manager Ed Meece and Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Straub, currently on its second draft, contained sections of broad language that had business owners within the city’s jurisdiction concerned. Made largely of borrowed verbiage from other towns’ business license ordinances, locals expressed worry that the wording and parameters did not fit Polson itself and would result in eventual bureaucratic overreach. “We’re open to all kinds of wordsmithing suggestions,” Meece said, acknowledging that he and Straub are not overly experienced with proposal writing, but are re-
BOONE GODDARD / VALLEY JOURNAL
Public comment on the proposal can still be submitted to City Hall.
ceptive to narrowing the language down to protect owners from aggressive enforcement from future city management. Other concerns voiced included the necessity of the proposed purpose of the license in a town without an abundance of fires, and where the lines would be drawn as far as grandfathering in safety parameters and frequent change. “Yes, we are a safe community. But I’ll tell you
there are hazards here that we worry about,” Straub commented. “Bowstring trusses. There are several in this town, and they are absolutely horrific. They kill firefighters. I want to know where every single one of those are, because I want to keep my firefighters safe.” Additionally, he said he wants to make sure businesses are up to code for their own liability and safety reasons. As for Straub be-
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coming full time, he acknowledged he’ll be spending many hours inspecting, but said the benefit of that will be that he’s available, and very quickly. He’ll have a fire truck with him, and he’ll be able to respond to a fire, medical emergency, and other incidents much more quickly than a volunteer could respond from their home or work. According to Meece, building layout information would also be
collected during fire inspections – allowing first responders to approach incidents more safely and efficiently. There are a lot of common walls and shared spaces for businesses in town, Straub pointed out. “We need to have that knowledge. (It’s) going to be great for us,” Straub added. As far as grandfathering, Meece acknowledged that they would work on that aspect of the proposal for its next draft. The city currently uses the ICC International Fire Code from 2018, but will have to update the 2021 version due to the state’s requirement. How often businesses need to adhere to these updates, and which businesses will be grandfathered in will be determined at a later date. The primary concern voiced by those in attendance was that license costs and fees could harm small businesses already facing challenging economic times. Several attendees expressed consee page 2
