Post by Admin on May 16, 2018 18:34:20 GMT -7
Well Logs Needed or you may lose your right to vote...
Some candidates may be disqualified
The 1980 and the 1998 covenants require landowners to submit a well log to the GLA after their new well is dug. Sometime back after the year 2000 the State of Montana started to put well logs on the internet. However for many years the GLA kept a spreadsheet of landowners who submitted well logs.
The Forum was told that about five days before Kathleen Rakela submitted her candidate forms she submitted a well log. We were also told that candidate John Carp, who does not own property but represents his landlord, also submitted a well log. His landlord's well log came in 5 days after the deadline for submitting candidate papers. At the last Board meeting the subject of well logs was mysteriously on the agenda. Board discussion centered around whether the GLA should still require that they be submitted. Director Keeler pointed out that the GLA routinely ignores many covenants but should not create a policy that deliberately ignores covenants. Rather the covenant should be changed and that would require a landowner vote. We were mystified why such an obscure covenant was being discussed and wondered who asked that it be put on the agenda.
A few days later the Forum was told that Kathleen Rakela requested that the subject of well logs be placed on the Board agenda. Why we asked? "So candidates could be disqualified" was the answer.
Somehow someone was given a copy of the GLA well log spreadsheet. That person or persons then waited until the candidate paperwork filing deadline passed. Then Kathleen Rakela demanded that Dennis Riley and Claudette Dirkers be declared "members NOT in good standing" by the GLA Board because they never submitted well logs to the GLA. The previous owner of Candidate Dirker's property failed to submit a well log. Their candidacy would end if the Board declared them "not in good standing". Although John Carp was not mentioned his candidacy would also be invalid since his landlord missed filing the well log by the candidate filing deadline.
The GLA Board had a conference call on May 15th with one of their attorneys, Seth Cunningham, regarding the well log issue. Our sources tell us that no candidates were disqualified and the election will continue. But our sources added, "Kathleen Rakela may sue again and even ask for another restraining order to stop this election".
It appears that the GLA Board does not have a plan to solve this problem and that they will simply react to whatever action Kathleen Rakela initiates.
If the court finds that candidates who have not submitted well logs are not in good standing then logically the same would hold true for landowners and sitting Board members. Many would not be able to vote.
The Forum will provide more details as the Rakela legal drama continues to unfold.
