Two Stanley City Council members want to pass a resolution withdrawing the city's support for the proposed Central Idaho Economic and Development Recreation Act (CIEDRA).
Councilman Sean Tajkowski said the federal bill, crafted by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, has undergone significant changes in the past few months and that many local citizens have withdrawn their support.
"The bill has been heavily changed," said Tajkowski, who was elected to the council in January.
The legislation originally proposed to designate 300,011 acres in the Boulder-White Clouds mountains as wilderness in exchange for a series of land transfers and economic concessions, mainly to Custer County and its municipalities.
But, earlier this summer the wilderness acreage was bumped up to 319,900, and the land transfers to Stanley were issued a price tag. Stanley is slated to receive 68 acres of land along Valley Creek, eight acres on Benner Street and $200,000 for sustainable land-use planning and trail work around the city. The city will be required to pay the federal government $340,000 for the land, Mayor Hannah Stauts said.
Tajkowski said he and fellow Stanley City Councilman Charley Briggs became alarmed when they learned that Stauts and Councilman Charley Thompson met with Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, last week to discuss the bill.
"This was something I was supposed to be involved with in regards to my city," Tajkowski said. "There's a conflict here. It just seems very strange that we weren't invited.
"My issue, ultimately, is that the city gets heard."
Tajkowski said he feels like Stauts and Thompson may have violated Idaho city governance laws by meeting with Craig without the entire council present.
Stauts said the entire issue is a misunderstanding and her meeting with Craig, who has yet to form an opinion on the bill, was completely innocent.
Stauts said Craig's office requested the meeting with her, "and as city administrator I have every legal authority to meet with anyone without the rest of the council." She said she advised Tajkowski to contact the Idaho Association of Counties if he has any concerns.
Thompson was invited because he's been heavily involved in the CIEDRA legislation for several years and Tajkowski's involvement "has not been that extensive," Stauts said.
She added that she can "understand their feelings of not being included and communication is something we need to work on improving."
The Stanley City Council met Wednesday to review budget issues but Tajkowski called an emergency change to the agenda to discuss CIEDRA and the Craig meeting. He said that he planned to walk out if his concerns were not addressed.
"I was ready for a fight, but last night things changed for the better," Tajkowski said.
Stauts said the resolution will be reviewed in the next City Council meeting Sept. 13. It needs a majority vote to pass, which seems likely since two of the three council members support it and Stauts can't vote—she can only veto bills.
Stanley residents have been divided over the bill, which has been labeled a compromise to simultaneously benefit wilderness advocates, motorized users, and the economically struggling communities in rural Custer County, 96 percent of which is federal land.
"There is definitely a voice in the community that needs to be listened to, but I don't want to see the council make a knee-jerk reaction based on that," Stauts said. "We need to consider the overall implications of the bill's future effect on Stanley."
According to Stauts, only about six people opposed to CIEDRA attended Wednesday's meeting.
