The Nowthen City Council voted 3-2 April 14 to appoint Michael Hoium to the Planning Commission, choosing him over former Mayor Jeff Pilon after a divided discussion over the interview process and the future of planning and zoning in the city.
Mayor Shane Hybben and Council Members Mary Rainville and Dan Swenson voted for Hoium. Council Members Ken Glaser and Dan Breyen opposed the appointment and favored Pilon.
Glaser said that after watching the Planning Commission meeting, he understood Pilon to be the members’ primary choice. Hybben confirmed that everyone had voted for Pilon and that some had also voted for Hoium.
Rainville, who said she also listened to the interviews, expressed disappointment with the process.
“I know this is the first time the committee has done this process,” Rainville said. “But I don’t think they followed through with what the directions were. It was my understanding that it was to be done the same as we did when we held interviews for City Council.”
Rainville said council members were supposed to ask each candidate the same questions without deviations or additions.
“That didn’t happen,” Rainville said. “There was a member that didn’t ask questions of certain candidates. There was one member who asked a question that wasn’t on the list. There was a member who provided their opinion about experience, which was not on any of the questions.”
Hybben agreed the process was not perfect, with different questions going to different candidates.
“What they did do, is everyone got ten minutes,” Hybben said, “and they got to answer some amount of questions.”
Rainville moved to appoint Hoium, saying that while Pilon was recommended, the council had the final say.
“I think that the council has done a good job on trying to move our zoning process forward,” Rainville said. “We’ve been focusing on changing policies, procedures, ordinances, and attempting to streamline some of those things.”
Rainville said the appointment was a chance to look forward and choose someone with fresh eyes and ideas.
Glaser said it felt as though Rainville was ruling Pilon out because of issues tied to past councils, even though she had served on some of those councils.
“You were part of multiple of those councils where decisions were being made,” Glaser said. “I understand that there’s some personality disagreements here in the city with regards to certain residents that have been on past councils. But I want to state for the record that Jeff Pilon’s experience would bring a wealth of information to an area of our city that we’re currently struggling in.”
Glaser said the city has talked about moving planning and zoning forward but has not made enough progress.
“We need to put these personality differences aside and look to how we can improve the city,” Glaser said.
Swenson said he had spoken with Hoium and was impressed with his experience working with councils in other cities.
“I think that brainstorming and problem solving and experience would make for a valuable addition to the planning and zoning committee,” Swenson said. “I thought that having someone from the construction business would be a plus for having a set of eyes there that would have experience with that.”
Swenson said he had nothing against Pilon and thanked him for his past service, but said Hoium would be a good asset as the city moved into a new chapter.
Breyen said the Planning Commission had unanimously recommended Pilon, and that Pilon’s history and experience were the deciding factors for him.
Rainville apologized for past council mistakes and said the city had made changes to how it would handle lot splits, citing that as an example of improvements.
Glaser responded that residents had given Rainville another chance by re-electing her to the council, and he said Pilon should be given the same chance on the Planning Commission.
Hybben said experience does not always mean good experience, adding that he wished more progress had been made under Pilon.
“If you had 10 years as a liaison, I don’t think it’s the right thing for our community,” Hybben said. “I think we move forward with a fresh set of eyes, and we try to move this thing forward.”