LAKE STEVENS – Two Drainage Improvement District 8 commissioners have called for the resignation of the third member of their board, accusing him of misusing his position and placing the district in danger of being sued.
Commissioner Robert Carkeek has committed malfeasance or misfeasance in office and violated his oath of office, commissioners Jim Steinruck and Ken Withrow say. They sent Carkeek a letter last week asking him to resign. If he does not, the district may consider a recall petition.
Carkeek filed paperwork at Snohomish County South District Court seeking a restraining order against Leland and Kathy Ripley, residents of the district and his neighbors, to keep them from attending district meetings. Carkeek alleges that the Ripleys harass and intimidate him. The judge on Friday dismissed Carkeek’s complaint and denied his request for a restraining order.
The district’s attorney, Steve Thomas, provided the court with a declaration in which he said Carkeek has a property dispute with the Ripleys, which is of no concern to the district. But Carkeek’s attempt as a commissioner to keep the Ripleys from attending the public meetings is illegal. Carkeek took the action on his own without approval or consent from the board, Thomas said in the declaration.
In the district’s letter to Carkeek, Steinruck and Withrow also disputed Carkeek’s claims about the Ripleys, saying his attempt to keep them away from meetings “constitutes further evidence of your committing malfeasance and-or misfeasance of office.” Additionally, by not paying his district assessments, he violated his oath of office, they said.
Carkeek did not return a call for comment.
In May, the board stopped paying Carkeek the stipend he earns for attending meetings until he paid his district assessment for 2005. Thomas noted at a commission meeting last week that Carkeek paid the past-due assessment June 2, but said the board still should seek his resignation because of the other issues it addressed.
Carkeek, 59, only paid past-due assessments for 2002, 2003 and 2004 on his 3.35 acres earlier this year after the board moved toward foreclosure on his property. At that time, the 2005 assessment had not been mailed to him. Carkeek paid the money, but hadn’t pay the first half of his 2005 assessment, which under district rules makes the new assessment past due.
He disputed owing the assessments and, while a commissioner, asked the district for a special review of his property to place it in an exempt category that didn’t require assessments. The board denied his request.
Elected in 2004, Carkeek campaigned for his position on the idea that the district may need to be disbanded.
Carkeek’s property adjoins the Ripleys’ property, and the boundary dispute escalated into a physical altercation recently in which the Ripleys called the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
After the meeting Thursday, Thomas said Carkeek has placed the district at risk of being sued by interrupting and shouting down someone who is attempting to address the board. That violates their rights as a citizen, Thomas said.
“This isn’t (Richard) Nixon and Watergate, but it’s significant to this community,” he said.
Steinruck, the commission chairman, said Carkeek’s actions have made the board less effective “because we’re distracted by his antics.”
Withrow agreed, saying the board didn’t take the situation lightly.
“The letter (seeking) resignation came about over time,” Thomas said. “We’ve tried other things. I’ve tried to talk with him and give him counsel.”
“He’s dangerous to democracy,” Steinruck said. “I’ve never been in a situation where I’m at a loss as to what to do next.”
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
