CAMANO ISLAND — New Island County Commissioner Kelly Emerson is in a spat with her own county.
She and her husband face as much as $52,000 in fines for enclosing a patio and building a deck at their Camano Island home without permits, which came to light during her election campaign last fall.
Emerson has sued her political opponent, former commissioner John Dean, and two county employees over the issue, alleging that the men used their positions for political gain.
Emerson said she initially was surprised to learn about the fines.
“I thought the lawsuit would stop everything and that the matter would be settled in court,” said Emerson, who represents Camano Island and north Whidbey Island on the three-member board of commissioners.
The county planning department originally assessed a $5,000 fine, but it grew to $37,000 because the Emersons failed to respond to the code enforcement order regarding building and environmental rules violations, county officials said. And since then, the Emersons have been fined $500 a day or an additional $15,000 as of Friday.
Emerson said in November that her complaint was with individuals and that she didn’t want to cost county taxpayers money because of her lawsuit.
More than a week ago, however, her attorney, Stephen Pidgeon of Everett, filed a motion to amend the complaint to include cash-strapped Island County as a party in the suit. The motion also seeks an injunction to stop the county’s enforcement and fines, Pidgeon said.
The Emersons filed their lawsuit on the eve of Election Day, alleging that Dean used his position to alert county planning director Robert Pederson and building inspector Ron Slechta to a construction project at the Emerson home.
Kenneth Emerson did not obtain building permits before he began work to enclose the couple’s back patio and build a deck and retaining wall in late August. Emerson said in November that she and her husband planned to get the necessary permits, but just hadn’t had the time.
The suit alleges that Dean got an e-mail from the Emerson’s next-door neighbor about construction at the Emerson house and forwarded it to Pederson. The suit says that Slechta, on orders from Pederson, trespassed when he went to the Emersons’ house to issue a stop-work order on the addition to the home.
The lawsuit then alleges the inspection was politically motivated and that Dean defamed Emerson, his re-election campaign opponent, when he circulated a flier that included a headline, “Emerson ignores county law.”
The employees said they were just doing their jobs, and Dean said he advised the neighbor to a file a complaint of her own. Then, however, he forwarded the e-mail to his fellow commissioners with a “cc” to Pederson.
Code enforcement officer Andrew Hicks met in September with Kenneth Emerson to talk about what the couple could do to be in compliance with county code regarding building near the wetlands on the Emersons’ property. Hicks sent a letter Oct. 1 telling the Emersons they had a month to get a wetlands study done and obtain all necessary building permits.
After not hearing from the Emersons, the county assessed the initial fine but offered the Emersons a chance to appeal. The fines began to mount on Jan. 4 when Hicks sent a supplemental enforcement order that charged $500 a day for not responding to the county’s order.
“These fines can be significantly reduced upon resolution of the violation. The goal isn’t punishment but compliance,” Hicks said. “Our ability to make such a reduction, however, lessens as time goes on.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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