Frustration in Onalaska following the recent firing of the Lewis County Fire District 1 chief, resignations among volunteers and the district’s commission and the forced closure of its main station by the state Department of Labor and Industries came to a head last month with the filing of a request to recall remaining commissioners Rich Bainbridge and Bill Kassel.
On Tuesday, attorney Brian Snure told Superior Court Judge Joely O’Rourke his clients might have erred, but that the violations of the Open Public Meetings Act are not a sufficient reason for recall.
“Mr. Kassel and Mr. Bainbridge are good people trying to do a good job,” he said.
He admitted one instance of a violation of the OPMA, in which the commissioners met with no notice to the public.
“It’s a mistake,” he said. “I think the law’s clear. Commissioners are allowed to make mistakes.”