Flathead County residents may have noticed fewer underage drinking arrests in the valley lately.
A four-year grant-funded program created by Flathead County law enforcement to address the problem was suspended May 14, just more than a month before the grant was to expire.
The Flathead County Alcohol Enforcement Team, a collaborative effort between the Sheriff’s Department; the Montana Highway Patrol; Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls police departments; Fish, Wildlife and Parks; and the U.S. Forest Service is undergoing a shift in leadership and focus, and will be reinstated under a new grant July 1, according to Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan.
“In the past the grant was mostly all law-enforcement related,” Meehan said. “Now, only 30 percent will be law enforcement, and it will be more focused on education and treatment.”
Meehan said the highway patrol would be taking control of the program, which has been in the hands of the Sheriff’s Department since 2005.
“It was a mutual agreement between myself and the highway patrol,” he said, adding that officers in his department will remain actively involved in the team.
Linda Ravicher, with the STOP Underage Drinking in the Flathead coalition, wrote and will be managing the latest grant, which she said provides $76,900 to pay for the overtime hours of officers who participate in the program while off duty.
Last year, when law enforcement leaders thought they would be short of money to fund the alcohol enforcement program another four years, they made a decision to apply for another grant, Ravicher said.
At that point, the Sheriff’s office said it would like to have someone else supervise the team “to kind of spread the wealth around,” she said. The highway patrol jumped on board.
Ravicher said she is unsure why team operations were suspended in May rather than the end of June.
With summertime fast approaching, former coordinator of the Alcohol Enforcement Team Deputy Travis Bruyer is concerned about the repercussions of a gap in the program, since once summer arrives underage drinking increases.
He said the team normally sets aside funding for the end of May and June for local events like Memorial Day, graduation and Boating While Intoxicated patrols with Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
“These are important months to make ourselves present in the community,” he said.
On May 14, an Alcohol Enforcement Team member notified Bruyer of a fax stating, without reason, that team operations for the program would be suspended as of that day, Bruyer said.
The next day, Bruyer left a letter of resignation on Meehan’s desk.
“There is no point in being a coordinator if I do not have a team to coordinate,” Bruyer wrote in an e-mail to the Flathead Beacon. “In addition to that, I am responsible for over $75K for this grant-funded project. I did not feel comfortable being responsible for that funding and the remaining balance, especially if my hands are tied.”
Bruyer said he would have been glad to help make this a smooth “transition” to the highway patrol, but he doesn’t think it should take a month and half while leaving a community vulnerable.
But Meehan said he plans to address any increase his department sees in underage drinking after school is out, and the money left over from the last grant would be spent on
enforcement.
The highway patrol’s Sgt. Steve Lavin will be taking over Bruyer’s position as coordinator.
Lavin said his main goal for the team is to help provide a safer community for youth.