Resort tax committee taking questions

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

The resort tax subcommittee of the Bigfork Steering Committee has set up an e-mail address for the express purpose of taking questions from the community, subcommittee chair Bruce Solberg said last week's BSC meeting.

The subcommittee is focused on researching the potential pros and cons of a resort tax in Bigfork and Solberg said to help that process an e-mail address has been created for people to ask questions that they would like to see answered.

Solberg stressed that the committee is not advocating such a levy in any way and is not looking for opinions on the matter at this point, only questions that may not have occurred to them.

Solberg reported that well-known resort tax attorney and lobbyist Mona Jamison expressed a willingness to come to Bigfork and offer her expertise at a community forum-type meeting. Because of the costs associated with Jamison's service, Solberg and the BSC are still exploring other options.

To submit questions to the committee, e-mail resorttax@bigfork.org.

In other business at last Thursday's BSC meeting, the Bigfork Neighborhood Plan was back in conversation as data and revisions gathered by Shelley Gonzales and others is nearly ready. A workshop session of the BSC is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church to put final revisions and changes in the plan before sending it to the Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee for its approval.

Sue Hanson pushed for a quick workshop date, despite the holiday season and its inherent scheduling issues.

Hanson said the completion of the plan needs to happen soon so the 1993 version currently used by the county to help make decisions can be replaced. She cited concerns among a few members of the BSC that the 14-year-old plan is sometimes portrayed as inaccurate because of its age and that such an argument has been used before the county planning board in the past with some effectiveness.

The BSC will continue to hold its regular noon meetings each Thursday at Bethany Lutheran Church. The North Lake County Zoning Committee will meet at 9 a.m. on Dec. 7 and 14 at the Ferndale Fire hall for driving tours of the zoning district and workshop sessions to inventory public comment.