Road Dust: A real and spreading problem

By Steve Qunell

As election season heats up, I expect that many of you are beginning to find out more about the candidates in national and local contests. One of the most important contests this fall is the race for Flathead County Commissioner because as we know, the Flathead continues to grow at rates that far outstrip the national average and this rapid growth is eroding the very qualities that make our county a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Most of us also understand that Flathead County has a significant challenge maintaining its more than 1,300 miles of roads, including 700 miles of unpaved roads. And every year the county faces criticism and outrage over the dust from these unpaved roads - dust that has led to sanctions from the MT DEQ and has left the air we breath below federal benchmarks for clean air. Dust isn't just a problem for those who live on unpaved roads, it's a problem we all share.

So what do we do?

The first thing we do is make sure the problem doesn't get any worse, meaning we don't allow new subdivisions without appropriate road infrastructure. One of the main reasons we find ourselves where we are is that for years our county commission has consistently favored the developer over the small landowner, leaving neighbors scratching their heads with the size and scale of developments around them.

Second, we find out which roads are worst and how much it will cost to find a real solution for those roads. Then we find a way to generate that revenue. One of these revenue sources must come from the people who stand to benefit the most from new development. It is simply unfair to allow developers to exploit our resources and walk away, leaving the rest of us with gritty teeth and higher taxes.

Finally we must also look at the way our road department currently operates and find ways to make it work better. There are many ways to make our road dollars stretch further, including public/private partnerships and inter-governmental agreements that will make paving and other dust mitigation efforts affordable. The only "red herring" about the road dust issue is assuming that the state legislature will pay to pave - both Jon Sonju and Verdell Jackson have both stated that any measure for state funding won't pass (Daily Interlake 8/18/08).

One of the road solutions my opponent, Jim Dupont, suggested at a recent Bigfork gathering is to reduce the county standards by which roads are built and maintained. This solution would set us back at least 20 years, placing public health and safety at risk. Reducing road standards is like pouring your tax dollars down a bottomless pot-hole and represents the same poorly researched perspective that led my opponent to state repeatedly he doesn't think road dust is a significant health issue (Daily Interlake 5/25/08, 8/19/08).

But more than all of this, it's high time for the county to act. It's time to shift the burden of new development to those that benefit the most. It's time to stop blaming those that are seeking relief and offer a solution other than "Get a mask." And it's time for county government that understands the problems that real people face and works cooperatively to solve them.

Roads are just a symptom of a greater disease in the commissioner's office, a disease that has consistently placed special interests above what is best for the county and has placed at risk the very qualities that make the Flathead special. I'm asking you to stand up this November and vote for the future you want in the Flathead. The hard working families of Flathead County deserve a government that respects our shared values, recognizes our shared problems, and plans for our shared future.

Steve Qunell is the Democratic candidate for Flathead County Commissioner.