Landowner questions RSID plans

The question that entered Dennis McDowell’s mind when he heard about the potential for a Rural Special Improvement District in Bigfork is whether or not he would be responsible for paying a tax on each of the 44 storage units he owns.

“If I have to raise my fees then I’m not commercially viable,” McDowell said.

He owns Eagle Bend Storage on Holt Drive and said each of his units is zoned as a condominium even though they are storage units.

McDowell raised the question at last Wednesday’s Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee meeting.

An RSID would help pay for the last installment of the stormwater project, which will be completed at the north and south ends of Bridge Street.

The project’s already $1.3 million cost for construction on Electric and Grand Avenues was paid for through grants from the Department of Environmental Quality and county funding.

Tax-based RSID districts are used to finance infrastructure improvements and are generally formed to pay for new roads. According to state law, an RSID can’t be formed if 40 percent or more of the affected landowners protest it. Without an RSID in place, the remainder of the storm-water project will be halted.

McDowell supports the project and thinks finishing it would be good for Bigfork. He is just concerned about how each property will be assessed for the RSID.

Assessment in tax districts can be either per landowner or per lot.

If the RSID were assessed per lot, McDowell is worried he will be responsible for paying the tax 44 times.

“I think the project is something we need to do and I would hate to vote against it,” McDowell said. “All I want to do is be charged one fee per my storage center.”

BSAC committee members said they would take his comments into advisement and speak with Flathead County commissioners about it when they meet next.

Determining how the RSID would be assessed is just one of the things BSAC needs to figure out before it can go forward with recommending the county commissioners approve an RSID for the remainder of the stormwater project.

The committee and the county still need to nail down the exact cost of the RSID, which includes the project cost, future stormwater maintenance costs, and the cost of the RSID itself. BSAC also needs to put together an education and outreach program which will entail a series of public meetings on the project. After that, they can send out a second survey to gauge the community’s interest in funding the RSID.

Vice Chair Harry Hyatt estimates it would be best to hold the meetings in late July and send out the second survey in August, while some of Bigfork’s seasonal residents are here.

The next BSAC meeting will take place at Bethany Lutheran Church on June 27 at 12:30 p.m.