Bigfork's green box site gets six-month extension

The Bigfork green box site got another six-month extension Tuesday.

The Flathead County Solid Waste Board voted 5-0 to approve the extension, acknowledging the progress made toward a solution over the past six months.

Paul Mutascio of the Bigfork Green Box Committee briefed the board on progress made.

He noted that the committee has had fruitful discussions with Margaret Connolly about the county purchasing or leasing five acres of her property directly east of the current green box site. The 5-acre site is well suited for a green box site, Mutascio said.

Research shows that such a site would cost the county somewhere between $80,000 and $91,000 to buy, he said.

Another available option would involve slightly expanding the current site — located off Highway 83 east of Streeter’s Corner — but county Public Works Director Dave Prunty said that option would cost $170,000 to $190,000. That cost would involve moving dirt and installing a retaining wall.

“Staff is really excited if we can proceed with the Connolly property,” Prunty said, noting that a purchase is more attractive than a lease.

Proceeding with Connolly’s 5-acre site would involve a considerable amount of planning. “It’s doable, but there’s plenty of hoops to step through,” Prunty said.

Connolly’s property is in a bowl or depression, which county staffers believe would work well for a green box site. A $2,000 preliminary engineering plan would be required to proceed with the site, Prunty said.

County commissioners would have to approve any land purchase.

Greg Action — who represents Whitefish on the Solid Waste Board — said that city’s residents pay $750,000 a year to transport trash and recyclables. “I have great reservations about purchasing and maintaining the (Connolly) site,” Acton said. “Curbside collection is available for those in Columbia Falls and Bigfork.”

Board chairman Hank Olson noted that Kalispell residents pay $103 a year to move their garbage from homes to the county landfill. “Somers is only five miles away,” he said. The county has considered closing the Bigfork green box site and having residents dispose of their trash and recyclables in Somers or Creston.

Olson, however, favored the extension. “There’s no reason to stop this,” he said. “Keep it going until we reach some kind of conclusion.”

Mutascio was pleased with the six-month extension. “It’s very dear to the heart of Bigforkians,” he said.

Caleb Soptelean can be reached at reporter@bigforkeagle.com.