Stormwater project would pave Bridge Street

Paving Bridge Street from Highway 35 to the old bridge in downtown Bigfork would be included in a completion of the Bigfork Stormwater Project.

Details of the project were discussed Thursday during a workshop with the county commissioners.

Sue Hanson is pushing for the county commissioners to create a Rural Special Improvement District (RSID) in order to complete the project and utilize a $100,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

Thursday the commissioners found out that a stormwater district could also be created to complete the project.

Commissioner Gary Krueger questioned whether county staff would have enough time or manpower to manage multiple RSIDs for stormwater issues. “I don’t see how we can rely on our road department if we have a number of these,” he said.

Accepting grant funds previously for stormwater improvement in downtown Bigfork without creating a RSID or stormwater district created a problem, Krueger said. “We need to build a model of how we’re going to go forward in the future,” he said.

Krueger said he would like Bigfork to take control of the services associated with creation of a RSID or stormwater district.

Brett Walcheck of 48 North Engineering in Kalispell said a stormwater district could be set up for any number of years whereas 20 years has been proposed about as the number for a RSID.

The commissioners turned down a request to create a RSID in September of 2012 due to a reluctance to spend money on startup costs.

However Debbie Pierson, grant administrator for Flathead County, said that $12,000 to $15,000 in startup costs could potentially be covered by the $100,000 grant. However, DNRC wants an answer as to whether the county is going to proceed with completion of the project.

DNRC would likely support creation of stormwater district, she said. Creation of a RSID was already approved.

“If we are not to move forward, we will be scored poorly for future projects and the Bigfork stormwater project would not be funded,” she added.

Pierson said the project would need to be under contract by December 2014, and that the state agency needs to know sooner rather than later about the county’s decision.

Commissioner Cal Scott said he’s not in favor of kicking the can down the road and wasting time and effort already expended. “I don’t want to curtail the project itself,” he said. “It’s worthy.”

Krueger noted that he requested the work session in order to find out more information about the project.

“I need some time to digest it and think about it and get some legal advice,” Commissioner Pam Holmquist said.

Paul Mutascio was at the meeting representing the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork. “We know it’s only going to get more expensive as time goes on,” he said.

In addition to paving Bridge Street, a storm drain conveyance system would run along the road. Curb and gutter and a sidewalk would be added, along with two hydrodynamic separators and two cartridge filtration systems. A storm drain conveyance system would also run from Bigfork schools down Grand Avenue to the old bridge.

Creation of a RSID is estimated to cost $1.973 million. If approved by a majority of property owners in a boundary that includes the Bigfork Water and Sewer District, property taxes of approximately $30 a year would be assessed twice a year for 20 years.

A hydrodynamic separator and embryonic jellyfish have already been installed below Grand Avenue near Swan River Inn and below an alley that runs next to Electric Avenue Gifts downtown. The separator separates solids from the stormwater while the artificial “jellyfish” filters the water.

Hanson said she was surprised to find out how many heavy metals come off the pavement. Without treatment, those heavy metals are going into Flathead Lake. Two stormwater drains located north and south of the old bridge haven’t been upgraded since the 1960s, Hanson said.

“Bigfork deserves the opportunity to complete the project,” Hanson told commissioners.