Commissioners stymie water quality project
After seven years, it looks as if the Bigfork stormwater project is likely to stay half-finished.
Completion of the 7- year-old project required creation of a Rural Special Improvement District to tax residents for completion and on going maintenance.
After an informational survey in 2012 that showed support for the project, the Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee recommended the Bigfork Water and Sewer District boundary, which contains about 3,000 parcels, be used as the boundary for the district. The Flathead County Commissioners asked that a smaller district, based on the basin drainage, which contains 582 parcels, be considered. That smaller district was the one approved by the commissioners last month, and though the advisory committee hoped to go before the commissioners again and appeal that decision, they were told not to bother, as the commissioners minds were made up.
“It’s pretty much dead as far as the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork is concerned,” advisory committee chair Sue Hanson said. “That’s a big chunk of money for a small group of people to have to tackle.”
The estimated semi-annual maintenance payment based on the basin drainage is $12.68, and the semi-annual construction payment is $76, as opposed to $2.50 for maintenance and $15 for using the larger district.
As the county moves forward with the smaller district Hanson expects residents to say no, to the extra tax. Especially considering they will already be paying extra to keep the Bigfork Greenbox site.
It will take a while though, before residents have a chance to say whether or not they’re willing to burden the cost.
It will take several months to complete the legal work and create the RSID boundary. Then letters would be sent to effected landowners giving them 90 days to appeal. If the community says no, that’s too much then the process ends.
Hanson is disappointed and not sure what can be done next to try and complete the final phase of the project.
“There’s just nothing more we can do at this point,” she said. The issue will be acquiring funding which has to go through an entity. As a non-profit, the CFBB doesn’t qualify to be that entity, which is how the county became involved originally.
Likely the stormwater committee will wait and see how things play out, and if the community does reject the higher taxes. Then they will regroup and try to figure out what’s next.
The first part of the project was completed in 2011 and cost over $1.2 million. The final phase which would build a storm drain system along Electric Avenue to the steel bridge. Have storm drain conveyance systems run from Montana 35 and Montana 209 to the steel bridge. And install a stormwater treatment system on both sides of the steel bridge, would cost about $1.5 million.