Stormwater project to be funded by tax district

The Flathead County commissioners on Monday approved a Rural Special Improvement District for the Bigfork stormwater system.

There were 27 valid protests to the district, well below the threshold needed to stop the project, Deputy County Attorney Tara Fugina said. There were 13 other protests that were deemed invalid because they didn’t follow the required process for condominium association votes, she added.

The commissioners voted 2-0 in favor of the resolution creating the district. Commissioner Cal Scott was absent. Earlier they had passed a resolution of that began a protest period that ended Dec. 24.

The special tax district will fund the final phase of Bigfork stormwater improvements. It will raise $1.2 million of the $2.9 million total cost by levying taxes on 564 properties in Bigfork over a 20-year period.

The annual cost for stormwater maintenance will be roughly $200 annually — $29.54 per property and $169.60 annually for the construction.

The final phase will install new stormwater pipes along the north and south sides of Electric Avenue to the bridge, and from Montana 35 to Montana 209 to the steel bridge. Curbs and gutters will be installed, along with catch basins and filtration system.

During a public hearing on Monday, several Bigfork residents lobbied for a larger district to spread the cost to more property owners.

Steve Armstrong, president of the Bigfork Harbor Homeowners Association, said that association is in favor of keeping Flathead Lake and Bigfork Bay pristine.

“The opposition is in the narrowness in the size of the district,” Armstrong said.

There was earlier discussion among homeowner associations and community groups about including 3,000 property owners in the district.

It’s not only the downtown Bigfork businesses that contribute to stormwater runoff, Bigfork attorney Peter Leander said. Reconfiguring the  Rural Special Improvement District to include more properties would be a fairer distribution of costs, he said.

Commissioner Gary Krueger said the parameters in creating a Rural Special Improvement District are bound by state law.

“To say we could arbitrarily change the boundary doesn’t work,” Krueger said. “I feel clean water is worth $200 a year.”

Commissioner Pam Holmquist agreed with Krueger, noting that clean water must be a priority for the county.

Paul Mutascio, a property owner and president of the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork said he hadn’t heard any opposition to the project, even though the funding mechanism “may not be to everyone’s liking.” He encouraged the commissioners to seek additional state funding that potentially could lessen the property owners’ tax burden for the stormwater improvements.

“We’re very supportive of protecting Flathead Lake,” Mutascio stressed.

Earlier phases of the stormwater system construction along Grand Avenue were funded with about $1.4 million in state grants.

Installation of a complete stormwater system will bring Bigfork up to state standards for stormwater pollutants that flow into Flathead Lake.

Bigfork’s old system of corrugated metal pipes has been inadequate for the growing bayside community.