Sorted by date Results 51 - 66 of 66
The government mis-management of the Florence Lake and Rice Ridge Fires and the Seeley Lake Sewer proposal are eerily similar... In the case of the fires, we have state and federal mis-management of the lands, allowing fuel build-ups to incendiary levels and the loss of millions of dollars in timber. Then we have incredible mis-management of the fires themselves which cost a firefighter his life and at last count no less than $21.5 million taxpayer dollars to fight. Then we have the hundreds of thousands in lost revenues to the local tourist...
SEELEY LAKE - Polson is developing a $17.6 million sewer upgrade after the EPA came in and levied a $40,000 fine on the district for exceeding its wastewater discharge limits. Sewer bills will jump from $20 per month to $60, and that’s for 2,000 residents. The State of Montana loaned Polson $14.6 million. Lincoln is upgrading its two lift stations at a cost of $300,000 per station and that sewer station serves about 400 users. That’s after 15 years of use. Their sewer rate increase will depend on how much money it can get from the state. Lin...
SEELEY LAKE - A review of the Sewer Board meeting minutes is revealing. District residents should take the time to Google and read them. Just Google “Seeley Lake Sewer District” and look in the left hand column. Among the revelations are board members, Missoula County Public Works Director Greg Robertson, Citizens Alliance Bank President Gary Miller and retired chemistry professor Walt Hill from Placid Lake all agree “selling” the sewer project to the district residents is their mission and getting the facts right is of paramount importa...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer Board continues its end-run effort to cancel last fall’s election results. After a solid majority voted “NO” on the $12 million bond issue last December, it is trying to circumvent the law by first shutting the public out of the meeting to discuss the $40 thousand sales effort by a PR firm and second allowing board members to advocate for the failed proposal. If any Sewer District dollars are spent on this new sales effort it should be a public meeting to discuss the strategy and if board members are permi...
SEELEY LAKE - The Sewer Board’s decision to protest the bond vote that did not go its way is disappointing. The facts are: • The board has no one to blame but itself for the outcome. • The board and the county representatives supporting it attempted to shove a costly proposal down voters’ throats. • The proposal would not have significantly protected or improved water quality. • The project fell most heavily on the low and fixed income residents. • The elections board went overboard to try to pull together a fair election based on its time a...
SEELEY LAKE - Now that the dust has settled and the voters have spoken, it is time to Monday morning quarterback and ask, “Where do we go from here?” First, a brief assessment of our situation. We are a rural community. Always have been, always will be and I suspect that is how most of the voters want to keep it. We are a mixed economy...a solid lumber mill town with a good bit of recreation/retirement thrown in. That, too, is how most of us would like to keep it. Second, preservation of our fabulous natural surroundings should continue to be a...
SEELEY LAKE - Sewer board members have been yelling “wolf” telling residents the federal and state government will force us to put in a central sewer if we don’t approve this present proposal. That is wrong...here are two reasons why: 1. Donald Trump has publicly promised he will force the federal EPA to pull back on excessive environmental mandates and with a republican-controlled congress he just might get that job done. 2. Montana state law (MCA 1-2-112) says if the legislature enacts a mandate to a local government it must provide a fundi...
Would you buy a car without knowing the cost? Of course not, but hat’s what the sewer board wants us to do with its proposal. It has come up with a project that will cost between $12 and $20 million and will cost each household between $50 and $165 a month. Here’s a summary of some of the costs we face if we give the board a blank check and approve this project. • Construction Costs: There are two basic components, the treatment plant and the plumbing necessary to get the effluent to it. Because we’ll be pumping every gallon uphill, the pro...
Will the proposed sewer system clean up or change water quality in the Clearwater drainage? Probably not very much. Here are five reasons why. First, even though test wells show elevated nitrate levels in the core downtown area, the data is questionable. Engineers recommended a series of test wells to accurately determine groundwater quality. They were never drilled and only three test wells were regularly monitored. One of those sits near a laundromat and busy bar/restaurant business with four septics under its property and another is near a...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Sewer District property owners who hold their properties in family trusts will be able to vote Nov. 23 on the bond issue. That’s a reversal. The Elections Office notified those owners a few weeks ago they would be ineligible to vote if their properties were incorporated. The Missoula County Attorney’s office took a closer look at the law and has decided “family” trustees will be allowed to vote. If you are a trustee in such a property, you should contact Bradley Seaman at the Missoula County Elections office, 406-258...
SEELEY LAKE - The argument between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton over who is more transparent just two months before the election brings to mind our local situation with the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board. With just over two months before the mail in election on the sewer, voters have no idea what the project will cost, how much their monthly bills will be and how long the debt will continue. The preliminary estimate for the first sub-district stands at $12 million...with no information about how much sub-districts two, three and four...
It has come to my attention members of the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board are putting out misinformation about the Sewer Proposal which we will be voting on in December. One member has been saying, “If we don’t put it (the sewer) in now the “state” will come in and make us do it later and it will cost more.” That is mostly incorrect. Here’s why: The State must show demonstrable environmental degradation before it can “mandate” a clean up and it must show beyond a shadow of a doubt where the degradation is coming from. It cannot. Seeley...
SEELEY LAKE - The Sewer Board proposal to subsidize sewer rates to get the initial monthly cost down is an end run around our right to vote on a very-expensive bond proposal. By promising early, temporary, affordable sewer rates, Public Works Director Greg Robertson and the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board hope to avoid a vote on the multi-million dollar bond issue which would probably fail at the polls if the vote were held tomorrow. Here are some considerations. • Robertson is overlooking several pertinent facts to make his case for the s...
SEELEY LAKE - First, good on Chris Stout for taking the initiative and organizing the Bob Marshall Wilderness Music Festival. Work the bugs out and get the business community on board and you will have a nice annual event which will advertise and promote Seeley Lake as the wonderful recreation area it is. Second, good on Curt Friede for raising many valid concerns about the event and identifying some of the bugs. Brick and mortar businesses always take a hit of sorts when outside food and beer vendors come to town for the big weekends but the...
SEELEY LAKE - Now that the badly-planned central sewage treatment system is proving to be unaffordable, it’s time for city mothers and fathers to step back and consider a new approach for Seeley Lake. In the world of sewage treatment there are three steps: collection, treatment and disposal. The most expensive aspect is generally the collection...that often represents two thirds of the cost of building a treatment system and easily 90 percent of the subsequent operation and maintenance, as the local sewer board is finding out. There are new t...
SEELEY LAKE - Realtor Kevin Wetherell’s defense of the proposed Seeley Lake Sewer Project is weak. Here are a few reasons why. First, it will not appreciably change the water quality in Seeley Lake and the Clearwater River. The District includes less than 25 percent of the lake and riverfront residences, which are most likely polluting our waters. It does not include any of the residences on the three principal creek systems in the area Seeley, Morrell and Trail Creek. It does not address upstream pollution caused by Lake Inez residents. And i...
