Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 405
SEELEY LAKE - In an amended complaint filed with the court Aug. 31, approximately 50 additional plaintiffs have joined Don Larson’s lawsuit against the Seeley Lake Sewer District and Missoula County. The complaint states that the plaintiffs own approximately 60 of the properties in the Sewer District and span all four phases of the proposed sewer project. There are approximately 500 lots in the district. In addition to the landowners there are a couple of residents that are renters in the list of plaintiffs. The lawsuit still includes a...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board held a public hearing on updating the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for Phase 2 of the collection system Sept. 6. The district is in the process of applying for funding for Phase 2. The hearing was a repeat of a May 3 hearing because one of the funding agencies did not accept how the May hearing was publically noticed. Great West Engineering submitted an application this spring for funds from the Treasure State Endowment Project (TSEP) through...
Your Missoula County property taxes just went up another 4.85 percent. The Commissioners quietly raised them last week with little debate or fanfare. That’s on the heels of a $138 million school bond issue two years ago and just before a new proposal to buy more “open space” for urban dwellers. Now, at the local level, commissioners and the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board have proposed a nearly $100-a-month raise for property owners unlucky enough to live in that district. Time for you local taxpayers to get off your duffs and be heard. The r...
SEELEY LAKE - A recent statement that residents are drinking water contaminated with raw sewage made by the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board attorney Jon Beal has raised a few eyebrows in town. Seeley Lake Water District Manager Vince Chappell contested these statements saying that there are no contaminants related to sewage in the potable drinking water for the town of Seeley Lake. In an email to the Pathfinder, Missoula City/County Health Department Sanitarian Jim Erven agreed with Chappell. Erven said he reviewed the last two years of Water...
SEELEY LAKE - Hello everyone, I’m Lee Bridges and I’m running to represent House District 92 in Helena. Thanks to those of you who voted for me in the June primary. Please join me Tuesday, Sept. 4 from 6 – 8 p.m., at the home of Addrien Marx and Jim McLean for a Meet Your Candidate open house and fund raiser: 380 Morrell Creek Drive, Seeley Lake. Between now and the November election I will be working to learn more from you about how we can all build a better Montana. I want to earn your vote. I’ve heard from many of you as I knock on doors a...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District board passed the annual levy of assessments at the Aug. 16 regular board meeting and assessment hearing. In other business, they set a public hearing to correct an issue with a Phase 2 grant application, discussed the resolution the board has been told requires the sewer be constructed and discussed “holes in essential information.” Public comment centered on the project’s schedule and the perception that the board is holding the project up as well as questioning what the voters and landowners had p...
SEELEY LAKE – At a special meeting Aug. 13, the Seeley Lake Sewer District board elected new officers. They also voted to retain Beal Law Firm to defend the district from a lawsuit filed by Seeley Lake resident Don Larson. Beth Hutchinson was elected President and Troy Spence was elected Vice President. The vote on the officers was split with Davy Good going against the nominations while Hutchinson, Spence and Juli Cole voted for the nominations. Director Mike Boltz was not in attendance. Attorney Jon Beal explained the predicament the d...
MISSOULA – District Court Judge Karen Townsend stopped short of denying Don Larson’s motion for a preliminary injunction at a hearing Aug. 14. However, Townsend’s comments of “I didn’t get much out of this,” referring to Larson’s testimony and her refusal to allow Larson’s attorney Colleen Dowdall to call two additional witnesses to the stand doesn’t look favorable for Larson’s motion. The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board’s Attorney Jon Beal made an initial motion to delay the hearing, arguing that he had been retained at 9:30 p.m. the previou...
Letter to the Community of Seeley Lake - I have worked with the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board for almost 18 years. The hard work of these dedicated volunteers has resulted in almost $16 M in grants and loans to fund this first phase of the project. The funders for the project are concerned that the project seems stalled. A majority of the property owners in the Seeley Lake Sewer District did not protest the proposed levy of special assessments for the district last November, giving the board the authority to go forward with the designed...
Dear Mr. Boltz and Sewer Board Members: The Missoula City-County Board of Health strongly and wholeheartedly supports the Seeley Lake public sewer project and urges the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board to take the actions needed to keep the project moving forward. The concentration of homes and businesses using septic systems in the Seeley Lake area, combined with the area’s geology and groundwater movement, have led to elevated nitrate levels in the groundwater. In some places in the Seeley Lake community, nitrate concentrations in g...
SEELEY LAKE - At a recent sewer board meeting Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss delivered a warning that has been echoing throughout the county for decades: "Look what happened to Linda Vista when they turned down funding offers." These warnings have come with all sorts of figures and statements attached about Linda Vista residents such as "They had to pay $20,000 to $30,000 each," "They could have had 90 percent paid by grants" and "They had to pay for it all with no grants." Residents...
Temporary Closure in the Wild Bill Area SWAN VALLEY – Forest roads 9888 and 9891, which are part of the 920 Truman Creek Trail, will be closed to off-highway vehicle use, Monday-Friday from Aug. 2 – Sept. 7. This road restriction is in place for public safety during logging and hauling operations associated with the Swan Lake District, Dewey Stewardship Sale. While recreating on the Flathead National Forest, users are advised to use caution on roads and not to block gates on haul routes. Additionally, please report any road damage, or road iss...
SEELEY LAKE - Sewer district landowner and resident Don Larson filed a complaint and request for an injunction with the Montana Fourth Judicial District Court against the Seeley Lake Sewer District and Missoula County. The requested injunction would prevent the district from moving forward with the proposed sewer project. In the documents filed with the court, Larson makes several allegations including mishandling the protest process and protest letters, failing to provide reliable financial information about the project including estimates...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District’s regular board meeting July 19 plunged in and out of chaos as Board President Mike Boltz duked it out with the three newly elected Directors Beth Hutchinson, Troy Spence and Juli Cole. The three accused Boltz of abusing his power as president and attempted to adjourn the meeting. Boltz hurled threats of legal action to remove them from the board and refused to allow them to add items to the agenda. After 25 minutes of public comment Spence moved to adjourn the meeting. Cole seconded the motion a...
SEELEY LAKE - The misguided effort by Community Council member Lee Boman to secure an endorsement of the Seeley Lake Sewer proposal is reckless and irresponsible....for several reasons....here are few:: • Mr. Boman is a relative newcomer to the valley and does not even live in the Sewer District....so he will not have to face the roughly $40,000 per household to “sewer” Seeley Lake . Further, it is apparent he does not understand the wastewater issues we face in the Seeley-Swan Watershed • The Community Council...as new members Bruce Friede...
SEELEY LAKE - A month has passed without the Seeley Lake Sewer Board (and District) having a legal president. Montana Code Annotated 7-13-2271 (a portion of state law regulating sewer districts) states under “Organization of board of directors”: 1. A new board of directors shall hold its first meeting on the sixth Monday after the election of directors. It shall choose one of its members president and shall provide for the time and place of holding its meetings and the manner in which its special meetings may be called. 2. The board shall estab...
SEELEY LAKE - I attended the meeting of the Seeley Lake Sewer District last week and I learned a few things. 1. The water quality in Seeley Lake is excellent; among the best in Montana. The lake is not being polluted by individual septic systems in the community. In fact the groundwater in the surrounding area does not enter the lake. Neither does it mix with other surface water. So, the whole argument that we have to have a sewer system because we are polluting the lake is a scam. 2. The problem pointed out by the Health Department is high nit...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council considered revisiting the speed limits on Highway 83 as it passes through town and voted to endorse the proposed Seeley Lake sewer project at its July 9 meeting. Council member Bruce Friede made a motion for the council to consider requesting the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) to reinstate the previous speed limits through Seeley Lake and instead take different measures to deal with speed and pedestrian issues. The speed limits were lowered based on the council’s recommendations in t...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District held its regular board meeting June 21 where three newly elected Directors started laying out their vision for the district's direction. They received a manager's report, took care of regular monthly business of approving minutes and paying the bills and learned of a new $500,000 grant the district has received. The meeting began with a short-lived power struggle. Board President Mike Boltz was absent and the vice president position was left vacant after the May election. Director Beth Hutchinson...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District received an ultimatum June 21 from Rural Development (RD): Update the district’s construction schedule within 30 days or RD will “very pointedly assign a schedule.” The meeting was the first regular meeting where three newly elected directors were seated. The district received a letter from RD outlining a couple of concerns including change to the overall budget and scheduling of the proposed sewer and collection system. RD Area Specialist Dan Johnson was in attendance to help answer questions regard...
SEELEY LAKE - A special meeting for the Seeley Lake Sewer District, June 19, was thrown into disarray with a mistake made in the agenda and further confusion created by the district’s outdated bylaws. The first item on the agenda was “District Election.” Newly elected Director Beth Hutchinson explained that the purpose of that item was to elect the board’s president and vice president. District Secretary Felicity Derry apologized, saying that she thought the agenda item was to swear in the new directors and therefore labeled it “Distri...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board held a special meeting May 24 where board President Mike Boltz threatened to file for an injunction to keep newly elected board members from derailing the sewer project. In other business, the board passed a resolution to accept an Environmental Assessment instead of having to go through a full Environmental Impact Statement. The assessment was required for the district to apply for funding from the Treasure State Endowment Program (TSEP) for Phase 2 of the collection system. In the May 8...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board discussed the future of the sewer district at its May 17 meeting after voters elected three new board members. In other business the board questioned legal fees due to a public information request and got an update on water testing. The board also continued moving the project forward by approving an update to the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) and a resolution to apply for grants to begin acquiring funding for Phase 2 of the collection system. The resolution to levy current annual assessm...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council hosted two candidate forums, April 9 and 11, covering eight races with 31 candidates in attendance. All candidates on the May 8 Special District Mail-in ballot and June 5 primary were invited. Absentee ballots for the June 5 election were mailed May 11. The U.S. House of Representatives race is the final from the Candidate Forum. Previous coverage of the Missoula County Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, House District 92, Missoula County...
MISSOULA - With the recent election of three new directors to the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board, Missoula County’s Chief Public Works Officer Greg Robertson suggested the county commissioners consider terminating the inter-local agreement between the county and the district at a county administrative public meeting May 10. The inter-local agreement has been in place for about seven years and provides county resources to the sewer district. Through the agreement, Robertson has been the contracted District Manager. He worked to secure f...
