Center Horse Project, Gravel Pit, Air Quality and Speed Limit Signs Dominate Discussion

Seeley Lake Community Council

SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council (SLCC) had a packed agenda for the Feb. 13 meeting. Presentations on the Center Horse Landscape Restoration Project, a proposed gravel pit near Elbow Lake and air quality were accompanied by discussions on new speed limit signs and the council’s trails committee.

Seeley Lake District Ranger Rachel Feigley presented on the Center Horse project. The project is on 61,300 acres, 14 miles north of Ovando in the Cottonwood and Monture watersheds.

Center Horse aims to improve forest composition, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and “right size” the existing transportation network.

The project recommends prescribed burning and various levels of mechanical treatment on approximately 8,000 acres to treat vegetation.

Right sizing the transportation network includes putting 28 miles of roads into storage, 3.3 miles rerouted, 157 miles decommissioned, 21 miles of temporary road would be built and 20 miles of new roads would be constructed. Most of the decommissioned roads are on sections of land that were previously private and were heavily logged.

Center Horse started in 2012 with public scoping and had its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) done in 2015.

The final EIS and draft Record of Decision (ROD) are expected by mid-March. After the draft ROD there is a 45-day objection period. Only those who have previously given public comment can object during the 45 days before a final ROD is given.

Implementation can start as early as five days after the final ROD. The project is expected to take several years to complete.

For more information visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=36806

Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Clearwater Unit manager Kristen Baker-Dickinson presented a proposal to open a temporary gravel pit near Elbow Lake.

The gravel pit would be used during the summer of 2017 to produce gravel for a repaving project on Highway 83 north of Seeley Lake. Public comment is being accepted through March 1.

More information can be found in the Feb. 16 issue of the Pathfinder. The article “Temporary Gravel Pit Proposed Near Elbow Lake” appeared on page 3 and can also be found on the Pathfinder’s website, seeleylake.com. There is also a legal notice in this week’s Pathfinder on page 15.

Missoula City-County Health Department Air Quality Specialist Ben Schmidt gave an update on Seeley Lake’s air quality.

This winter Seeley Lake has been over the particulate standard for 32 days and counting.

Schmidt said he feels the uptick is related to the relatively cold winter. More people are burning more wood and the cold air doesn’t clear the smoke out of the valley as quickly.

Schmidt’s presentation was the subject of the Place for All column “Seeley Lake Air Quality Update” that appeared on page 4 of the Feb. 9 Pathfinder. The article is also available on the Pathfinder’s website.

Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Mike Sunderland asked the council to request additional speed limit signs for downtown Seeley Lake.

Sunderland would like to see another pair of 25 mile per hour (mph) signs in down town. He said traffic that pulls out of Locust Lane heading north is already in the 25 mph zone but they won’t see a speed sign until they hit the 35 mph zone on the north end of town.

Sunderland also requested that some of the signs get reflective tape applied to them so they stand out more.

Another issue identified is with the school zone near the high school. The school zone sign on the east side is attached to the 25 mph sign with the hours of the school zone. It could be interpreted that the speed reduction is only during those hours.

The speed limit for that area is 25 mph all the time. The fix would be to separate the school zone sign from the speed limit sign.

The council agreed to write a letter to the Montana Department of Transportation to request the changes.

The SLCC was asked if they would like to comment on the petition circulating town aiming to undo the new speed limits the council requested and implemented for downtown Seeley Lake last fall.

The council felt the letter council member Duane Schlabach wrote in response, printed in the Pathfinder Feb. 2, was adequate. Additionally the council invited the petition’s organizers to come to the council’s meeting. The invitation was declined.

The SLCC has been discussing the fate of the council’s trail committee for several months. Some of the council members have wanted to dissolve the committee because they felt the council’s hands have been tied.

Several years ago the trail committee was informed by Missoula County that they were not eligible for grants. There has also been an issue with whether the committee could enter into contracts with anyone.

It was suggested that the trail committee become its own non-profit or to move it to another non-profit in town so that they could apply for grants again and get back to work.

Trail Committee Chair Ron Cox has been reluctant to make another non-profit because Seeley Lake already has so many. He said he feels that there is still plenty the committee can do.

According to Cox, the committee has been basically doing maintenance on their trails, as most of the projects they had been looking at are too large for them to take on.

The trail committee currently has about $10,000 in its account.

Council Chair Klaus von Stutterheim said that the council has been informed that if the trails committee was to leave the council or be dissolved, the $10,000 would go to the county. Because the council is a county entity, all of its funds belong to the county.

Von Stutterheim said that funds would still be available for Cox to work on the trails but he would have to apply to the county for the money back.

The council let the idea of dissolving the trails committee die and the committee will continue to operate as it has been.

Montana State House District 92 Representative Mike Hopkins was on the agenda for a legislative update but was unable to attend.

The next SLCC meeting is scheduled for March 13, 6 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Historical Museum & Visitors Center. Pizza and beverages will be provided starting at 5:30 p.m.

 

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