Proposed Sewer – Outrageous Outlay with Little Gain

SEELEY LAKE - This business of the sewer system in Seeley Lake has gotten out of hand. Voters declined to finance it with a bond issue which pretty much indicated our wishes about the system as it stands. The people who are behind this are somehow attempting a financial end run which would accomplish the same thing for their purposes. It would no doubt still saddle property owners with the same financial burden.

I own the carwash in Seeley and subsidize it for a significant part of the year. There is the question of how the gray water the carwash generates shall be billed. It doesn’t require the same rigorous treatment as raw sewage and would it be charged the same amount? What will the monthly charges be? Would it be a flat fee or by the gallon or billed as an annual fee.

Most municipal water and sewage systems are combined. Many simply charge by “water in, water out.” There are no guidelines on any of this and no information. There’s no way the carwash can support the extra tax that would be levied to pay for the sewer. It would basically have to close down.

If we elect to forego signing on to the system originally will there be penalties for signing up later? What will be the connection fee if any? It has been rumored that we will be hooked up for free. That is doubtful.

I also own another piece of commercial property which is not used commercially, rather as a private storage area and likely our future residence. It earns no money at all to pay for such a system. These combined costs for a sewer system are a real burden for my family.

My wife’s surgeon who performed a cornea transplant has forbidden her from swimming in Seeley Lake because of pollution.

I am all for contributing to our community for the betterment of all, including tourists. If word gets out that the lake is at all polluted you can kiss those tourist dollars goodbye. If we spend this kind of money let’s get something for it like a clean lake.

The proposed sewer system will not clean up the lake. There are substandard cesspools and septic systems surrounding Seeley Lake. Why don’t we start by bringing these systems up to code to clean up the lake?

What the Sewer Board is proposing is simply an outrageous outlay of money for very little gain. Let’s focus on cleaning up our lake first and then worry about a central system for our town.