SEELEY LAKE - In the Aug. 30 Pathfinder, the article written about the public sewer meeting brought up a plan by [District Manager] Greg Robertson which should make anyone involved with the sewer outraged.
Here is some of what the Pathfinder article said that you should sit up and listen.
The Pathfinder said on page 11, “For the debt service across the entire district Greg Robertson used the Seeley Lake Regional Plan’s land use designations. Because of this difference there will be a SIGNIFICANT NUMBER of properties that are currently paying the residential rate, but will be MOVED TO THE COMMERCIAL DEBT SERVICE RATE and vice versa. For instance, the land use plan designates nearly all of District 4 as commercial property, even though it is mostly residential.”
Here is one of the places where Robertson tries to manipulate both sides. If you go to the Seeley Lake Regional Plan and look on page 1 it says, The Seeley Lake Regional Plan is a NON-REGULATORY document intended to provide policy GUIDANCE on how growth and development should occur in the Plan Area, to inform (future) land use decisions, and to provide specific measures for meeting the community’s land use goals.
In this instance, non-regulatory means that this plan has no legal power to enforce anything. This PLAN is not a legal document to be used as land use designations. This document cannot legally force any land use decisions, it is only a SUGGESTED plan.
Now, please take time to Google the Seeley Lake Regional Plan and scroll way down to the map section to the map that says LAND USE DESIGNATIONS—DOWNTOWN AREA, MAP 12-B. Take a special look at the lake properties from Lindey’s to the Jensen property and all the way up to the Cottonwood Lakes/Morrell Road properties (roughly 95 percent residences) and those by the pond on the west side of the road. Also take a good look at other areas in Seeley Lake that are designated commercial and you will see that a huge number of them are actually residential.
On this Seeley Lake Regional Plan, which Greg Robertson is using, all these properties are shown on the map as COMMERCIAL, when a vast majority are residences. To top it off, at least one business property is labeled residential.
The only way for Robertson to LEGALLY-APPROPRIATELY determine land use designations is to use the State County Tax Records, which show what the property really is. This accepted way would change all those properties on the Seeley Lake Regional Plan back to residences, which they are.
Don’t just take everything the sewer board says as truth or many of you will be paying Robertson’s “BUSINESS” rate for the next 40 years. This is just another example of how far the Sewer Board is willing to go to get another “vote.” Call your local County Commissioners and let them know what is going on. After all, they should be working for us.
If the sewer board/Greg Robertson want a business rate, actual businesses should pay it!
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