Candidates for Seeley Lake Sewer District
Seeley Lake Sewer District (Non-partisan: 3, 4-year terms): Incumbents Mark Butcher, Mike Lindemer and Robert (Bob) Skiles along with candidates Juli Cole, Beth Hutchinson and Troy Spence are running for three positions on the board. Spence was not in attendance at the forum.
Mark Butcher said he didn't think about politics when he was originally asked to serve on the Sewer Board. He has been a sewer plant operator for about 30 years and in that time he has seen a lot of companies build a lot of wastewater treatment plants. He moved to Seeley Lake because he loves it and has been here since his sister-in-law bought Tamaracks Resort. When he was young he got his start working for an uncle in Missoula at a meat packing plant and has been all over the area for 60 years. He loves Seeley Lake and just wants to straighten it out the best he can. He thinks the current sewer project is the right thing to do.
Bob Skiles graduated from high school in Seeley Lake in 1969. He worked on the original water system for Seeley Lake and spent half his life working on water and sewer projects. When he was 25 he was project superintendent for a company that build water and sewer projects in Victor, Polson, Dixon, Hamilton and Missoula. He got out of utility construction and worked railroad construction and logging for a number of years before returning to Seeley Lake in 1994 and has been here every since. He has owned several businesses and purchased his current business in 2000. He currently employs five workers and maybe a sixth soon. He is proud to support five families with 11 kids in the community.
Beth Hutchinson originally moved to Seeley Lake 40 years ago and has come and gone, sometimes living here for three or four years at a time. One of the reasons she has come and gone so much is the challenge of trying to make a living here. She thinks this factors into the "sewer wars" because of the immense number of people who can't afford it. There is a target rate established by the EPA and the State of Montana that says residents should be paying 0.9 percent of their household income for sewer service. If this proposed sewer project is moved forward as planned, a large portion of town will be paying up to 13 times the target rate. She feels that the town needs to work together to find a consensus and should look at the problem as a wastewater problem not a sewer problem. She has talked to people from one end of the country to the other that run multiple solution systems and they say it saves money while protecting the environment. There are more and more alternatives available that are affordable.
Mike Lindemer moved to Seeley Lake in 1978 and is a second-generation business owner. He and his wife have raised three kids here. It is dear to his heart to keep this community going and keeping it healthy. He believes that it is our responsibility, as humans, to take care of the problem of contaminants in our groundwater that has been scientifically proven to exist. Though the groundwater problem can't be seen, he has seen the lake change in the years he has been here. He said when he first came, you see the bottom of the lake. The turbidity and weeds now present are a problem. The sewer board has been trying to get the project moving forward and having it as cheap as possible. The board has gotten grants to cover close to two thirds of the first phase of construction. Every time town sits there and doesn't look at what the whole project is about and get educated by participating or reading the minutes, the cost goes up. The last financial vote in 2016 was originally required by Rural Development. When voters voted it down it cost the community $2 million and put the project back another year. The vote was not a vote for or against a sewer; it was a vote for the financial package. We've been fighting this since 1971 trying to move forward for a better quality of life for Seeley Lake.
Juli Cole hasn't been in Seeley Lake 60 years but she has chosen to live here. This is her community; she is a homeowner, works from home and spends her money locally. She signed up to run for the Sewer Board because she saw a vote go by and didn't feel like the people were represented. She has a vested interest as her home is in Phase I. She feels that a lot of people don't understand all that is going on and she wants to be their representative. She is not a business owner and as a resident and homeowner she feels she can represent the people.
Leading up to last fall's notice and protest, the sewer district's estimate was $91.21 per month per lot in Phase I. Do you think that is a reasonable monthly rate for residents? If not, what do you feel is reasonable and how would you work to attain that rate?
Skiles said the district doesn't know what the rates are going to be because the district hasn't gotten any bids on the project yet. The only estimate right now is the engineer's estimates that factor in costs like projected electrical prices and construction cost but without bids they don't actually know. He thinks $35-40 per month would be great, but if not, we still have to protect this place including Seeley Lake and Salmon Lake.
Hutchinson said the rate that was projected means that a person would have to have an income of approximately $134,000 per year to meet the EPA target rates and that is beyond what most people in this town can afford. She thinks that representation is really important because a lot of stakeholders have been left out of the equation. She doesn't think that is necessarily the board's fault but she wonders. People need to participate.
Lindemer said he didn't know where the $91.21 number came from. The numbers have been all over the place and District Manager Greg Robertson has been diligently working on sorting it out and attaining other funding. $72.50 is the top number he said the district had been looking at but with the financial package being voted down they are now having to figure out what to do with the extra $2 million the failed vote cost the community.
Cole said she didn't know if that rate was fair but suggested asking a person who is a single parent trying to live off a minimum wage job. She is concerned that the rate isn't set and could be just starting at $90 per month and could go up significantly. She feels that renters should also be considered. Will landlords bear the cost or pass it on to a low-income renter? She said that the district should look at every avenue and consider what is best for one person is not best for everyone.
Butcher said that Kalispell is $79 and Polson is $101 per month. He agreed with Lindemer that the district is back to $72. He questioned why people wanted to put the horse after the cart. If you build a $110,000 house you might get it for $90,000 but you won't know that until you bid it out. Construction material could be up, or it could be down. The district needs a bid. He thinks the district can also turn the sewage into money by making compost.
As a resident of Placid Lake, I see this project as being a benefit for everyone in the valley. Why can't a special improvement district be formed so that everyone can help fund the sewer?
Hutchinson said that was a neat idea because wastewater does affect everybody. She said she has worked in communities all across the country trying to bring people together. If we keep the blinders on and focus only on the proposed sewer she feels we will miss out on a lot of opportunity that exists and the chance to work together. If everyone in the valley were involved it would certainly reduce the cost. A watershed wide approach would accomplish that.
Lindemer said the district has been working on other resources that can help people who can't afford to pay for the sewer. He said the state is interested in possibly trying to connect its land to the system and there is a way for properties to join the district right now. All people have to do is write a letter to the sewer district requesting to be part of the sewer system and they can be. The district is trying to get the cost down and adding more people onto it is one way. You have to start from the ground up and the district had to start somewhere.
Cole agreed that having more people bear the cost would lower rates. She said she is not an expert on EPA and state laws but she does know that there are alternatives out there that would be worth looking into. Only one project was presented to the voters and she wants to know why their (Placid Lake residents' vote didn't count.
Butcher said it is really cool that people outside the district would want to do something to help fund it. Everyone should do that and there are ways around this. Fairbanks, Alaska turns their sewage into valuable compost and Seeley Lake could too.
Skiles said the district has been asked this question many times. First of all, the commerce department in the state of Montana drew the lines for the sewer district. Phase I has to pay for Phase I and Phase II has to pay for Phase II and so forth. Skiles said the district cannot annex anyone and can't have any more people come in. Skiles would love to have the whole county pay for our sewer but Seeley has to pay for its own. The community didn't have a choice when the district was formed.
Spreading the cost out to everyone makes sense to me and I would be willing to pay now for a connection in the future when the district expands to include my house. Can't we figure a way out for people like me to help fund it now?
Lindemer said that behind the scenes there is an effort to work out how to help low income people with the cost. Other organizations and a lot of people he has talked to outside the district are willing to help solve that issue. He said the district knows it is not affordable but they are working on finding other funding sources. They are trying to keep Seeley Lake alive. Ten years ago the average age was 50 and now ten years later it is 60. They are trying to make sure it is affordable to everyone and doing everything they can to make it as inexpensive as possible.
Cole said that spreading the cost among more people is a good idea and she would like to find a way to have the tourists help pay. Tourists use our resources as well. This town thrives on tourism as we saw first hand last summer when the community lost tourists' money due to the fire.
Butcher suggested that town should be incorporated and that cannot be done without structure. Seeley Lake is not even zoned, we are nothing. He doesn't know what is going to happen in 20 years. They (who) might shut the lake down. If you think the cost is bad now at $70-80 per month, wait it it's four or five hundred. Pass that down to your kids.
Skiles said the problem with the sewer board is that they get asked the same question a hundred times. We just got asked the same question twice tonight. The problem of trying to spread the cost out over more people is not in the board's control. The district needs to abide by the laws and regulations of the state and the organizations the district has gotten grants from. It has been discussed at several board meetings and they would love to do it but can't. Skiles said that the town of Seeley Lake pollutes Salmon Lake more than Seeley Lake
Hutchinson said again that we are focusing on one solution instead of many. Mother nature handles problems with diversity. She questioned why, just because it started out as a sewer district, does the solution have to be a sewer. Why not change the sewer district into a wastewater district and include the more than 3,000 properties in the valley? It gets cheaper when you get that many people solving problems with more than one solution.
Why not let the engineers and experts worry about building it and create a committee that works on solving the financial problem?
Cole said that is a good idea. She thinks part of the problem is that they haven't been looking any further once the district settled on a solution. The district has been working on this for a while and hasn't come up with a financial solution that works.
Butcher is with Ducks Unlimited and believes in keeping the area clean. Ducks Unlimited spends millions in the state on projects, maybe they should put some into this project. He agreed that a committee would be a good idea but that it is hard enough to come up with people willing to serve on the sewer board. If everyone would come together instead of against each other then we can make it happen.
Skiles said that he didn't fully hear the question but that the district has looked and looked for ways to solve the problem but the district's hands are tied by all the laws and regulations. It's frustrating to the board that they can't make it any more affordable but it is the best option available. We need to get the project started. Get the treatment plant built and get some structure in the ground and then start looking for more funding.
Hutchinson said that buying an object before you can afford to pay for it flies in the face of sanity.
Lindemer said ideas have been tried. The proposed resort tax that was voted down several times would have been a huge benefit for funding. The district has already started getting funding for the next phase. The board isn't sitting idle and they are working on getting funding. He believes in the community and believes that we can make it affordable. He believes that we must protect the water and not leave it polluted for our kids.
There is a lot of fear about this sewer, about this board, about this town, about growth, about the board not being able to accomplish the project. What are your individual fears?
Moderator Klaus von Stutterheim said they needed to move on closing statements. Some candidates chose to include their answer to this question in their one minute closing statements.
Closing Statements
Butcher said his fear is breaking up the current board and if that happens town is going to loose a lot of money and in the long run town is going to stink. As a sewer plant operator for 26 years in Alaska he has seen hundreds of communities that would die to have this planned wastewater system in their towns. It is in the hands of Seeley Lake right now. He suggested that people look at what is in their hand. The board knows what it is doing.
Skiles said he has been on the board for a long time and has seen a lot happen and a lot not happen. It bothers him that his office is open seven days a week and he has pictures and maps on his walls and every document that he has ever received in his years on the board regarding the sewer district available for people to come in and look at. In the last five years, there have only been three people who have bothered to stop by and look. It is common knowledge that he has it available because he says it regularly inside and outside of board meetings. He said the board is trying its best to do the best job for the community. He said if people didn't like it then they should run for the board or at least show up to a board meeting. He said maybe one or two people in the room at the forum have ever shown up at a single sewer board meeting. If people have a problem, they should stop by his shop and look at all the documentation or come to a meeting. The board meets every third Thursday of the month.
Hutchinson said that looking around the room there are a bunch of people who live outside the sewer district, who, in a way are stakeholders, and very few people who live inside the district. She said this is the crux of the issue. She has talked to supporters and opponents and everyone agrees that there is a lack of participation. There aren't enough people giving input and evaluating things. This has to change for anything to work. She said we have to be able to reach out to people who have felt intimidated by the board, as those are the people not in the room. Having new people on the Sewer Board will loosen things up. She is not coming in to say "ditch the sewer" but to reevaluate everything with a new perspective.
Lindemer feels the district has done the best research it can to develop the planned system. They have found the best location, up near the airport, they have changed from a lagoon system to a state-of-the-art Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR). The water coming out of this system is far better than the water coming out of people's septic tanks. People can drink the water coming out of the planned treatment plant, unlike the water from septic tanks. The district is trying to protect our water and deal with groundwater contamination. The longer town waits, the more it is going to cost. This has been going on since 1971 when government would have put in a system for free. The district is so close to putting in a system but every time it is postponed the price goes up. Either we leave it to our kids, or we help them out and make it happen.
Cole said she has fears too and she feels that the board is stagnant. She doesn't think the board is necessarily bad or good, just stagnant. She feels the board needs new members with different ideas, creativity and a new perspective. She is running to represent the people with fresh ideas.
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