Interlocal agreement discussed, manager leaving, RV Park looking to join Phase 1

SEELEY LAKE – At their Dec. 20 meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board continued discussing the expired interlocal agreement it has with Missoula County and it was revealed that the current District Manager provided through that agreement will be leaving. The board also received a request from developers of a proposed RV Park for engineering data in order to make a proposal to include the Park in Phase 1 of the collection system.

In other business the board discussed User Agreements, District by-laws and received word that the district is the top ranked project for Renewable Resources Grants and Loans (RRGL) 2021 biennium funding.

In November, the board voted to work with the county to extend the expired interlocal agreement until a new agreement can be signed. Neither an extension nor a renewed interlocal agreement has been secured.

Board President Pat Goodover did receive an email from District Manager Greg Robertson explaining some of what he thought needed to be addressed in the agreement.

• There is a $100,000 loan from the county of which $88,000 is unspent but is required to keep the project budget balanced.

• Robertson recommended the District request continued assistance from Missoula County Public Works Seeley Lake Projects and Operations Coordinator Kim Myre. Myre has been assisting Robertson with grants administrated for the District.

• According to Robertson, the county is committed to overseeing the construction of Phase 1 of the collection system. Robertson recommended the District insist this be included in the interlocal agreement, as this will save the District several hundred thousand dollars. Without it, assessments would most likely have to go up.

Robertson has been the District Manager provided by the county through the interlocal agreement for more than six years. Robertson is leaving his job at the county in January therefore the District is losing its manager.

In an email to the Pathfinder, County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier wrote that a district manager provided by the county may or may not continue depending on the terms of an extended or renewed interlocal agreement.

The county received a request from the Board to extend last year’s agreement by six months while a new one can be negotiated. The county commissioners will discuss the interlocal agreement extension at their Jan. 3 administrative meeting at 10 a.m. in room 206 of the Missoula County Administration Building, 199 West Pine Street, Missoula.

Mark Bellon of Territorial Landworks requested the District instruct its engineering firm Great West Engineering to release information on Phase 1. Bellon would use the information to create a proposal for connecting a proposed 82-lot RV Park to the sewer when Phase 1 was constructed instead of waiting for Phase 2 of the collection system.

The RV Park proposed by Brandon Grosvenor is located south of the Seeley Lake 1-Stop. Phase 1 currently ends on Redwood Lane, approximately 800 feet north of the RV Park.

Bellon said the RV Park could either be hooked up with a service line or construct an extension on the sewer main to the property.

Vice President Walt Hill suggested Bellon talk to the Seeley-Swan Medical Center, two lots south, about hooking them up at the same time. Bellon said it might be possible to hook up other willing landowners if the sewer main were extended but he wouldn’t know the options until looking at the plans for Phase 1.

Bellon said he understood that they RV Park might need to pre-treat the wastewater before dumping it in the sewer but those details would be worked out. Department of Environmental Quality regulations require about 5,000 gallons per day of capacity for an RV Park of this size. Bellon said he expected flow rates to be closer to 1,500-2,000 gallons per day.

The board voted to release the information for Bellon to create a proposal to add the RV Park to Phase 1.

In other business, Director Mike Boltz said he has gone through several sample User Agreements and that most are more complex than what this District needs.

One issue that will need to be addressed is who is responsible for maintenance of the service lines between the sewer main and residents. It is in the budget of Phase 1 of the collection system to install all service lines. Boltz felt he could have a User Agreement for the board to consider adopting at the January meeting.

Revising the District’s by-laws has been on the agenda since last spring’s election where it was discovered that a several of the state statues the by-laws are based on have changed since 1992. Goodover said he would offer to help Director Beth Hutchinson, who was not in attendance, to work on the revisions to present to the board at a future meeting.

The board received word that the District’s 2018 application for RRGL funds has been ranked number one out of 72 applications. The ranking is done by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and will be presented to the 2019 Montana Legislature. The District has been recommended to receive $125,000. If received, it would help with Phase 2 of Seeley’s sewer collection system.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., Jan. 17 at the Missoula County Satellite Office located at 3360 Highway 83.