Commissioner Josh Slotniks’ suggestion that Seeley Lake create a Business Improvement District suggests a certain naivete, or to use a football metaphor, a rookie mistake. Seeley’s business community seems fine. That we have to commute to Missoula for better prices and cheaper gas is another subject.
Mr. Slotnik does not appear to understand the underpinnings of a healthy a rural community. First, most rural residents reside where they live by choice. They do not want the hustle and bustle of a Missoula.
Second, any community to prosper needs a solid infrastructure - good roads, affordable water and sewer systems and reasonable building permitting, licensing and business regulations.
Seeley has some of those prerequisites...but not all. The Missoula County Commissioners would do well to examine their policies and practices to see what it can do to simplify improve and encourage growth in the rural communities.
Roads: I have lived 40 years in this community and four streets. Cedar, Juniper, Willow and part of School Lane proximate to my property have NEVER seen a road grader even though the dozens of residences along these county thoroughfares pay the same taxes as everyone else. A plea to Commissioner Dave Strohmaier during his election campaign about this particular problem yielded the promise “I’ll look into it.” He never has.
Sewer: Sewer residents have been forced to pony up nearly $1 million for “study” fees and the Commissioners have spent more than a half-million dollars of taxpayer money to shove a $40 million albatross of a sewer system down our throats which will indenture low income residents for the next 40 years. We could have replaced every septic in the district with that money.
Water: Water district residents pay $50-60 per month for bleach-laden water that leaves a brown ring in their toilets and for some it is undrinkable. Drink it folks. If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger.
Air: The Health Department is proposing new stove regulations which will only drive up the cost of home heating for our low-income residents.
Business licensing, permitting and regulation: Ask anyone in town with a vacant lot whether they have been able to permit a septic and build a new home and you will get horror stories about over-zealous gestapo-like regulations. Ask the folks who proposed to re-open the Foxfire Bar or the Grime Buster Car Wash what hoops they had to jump through. Both those viable businesses remain closed.
Building inspection and health regulation have grown increasingly difficult, and expensive, over the years in Missoula County. It has helped drive up the cost of housing here to the point most folks cannot afford to live here on a service-sector job wage.
Three new county commissioners govern us. Fortunately one of them is a rural resident who may eventually bring some reason to that body. One-size-fits-all government designed to meet urban needs does not work in rural Missoula County. Creating a business improvement district will not help.
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