Updates given on Fourth of July, other local projects

SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council received updates on Fourth of July activities as well as other upcoming local projects during their regular monthly meeting Monday, June 14. In the meeting, Jordan Lyons, Missoula County Community and Planning Services housing specialist, provided the results of a recent Community Needs Assessment; Claire Muller, Seeley Lake Community Foundation executive director, then announced updates on the Change Your Pace program; and Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver described project updates and what the community can expect this summer.

Seeley Lake Fourth Activities

This year’s Fourth of July parade will line up on B Street. The theme is “Celebrate Freedom.” There will be no judging this year but participant sign-up will be required for insurance purposes. Float riders will not be allowed to throw candy from the float but walking participants will be allowed to pass candy and other give-aways out in accordance with the parade’s permit. Committee Member Cheri Thompson also added that the parade is a G-rated event and that no inappropriate wording would be allowed. 

Other events that will take place during the Fourth include a pancake breakfast, duck race, pig roast, farmer’s market, concert by Code Red and fireworks that will begin around 10:15-10:30 p.m. The fireworks will be visible from Lindey’s Steak House lawn which will be open to the public.

Thompson said residents can donate to the event in a variety of ways including sending a check to the Chamber of Commerce, visiting the Chamber’s website or by scanning a QR code on one of the event’s posters.

Clearwater Resource Council update

Caryn Miske, Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) executive director, spoke about their recent watershed planning.

About six months ago CRC received a grant from the Bureau of Reclamation to undertake a watershed restoration project. The project’s plan is to identify and prioritize restoration projects that help improve local water quality and aquatic habitats and can be done over the next three to five years.

The organization will hold two public meetings, one in August and one in September to talk about what their initial research has shown so far. They hope to get input from the community and council at these meetings by having as much representation as possible.

Julia Schwager, also with CRC, talked about CRC’s fuels mitigation work. 

She said CRC has a cost share program where if a landowner would like to make their property more firewise, then the organization would help offset 25-50% of those costs. The property owner would have to hire their own contractor or logger and then make a separate contract with CRC. Once the work is done and CRC verifies that it was done correctly, then they would write the homeowner a check.

Applications for the program can be found at http://crcmt.org/fuels.

The other service CRC offers is a free wildfire preparedness home assessment. Here a CRC or Department of Natural Resources employee would visit a client’s home and point out the various aspects that could improve the home’s wildfire resiliency.

Schwager said CRC will host a “fuels talk” at Placid Lake Campground at 7 p.m. July 15 where they will discuss fire fuels and forest ecology. They are also working on securing the dates for a Double Arrow neighborhood tour where they will look at properties that have been treated and untreated to see how they might fare 10 years later. In addition, they are planning a yet to be scheduled fuel reduction workshop/chipper demonstration day where they will do some work on local property to make it more fire resistant.

Community Needs Assessment Update

Lyons then went over the results of the Community Needs Assessment which revealed Missoula County’s population’s general consensus on housing priorities, economic development and infrastructure. He specifically focused on the responses from Seeley Lake residents. Forty-one of the 887 responses from across the County came from Seeley Lake.

Lyons said the most popular response to the question, “What is the most significant housing challenge Missoula County faces?” from Seeley Lake residents was a lack of affordable housing to rent. For the county as a whole, affordable rental housing was nearly tied with affordable permanent housing, but in Seeley Lake rentals were seen as a bit higher of a priority.

He said he wanted to make it clear that this was a “non-scientific survey” but it did reflect somewhat of a general consensus.

Due to these results, Lyons said that their consultants are “hearing loud and clear” that there is not enough housing supply and that the county will have to prioritize initiatives that will help build subsidized and supportive housing.

Lyons encouraged additional public feedback. Those interested in making comments can contact him by calling 406-529-0533 or emailing jlyons@missoulacounty.us. The survey results for Seeley Lake can be found on https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-SQ98G3X79/

Change Your Pace Update

Muller provided updates on the sixth annual Change Your Pace Challenge. This year there are 14 local nonprofits that are raising funds through the challenge.

They are currently halfway through the Challenge which will run until June 30. As of the meeting, they have collectively raised nearly $40,000, with over $25,000 to specific groups and $14,000 for the match fund. Muller believes the matching figure will reach close to $20,000 this year. Last year they raised a total of $65,000 for non-profits.

To make a donation visit https://www.seeleylakecommunityfoundation.org/change-your-pace-challenge.

Seeley Lake Ranger District Update

Carver then spoke on the U.S. Forest Service’s recent activity and what they have planned for the summer.

He said since the recent windstorm, crews have been “crazily busy” sawing out roads, trails and campgrounds especially around the Big Larch and Morrell Falls areas.

The USFS is currently working on their Rice, Insect and Disease (RIDX) project where they will mitigate the effects of Douglas fir bark beetles from Rice Ridge to McCabe Creek through salvage logging.

He also said the Westside Bypass Project is currently underway and will likely go until the end of July. Through it they will treat around 1,200 acres of fuel.

He said their current campground visitation is not even close to where they were last year. They have instead seen many people move to dispersed sites. He believes people may be reforming their family groups after COVID-19 and are in search of sites that are bigger than what USFS can hold.

Carver said they just put in an order through the Great American Outdoors Act for $50,000 in new signs to replace ones that are “busted and faded” primarily along Highway 83 and near Coopers Lake.

Updates from the Council

Council member Bruce Friede provided an update on the radar speed limit signs that will be placed within the 25 mile per hour zone downtown. Shane Stack, Missoula County public works director, told Friede that he had ordered the signs and that once they arrive, he would have them installed. These would be in place potentially just for the summer but, depending on effectiveness and availability, they could last longer.

Council unanimously approved a drafted letter of support to the Missoula County Health Department. This is so the town can receive a grant from the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology to conduct a water quality study in Seeley Lake.

Council member Tom Browder said that Missoula County Commissioners decided that the council bylaws had to be updated and that he would put these revisions on the agenda for their meeting in September.

A recording of the meeting is available on the Seeley Lake Community Council’s Facebook page. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 13 as the July and August meetings have been canceled.