SEELEY LAKE – At their Monday, Oct. 11 meeting, the Seeley Lake Community Council voted to send a letter to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks asking them to fix the RV Dump Station at Clearwater Junction by next spring. They also discussed the speed limit radar signs.
Council member Bruce Friede started the conversation regarding the RV Dump at the Clearwater Junction. He said there are 15 campgrounds in the area from Ovando on Highway 200 north on Highway 83 to Holland Lake. This does not include all the RV dispersed camping that happens in the area.
“For a collection site like Lindey’s [RV Dump on Highway 83], that is really too much,” Friede said. “We need to address it and it seems like the campgrounds belong to FWP as well as that facility. I’m wondering if we can’t put some pressure on them.”
In the article “Clearwater Junction RV dump site remains closed” published in the May 27, 2021 issue, the Pathfinder reported that FWP estimated that the entire structure needed to be replaced which came with a price tag of $400,000. Very few users pay the $5 fee to dump.
Friede said he was around when the dump was built at Clearwater Junction. FWP had invested a lot of money into the Placid Lake campground and day use areas on Salmon Lake so also built the dump station. It was a no-pay site because the license for the campers helped fund that system.
“There really is no good reason why that RV Dump isn’t working other than we have so many people dumping there, the existing holding tank or septic tank just isn’t big enough,” Friede said. “I believe that system would work if they just added more holding tank so it can hold more of the fluids.”
Friede said Montana has over $100,000 million for water and sewer projects like this. He estimated to add another holding tank would cost FWP less that $10,000.
“That needs to be addressed but how do you address it when you don’t have any facilities that are working,” Friede said. “I would like to see some pressure taken off of what we have here in town. I think we would all benefit from that.”
Seeley Lake Sewer District Director Cheri Thompson commented that anyone who owned a private RV Park would be required to address the affluent issue produced by those using the RV Park. However the state and federal campgrounds are not addressing the issue, leaving the community to be responsible for the affluent and waste from their campground visitors.
“I’m not sure why we are permitting the government to not be responsible as well,” Thompson said. “I think we all need to band together…We aren’t asking them to handle more than they are bringing to town but it is [their] problem as well as ours.”
Friede’s perception from the May 27 Pathfinder article on the Clearwater RV Dump site was FWP was willing to take a wait-and-see approach. He feels the new director would be responsive to the community’s concerns.
“The wait and see doesn’t do anything for our community, for our lakes, campgrounds,” Friede said. “I believe from an economic standpoint it hurts us to not have that facility working.”
Council Secretary Tom Browder suggested submitting a letter to the new FWP Director, County Commissioners and local business community outlining the concerns.
“What I’ve heard is with [the RV dump] being closed, a lot of people that might stop, be able to use the dump and then come up the valley our way don’t,” Browder said.
Council member Sharon Teague asked if the concerns would hold more weight if other letters from the Missoula County Commissioners and possibly the Seeley Lake Sewer Board accompanied their letter to FWP.
Friede agreed that that would “be the right way” showing unification. He added that the weight of all the Forest Service campgrounds around would also help out.
Mike Lindemer, owner of Lindey’s RV Dump site on Highway 83, stressed that his system is a legal system, permitted by the Health Department and it is operating properly.
The permit, granted in 1989, shows the system consists of an earlier installed metal tank with two three-ring seepage pits for the drain field. The permit does not show how many gallons per day it was designed for.
Lindemer told the Council there are three separate tanks to the RV dump, the one is a holding tank for solids and two other tanks with leach fields that run the liquid. He has pumped it four times this season when normally he only pumps it in the spring and the fall. He is charged $450 per pump plus he supplies the city water of $800-$1,000 per month.
“I definitely agree with getting this other one to take the stress off me,” Lindemer said. “We are trying to provide a service so people aren’t pulling the handle and dumping it all over the road.”
After further discussion, the Council agreed that one letter signed by multiple parties would be the best way to influence FWP into action. They unanimously voted to have Friede and Browder write a letter that could be signed by the Council, Lindemer representing the local business community, the Missoula County Commissioners and the Sewer board, that outlines the issues and requests FWP reopen the RV Dump by next spring.
Friede also provided an update on the radar speed sign that has been on Highway 83 and Airport Road near Seeley-Swan High School. He gave kudos to Missoula County Public Works Director Shane Stack for allocating a sign to Seeley Lake.
Friede wants to hear from the community if they like the sign. The goal discussed by the Council was to add permanent radar signs for the 25 mile-an-hour zones on the north and south ends of Highway 83. Due to increase in material cost, he is not sure the $6,000 price tag the Council was considering will still cover the cost. If this is something the community wants, maybe they could ask the Commissioners or ask the business community to purchase the signs to be used indefinitely.
In other business, Thompson told the Council the Seeley Lake Sewer District will be updating their website soon. She asked the Council and members of the public to send in comments regarding the website (seeleysewer.org) so it can be made more user friendly for the public. Suggestions at the meeting included individual email addresses for each of the directors, a map of the District so residents could easily determine if they were part of the District and highlighting the most important, current information on the home page.
The Council also welcomed member Garry Swain who was appointed by the Missoula County Commissioners at their Aug. 5 meeting.
The November Council meeting will be devoted to sharing information about the services available and volunteer opportunities with the senior programs. The different service providers will presents about their organizations to help people understand what is available in the area.
“It will be an informational thing and maybe we could snag a few volunteers by talking about it,” Browder said.
To view the recording of the Council meeting visit https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/kftKFFpo6wcx3cQKkPB9RJ3naOfqcjt3v63zYKe3QBTABN0m7sdyiYgmm_14Y_3a.iKvpBdxlV7FbDIIh Passcode: H.@Qu8LP
The next meeting will be held Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. Location and/or login information will be posted in the Pathfinder’s Nov. 4 issue and on the Council’s Facebook page.
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