The Swan Valley Community Council met last Tuesday evening and received updates on the Condon Work Center, heightened bear activity, incorporation and a community questionnaire.
Sara Lamar, managing director of education with Swan Valley Connections, gave an update on the Condon Work Center, which the Northern Region of the Forest Service — based in Missoula — decided to put up for conveyance, or transfer of ownership, at the end of June. Swan Valley Connections, who uses the space for its operations, was given a move-out date of the end of February 2025.
Lamar said the Forest Service has been meeting about the work center about once a month. If the appraisal of the property ends up being lower than the cost, the Forest Service will decide not to sell the work center, she said. In that case, another ownership option could be something like a special use permit where the Forest Service issues the permit but someone else maintains the property. Lamar said the Forest Service would know by the end of the year if it made sense to sell the property or not.
The work center becoming private land would not provide as good of a value to the community, Lamar said, and SVC’s hope is that the nature of the area would stay conservation-oriented.
Lamar also said SVC has been hearing about a lot of bear conflict in the valley and reminded those gathered that as bears approach hibernation, conflicts with humans can increase. The sooner conflicts — like bears getting into garbage or food — can be reported to either SVC or, preferably, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the better, Lamar said.
Report bear conflicts to FWP by calling Erik Wenum at 406-250-0062.
Ted Morgan, Swan Valley Community Council treasurer, gave an update on the idea of Condon incorporating and becoming its own city. This idea was brought up at a meeting at the end of May, and has roots going back 15 years.
Morgan said pending state law changes that require a certain population for a community to incorporate — 300 people located within the area and two wards made up of 50 registered voters — incorporation is off the table for Condon. Joining Lake County is still a possibility, but Morgan has yet to hear back from a Lake County Commissioner in a couple of months. When Morgan contacted a commissioner originally, there was some interest in the idea.
Kerry Duff, a Potomac resident, attended the meeting to share some concerns in her community along the same line. Duff said Potomac residents got “fired up” after a community outreach meeting hosted by Missoula County in May.
People in their 70s and 80s can no longer afford to live in Missoula County, Duff said, and a lot of people are angry about “excessive overreach of taxes and excessive spending” by Missoula County.
Duff said she’s talked to other interested communities in Missoula County that are looking to secede, including Condon, Bonner and Rock Creek. Powell County wasn’t keen on accepting Potomac a while back, but Duff’s current plan is forming a rural county made up of these communities in Missoula County that are frustrated. Duff has started an online petition to organize people interested in forming a new county.
The petition can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/s9rn8fck
The Swan Valley Planning Committee received approval from the council to send out a questionnaire to Condon residents. This questionnaire is part of the process of updating the community plan, something the county goes through every five years, and allows community members to express their values. Individual community plans — for areas including Condon, Seeley Lake, Grant Creek and Rattlesnake — are part of the greater Missoula County Growth Policy, a document required by state law.
Questionnaires will be sent out to property tax payers in the Condon area, which amounts to about 750 people. One question on the form would ask respondents to indicate whether they are full-time or seasonal residents.
Condon’s community plan was originally adopted in 1996.
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