Sewer Project - Conduct a Fair Vote and Fix the Lake

SEELEY LAKE - Upon reading the current letter sent out by the elections office in Missoula, regarding the Seeley Lake sewer vote, I read the sentence “Upon review of Montana Code Annotated, it has been determined that “trust” or “corporations” are not eligible to vote in elections.”

I am one of those affected because my lake property is in a trust. Out of the 510 people involved in the sewer project, there are probably several of us who have our properties under a trust or corporation.

I looked back on my tax statements and found that I have been paying for the sewer for at least 11 years that I could find. The fee has been around $72. Now you are telling me that I am not eligible to vote on this project because my property is in a trust? This will “not” be a fair election if all property owners affected are not allowed to exercise their legal right to vote on this project.

Something needs to be done before this election to be fair for “all” property owners. If we are not eligible to vote, then why should we be paying taxes for a sewer project we were not able to vote on!! I would also like to add, that we have had our property on the lake for 70 years and have faithfully paid our taxes. 

That brings me to another point I would like to address about the sewer project. People talk about the lake being polluted. Do many of you realize that the lake homes on Boy Scout Road, going west to C Street and along C Street are some of the only lake properties involved in this current project? These are all on private land. If you think that we alone are going to save the lake by hooking up to the sewer, you are wrong.

If the sewer district is worried about lake pollution, then “everyone” on the lake should be hooked up at the same time. However, beyond C Street, the property is either owned by the government or the state, including the worst polluters that are along the river. I can’t see the state or government wanting to pay for individual sewer hookups for each of their properties.

Also, 90 percent of us along the lake properties affected are only summer people, paying for a project we don’t need. When I originally heard about the sewer project, I thought it was including “all” of the Seeley Lake community right from the start, with everyone paying the yearly fees, including the Double Arrow properties, not just 510 of us. To add insult to injury, we along Boy Scout Road do not even have drinking water. We have been hauling water for 70 years.

My closing plea is to the Seeley Lake Sewer Board. Please make it fair for all properties concerned to be able to vote.

 

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