Board Passes Annual Assessment at Heated Hearing

SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer Board approved its annual special assessment after receiving several protests and despite the protest period not closing for another week.

Several dozen citizens showed up at the Aug. 18 hearing on whether to continue the $47,620 assessment. There was no change in the proposed assessment from the previous year. Lots with a dwelling unit on them pay $79.80 per year while vacant and commercial lots pay approximately $63 per acre per year.

District Manager Greg Robertson explained that the assessment was for the administrative cost of the district each year. The bulk of the money, in the past, was used to pay for a manager. Currently, Robertson, who is Missoula County’s Director of Public Works, is paid by the county to manage the district.

The extra money from not having to pay a manager has been accumulating in an account and will be used to match grant funding or help with operating costs.

Robertson said the money that is building up would be returned to the landowners if the district were ever to dissolve without building the proposed sewer.

The meeting heated up almost immediately when district resident, Al Castonguay, asked why the meeting had started early. Many in attendance did not realize the board held its regular monthly meeting ahead of the assessment hearing and that meeting was just finishing up.

District Board member Bob Skiles’s response to the question came off as disrespectful to some in the audience.

“Six years ago the tenor between the board and people that went to meetings frequently became hostile. Not generated by the citizens of the town but generated by individual board members,” said long-time property owner, Beth Hutchinson. “I’m tired of that, because I heard it immediately tonight. Bob [Skiles], you spoke very disrespectfully to that man [Castonguay]. This is no way to build confidence in anything you’re trying to do.”

Skiles responded saying that Castonguay and he regularly have heated conversations and asked if Castonguay felt disrespected. Castonguay said he didn’t but several in the crowd said they perceived it as disrespectful.

Skiles later suggested that the community could vote him off the board at any time. He said that the board members receive all sorts of negativity from the public. People refuse to do business with him and other board members because of sewer district issues.

He explained that he is very passionate about solving Seeley Lake’s water pollution problem. Skiles wants his grandkids to be able to enjoy clean water and be able to eat fish from the lake pointing out that the fishing regulations now have a warning to not eat fish from the lake.

The public asked how they could protest the annual assessment.

Residents can submit their protest in writing or orally. Protest is accepted up to 30 days after the letter giving notice was sent out. The letter was dated July 27.

A half dozen in the crowd gave their oral protest to the continued assessment. Some indicated that they thought alternatives should be explored while others gave no reason.

Colleen Krause, who owns a cabin on Boy Scout Road, questioned why her lot was in the district because she is seasonal. She reasoned that seasonal cabins are only used for a fraction of the year and therefore don’t contribute as much pollution as full-time residents.

Krause was also frustrated that she is in the district while State and Federal leased cabin lots nearby are not included.

Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Clearwater Unit Manager Kristen Baker-Dickinson explained that the state is interested. The DNRC wants to know more details just as any other landowner would want to know before committing to joining the district.

Not everyone was unhappy with the board. Several thanked the board for working hard to get grants and design the system. They were concerned about cleaning up the water and fixing the problem.

“I think we need to give them a little bit of credit for what they have put together,” said one supporter. “This is kind of a gift. Where else in Montana are you getting nine million dollars for a sewer system?”

Comments on the sewer in general, not just the special assessment, were also discussed.

Frank Paxton who lives near the airport, asked if he would be able to vote on the construction of the proposed wastewater treatment plant. He explained that the treated wastewater is being put into the ground upstream from his drinking water well. The well serves several residents in the area.

Paxton also expressed concerns about odors coming from the treatment facility.

Board members said that the treatment plant would be a quarter mile from the nearest residence near Airport Road. The treatment is done inside of a building that fully encloses all of the treatment tanks. The residents along Airport Road would not have a vote because the area is not in the district.

The board also said the estimated 100,000 gallons per day of treated water would be clean enough to drink and should not be a problem.

The board put the annual assessment up for a vote. After a brief discussion, the board unanimously voted to adopt the assessment.

Some in the crowd questioned why the board could vote on something that they still had time to protest.

Board Chairman Mike Boltz ended the meeting saying that the board is allowed to by their bi-laws and they did it.