Resource Team Sifts Through Seeley Lake Assets and Dreams

SEELEY LAKE – Change is inevitable in any community. That is the working premise of the Montana Economic Developers Association (MEDA). The question is whether the community wants to direct that change or simply let it happen. MEDA Resource Teams have helped 48 Montana communities direct their change. On Sept. 19-20 a resource team came to do the same for Seeley Lake. At a Town Meeting held at the Seeley Lake Historical Museum and Visitors Center, the eight-team members took turns presenting the results of their two-day assessment.

Assessment Process

Richard Knatterud, Civil Engineer with the Montana Department of Commerce, explained the three-pronged approach MEDA has developed for initiating involvement with a new community. The first step consists of interviewing a large cross section of the community. Coordinated by Seeley Lake Community Foundation Executive Director Anne Beach, resource team members held listening sessions with specific segments of the community: Seeley Lake Chamber of Congress, businesses and retail shop owners; healthcare and emergency service personnel; teachers and Seeley Swan High School (SSHS) students; senior citizens; nonprofit organizations, service clubs and church leaders and representatives from Pyramid Lumber, Missoula County, the Bureau of Land Management and the Seeley Lake Community Council. Seeley Lake residents were invited to attend any or all of the sessions.

Altogether more than 160 people participated. Each group discussed from their particular perspective what they saw as the strengths and assets of Seeley Lake, the challenges and problems and their vision for the future.

Step two of the assessment process consisted of documenting input from the listening sessions plus any written comments received. Step three consisted of presenting that information to the community at a Town Hall Meeting.

Overview and Infrastructure

Jenni Graff with Missoula Economic Partnership began by presenting a general overview of comments heard at the listening sessions. She said it was evident that the people of Seeley Lake loved living in the area. She quoted one person who commented on the lack of good paying jobs in the area but said, "This is a great place to starve."

One of the strengths of Seeley Lake is the residents generally look upon the many nonprofits, churches and service groups as an asset contributing to the richness of the community. One negative feeling was the perception that, though Seeley Lake is a part of Missoula County, it doesn't get the recognition and support it deserves.

As the high school listening group expressed it, "We are the ugly red-headed step-child to the county and are often forgotten by them." The example given was "[Missoula County Public Schools administration] gives a multi-million dollar track to Sentinel [High School] and we have to run on a grass circle."

Graff said one main issue the team heard in session after session concerned infrastructure. At the top of that list was the need for a functioning sewer system. Also mentioned were the need for public restrooms downtown and better broadband access. Water quality and water accessibility issues were also of concern as were a number of road issues: maintenance, safety, speed limits, cross walks and safety patterns.

Housing

Lyle Coney, United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development out of the Kalispell Office, reported the concerns about workforce recruitment and retention, inevitably tied to the availability of quality rentals as well as land purchases and the building of new houses. Multi-family housing was also seen as a definite need. Coney noted the interconnectedness of these issues with the sewer issue. He said new building can't take place without a good sewer system in operation.

Housing for senior citizens was also discussed. Coney said in general, seniors expressed a desire to stay in their homes rather than move to another area or facility.

Communication

Retired Executive Director of Butte Local Development Corporation and new Seeley Lake resident Jim Smitham reported the need to establish better lines of communication throughout Missoula County. He also said better linkage among nonprofits and church groups could result in strengthening the individual organizations. Similarly better communication among the area businesses could result in coordinated sales, celebrations or other events that draw buyers to the community. Smitham also reported the need for better utilization of the internet and social media, both in gathering and spreading information. He said such venues have the potential to make Seeley Lake known to the world.

Also noted was the need for a community resource directory that would numerate who does what and how to contact them. It was felt interested retirees should also be included because many of them have valuable expertise. A related issue was the need for better dissemination of knowledge about service providers (e.g., social services or the Food Bank) operating in the area.

Tourism and Promotion

Debi Davidson with the Montana Department of Commerce, Office of Tourism and Business Development said, "It doesn't cost any more to dream big than it does to dream small."

Some of the big ideas that arose from her discussion groups were the desire for a Community Events Center and a centrally located tourism event and information building. Also discussed was the fact the lake is not visible to tourists driving through, which prompted discussion about a community park on the lake with restrooms.

Davidson said, "It is a proven fact that if you have restrooms, the average passenger driving through will stay another four hours in your community, spending dollars shopping."

Other needs presented were better signage to let visitors know how to access lakes, trails and points of interest and what kind of usage was permitted on each – horses, dogs, motorized or non-motorized, etc. Trail connectivity was pointed out as a method of making the community more accessible. Likewise crosswalks not only make pedestrians safer, they help to slow traffic and allow passers-by to see what is available in the town.

There was also discussion on branding and possibly creating a descriptive name for Highway 83, for example "Glacier By-Way." Cooperative advertising was another topic. Davidson provided the example of Sand Point, Idaho, composed of a number of small stores spending $200-$500 a week on advertising. They came together as a community and put that money in a general pot, which ended up giving them $1,000,000 to promote their community.

Healthcare and Emergency Services

Davison said inadequate transportation was a topic discussed by several of the groups. The concern included transportation to the Seeley-Swan medical Center and related providers as well as to Missoula for specialist services. The need for mental health, specialist care and extended hours for health and pharmacy services in Seeley Lake was also discussed, as was the need for local occupational therapy and chemical dependency rehabilitation services and personal care assistance for senior citizens. Other desires mentioned were fire and emergency services expanding to paid positions and a larger law enforcement presence.

Community Needs

Graduate intern with Missoula Economic Partnership Eliud Uresti said some of the needs mentioned were a high school track and field arena with bleachers, better Wi-Fi availability, funding for the Seeley Lake Chamber of Commerce and Adult Education offerings. Also discussed was the appearance, aesthetics and beautification of the town. There was some talk about the governing structure of the community and whether to incorporate or make a collective decision not to incorporate. That led to the discussion of a unified vision.

Uresti said, "Everybody has different goals, but if you have a unified vision then those goals can complement each other and you can help each other out. In completing your own personal goals, you also work toward a unified community vision."

Economic Development

Uresti said workforce development and skills training, both for adults and teenagers, was extensively discussed. He reported students in particular said they would love to stay in Seeley Lake, but feel compelled to move away because of a lack of jobs. Apprenticeships and mentoring were discussed, perhaps involving retirees. A need was also expressed for training on pertinent business topics such as start-ups, social media and Google analytics.

Funding avenues were discussed as well as small business support systems. An additional suggestion was that there be an inventory of existing business and services followed by an evaluation of the gaps, i.e. what other types of businesses and services are needed in the community.

What Happens Next

MEDA Coordinator Gloria O'Rourke explained the next step in the process will be for the Resource Team to write up a formal report. The team will then return to Seeley Lake in late October or early November to facilitate a priority-setting Town Meeting.

O'Rourke said, "By the time we're done we'll have a list of projects, they'll be prioritized according to your wishes and we'll have a working group signed up to get busy on those projects. And you'll have, tucked right under your arm, our report that has all the resources, the ideas, the phone numbers, the websites that we know you will need to start going to work. We can't do the work for you, but we can give you every tool at hand. We can be your cheer leader. We can be your reference book. Whatever you need, we will help you move forward."

O'Rourke noted the information will also be available online at http://www.medamembers.org.

In conclusion Andy Shirtliff, a Small Business Advocate with the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said, "Step one is to make that choice [to create community change]. And what you have here at this table are people who are going to work with you in whatever you decide to choose. The choice to move forward is up to you."