SEELEY LAKE - In an amended complaint filed with the court Aug. 31, approximately 50 additional plaintiffs have joined Don Larson’s lawsuit against the Seeley Lake Sewer District and Missoula County.
The complaint states that the plaintiffs own approximately 60 of the properties in the Sewer District and span all four phases of the proposed sewer project. There are approximately 500 lots in the district. In addition to the landowners there are a couple of residents that are renters in the list of plaintiffs.
The lawsuit still includes allegations of the District mishandling the protest process and protest letters, failing to provide reliable financial information about the project including estimates for future phases, disenfranchising renters, failing to answer questions from the public, violating campaign ethics and the Sewer Board making decisions when the board was confused and lacked understanding.
Based on the allegations, the suit asks the court to order the District to stop taking any actions toward construction of the sewer, not to incur debt nor collect assessments and that Missoula County stop providing the District any resources including in-kind services. It also requests that the notice and protest the District conducted in the fall of 2017 be nullified and declared void.
Among the list of plaintiffs is past Sewer Board member Juli Cole. Cole was elected to the Board in May and sent a letter of resignation to the District following the Aug. 16 board meeting. In the letter she wrote that when she ran for the position she believed she could make a difference. Cole was frustrated with the board’s presidents, both past and present, for stifling her voice. She also stated that she felt the sewer was going to be built and the only roll of the board was to decide how it was executed.
“I cannot with a clear conscience stay on this board and feel like the best interest of town is being met,” wrote Cole.
As of press time, no hearings are currently scheduled for this case in District Court.
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