Seeley Lake Community Council
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Community Council discussed how to honor the memory of the late Council Chairman Klaus von Stutterheim during their regularly scheduled monthly meeting Monday, March 8. Council also heard updates regarding vaccines, the Sewer District Board and the Seeley Lake Ranger District.
Vice Chair Jack Greenwood said Von Stutterheim’s contributions to organizing council meetings became immediately apparent following his passing.
“Now that Klaus isn’t here, we’re finding out exactly how much work he did,” Greenwood said. “[Work] like putting the agenda together and contacting people. I’ll be honest, … if it wasn’t for [Council Secretary Tom Browder], we probably wouldn’t even be having the meeting.”
The first idea to honor Von Stutterheim’s legacy was to make a charitable donation in his name. Attendees also suggested that the Council organize some form of a media collage that would allow residents and council members to compile photos, comments and stories of him to preserve their memories. No timeline or location has been established but one suggestion was the Community Council Facebook page.
It will take a couple of months before a new chair is decided. Greenwood said he did not want to be full-time chair again.
Cindy Farr, Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD) COVID-19 response incident commander, gave an update on vaccination programs and progress in Missoula County. The Federal government has started sending vaccine allocations to pharmacy partners in Missoula County including Granite Pharmacy, Walgreens, Albertsons and Partnership Health Center.
According to Farr, without the allocation, the County was receiving about 1,500 doses per week through the Department of Public Health and Human Services. With the allocation, they are starting to see 2,500 doses per week.
She said MCCHD have received comments from eligible residents who have expressed concerns that they are taking away vaccination opportunities from those at higher risk. She said right now the most important thing is to have every resident vaccinated as soon as possible.
“We want to just make sure that we’re getting the word out that you shouldn’t feel guilty if you qualify for the vaccine,” Farr said. “If you qualify for the vaccine, please sign up for an appointment especially as we’re starting to see so many more doses coming into our communities. … That’s what’s going to help with our herd immunity. That’s going to get us through this pandemic.”
On Monday, March 15 Montana entered into Phase 1b plus which included individuals 60 and older and those between 16 and 59 with underlying medical conditions like asthma, cystic fibrosis and liver disease. Farr said just Phase 1b includes around 45,000 County residents eligible for the vaccine. The addition of 1b plus would comprehensively include 70,000-80,000.
Farr said the most prominent side effect vaccine recipients experience is a sore arm. Others, who have an overactive immune system, may break out in a rash or experience a fever. To mitigate these effects she recommends drinking a lot of water, getting rest beforehand and taking it easy the days following the vaccine. The majority of recipients are usually fine within 48 hours.
According to Farr, they are still waiting for additional research to see how long the vaccine retains its immunity. However, they currently believe that recipients are protected for the first three months after being fully vaccinated.
To keep up with the latest vaccine information she recommends looking at https://covid19.missoula.co or calling (406) 258 INFO (4636).
Jean Curtiss, Seeley Lake Sewer District manager, provided updates on how the Sewer District Board will move forward following the recent rejection of a pair of bonds that would have paid for construction of a wastewater treatment plant and the first phase of the collection system. The bonds failed in a District vote by a rough ratio of 2-1.
Immediately following the results, Curtiss said the United States Department of Agriculture sent the Sewer District a letter stating that without the bonds being approved, they could not fund the project. In the span of a few hours the District had lost over $10.5 million in grants.
“The sad thing is that … the board had worked so hard to get all those grants lined up for the district and they are now gone,” Curtiss said.
She said the area has been experiencing elevated levels of nitrate in the groundwater. The MCCHD oversees a special management area in Seeley Lake to deal with said elevated levels.
The discharge permit still needs to be maintained for the foreseeable future. There are no plans in place to dissolve the Board but they are “on hold” for now.
One meeting attendee commented that the entire voting system was difficult to understand, especially regarding who could and could not take part. Curtiss agreed that the process was confusing.
The next Sewer District meeting is at 6 p.m., March 18 via Zoom. Information on how to join will be posted on https://seeleysewer.org. During the meeting they will discuss how they will move forward, what they will focus on and whether or not they should decrease their meeting frequency.
Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver provided updates on current U.S. Forest Service projects and plans for the upcoming summer season. He said that things are on track for opening the campgrounds Memorial Day weekend. Forest staff are bracing for a “2020 part two,” meaning that they are expecting a similar influx of visitors as last year. Fortunately, the District was able to hire additional seasonal workers to assist with the workload.
Carver said the increased campground fees will be in place this summer. They are also trying to move the majority of their reservation process to https://www.recreation.gov. They will try to keep at least a portion of the campgrounds available for first come, first served.
Carver said he was happy to announce that the Westside Bypass Wildfire Resiliency Project was signed which will address current fuel and vegetation conditions that contribute to increased wildfire risks.
“That’s going to be a pretty neat project over there,” Carver said.
Looking back at winter, Carver said the area has been lucky to have experienced minimal avalanches and search and rescue missions. They also saw a plethora of skiers and snowmobilers coming through the area especially at the Seeley Creek Nordic Trails.
Bailey Minnich, Missoula County community and planning services planner three, provided updates on a floodplain mapping. She said the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation would be hosting a virtual open house at 6 p.m. March 18.
To register for or attend the open house visit http://dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/water/operations/floodplain-management/clearwater. Registration is preferred but not required. The page also includes update maps, a project timeline and technical reports.
Additional information can be found at https://www.missoulacounty.us/government/community-development/community-planning-services/floodplain-administration/clearwater-river or by calling (406) 258-4657.
Senate District 46 Senator Shannon O’Brien provided updates on recent legislative sessions. O’Brien is a member of the taxation committee. She said that the committee was looking at bills regarding fair taxation, broadband access, health care access, special education funding, preschool and childcare.
House District 92 Representative Mike Hopkins said the House has been going through hundreds of bills and will soon be entering into discussions around the initiative implementation of recreational marijuana.
A recording of the meeting is available at https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/Ml8S7jTVA4cycc4pK-zA6zyanfXi6hR3tHuCVJcjBoySnAHG_ee7ctzFG8Mwr_Sg.mAPujZ9w8EHqiRmj Passcode: 9F4#P&Nu. The next council meeting will take place at 6 p.m., April 11.
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