In 1987 the Missoula County Commissioners appointed the first Community Council. It was in Seeley Lake. Community Councils are designed as a way for the rural local communities, which make up 56% of Missoula County land base, to communicate local ideas and issues to the county commissioners.
Per the Missoula County website, a Community Council is an elected group of citizens representing a particular area of the county that can provide focus, leadership and continuity to that area. One of Missoula County’s primary goals for Community Councils is to help improve communications between the County and areas outside the Missoula urban area. The Seeley Lake and Swan Valley Community Council boundaries are based on the school district lines.
“There’s always this tension between how much involvement communities and community councils want from county government,” said Dave Strohmaier, Missoula County Commissioner.
The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) wants the councils to have enough self determination to do the creative thinking, engage the community in a way that makes the most sense for their area without the BCC always looking over their shoulder, Strohmaier said. This is one reason why county commissioners do not attend all seven Community Councils every month of the year. The BCC does occasionally attend meetings.
“We wanted to give community councils the breathing space to essentially chart their own destiny a little bit,” Strohmaier said.
However, Community Councils are advisory bodies to the Board of County Commissioners and do not have the ability to make decisions or enact policies for the community.
“I think this is a basic misunderstanding that some folks have that community councils can take a vote on some issue and essentially serve as a governing body into themselves,” Strohmaier said. ”They [can’t].”
A community would need to incorporate as a city or town to have that type of authority, Strohmaier added.
Missoula County has a long history with their councils, said Tom Browder, Seeley Lake Community Council chair. The councils were specifically designed to represent the rural areas of the county as the third largest county in the state with only one incorporated city.
“That tends to kind of suck all the focus, even of the commissioners, into the greater Missoula area,” Browder said. “The seven councils were charged with being conduits of information to the county commissioners, local issues, concerns, needs and whatnot. Likewise, they use us as a mouthpiece.”
The council is part of the county, not independent.
“Our bylaws have to be approved by the county commissioners,” Browder said. “The important thing is, even if we want to communicate officially as a council, our communications must be vetted and approved by the county commissioners. We can’t go off and do crazy things on our own.”
“Our role is to bring issues to the attention of the county commissioners,” said Kathy Koors, Swan Valley Community Council chair. “Either have them advise us or follow the steps by creating a sub-committee and research the problem.
State law allows counties to establish a community council in an area, Strohmaier said. Established community councils in Missoula County are Seeley Lake, Lolo, Bonner/Milltown, East Missoula, Swan Valley, West Valley, and Evaro/Finely/O’Keefe. The Clinton area is just starting the process to create a community council.
“We absolutely want to hear from Community Councils in terms of their recommendations as to what Missoula County can and might do to help support communities,” Strohmaier said.
Each council has a budget of $1,000 annually to use for meeting expenses. Browder said, In Seeley Lake, there are a couple of reserve funds, one for air quality and one for trails that go back some years from grants that were awarded.
There is a provision such that if there is a need in a community above and beyond what that basic administrative cost, the council can ask for additional funds, Strohmaier said. An example is recently East Missoula wanted to send out a mailing flier, it would have exceeded their budget. The county approved the expenditure.
“There’s plenty of latitude on a case-by-case,” Strohmaier said.
The Seeley Lake Council consists of six elected members with staggered three-year terms. There is currently one position open. The Council does not have to wait for another election period to fill the position, Browder said. People can go to the county website: https://www.missoulacounty.us/home/showpublisheddocument/5190 to file to be appointed by the County Commissioners.
The County Commissioners would like to see more elected people on the councils. The community councils in some areas have gone through kind of a cyclical lifecycle, Strohmaier said. There are some, Seeley Lake among them, that have been consistently active and relatively healthy in terms of participation. Other community councils might just limp along and periodically pack the room when there is something controversial.
“It really would be great if folks engaged in their community councils when there is not a hot topic such that they can help essentially determine the agenda,” Strohmaier said. “They can articulate the vision of what they want their community to be and look like. Unfortunately, it’s way easier to get embroiled in a hot topic and pack the room at that point. It’s more of a challenge to get folks to come out on a regular basis, thinking about the positive aspects of what we want for our communities.”
The Swan Valley Community Council formed in 2006 and consists of five members. Today most of the members have been elected by acclamation since they have run unopposed, Koors said. “People don’t seem to be interested in being on the Council until something like the Condon Container Site proposal comes up.”
The Seeley Lake Community Council meets the second Monday of the month except August and December. The agenda and regular updates are posted on the “Seeley Lake Community Council” Facebook page. The Swan Valley Community Council meets the third Tuesday of the month unless there are no agenda items.
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