Stormwater Advisory Committee disbands, asks county to create new district

Maybe the second time will be the charm for a Rural Special Improvement District in Bigfork. Sue Hanson hopes so.

Hanson,  who previously served as chair of the now defunct Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee, said that when it disbanded last month the committee requested the Flathead County commissioners approve the creation of a Rural Special Improvement District when it meets Oct. 1.

Hanson has hopes the commissioners will approve creation of the district. It was turned down last October because the commissioners didn’t want to pay for the necessary engineering survey, she said. The Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee previously received a $100,000 grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources.

The Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee — with the help of the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork, and others — has provided protection for Flathead Lake in recent years through installation of a “hydrodynamic separator and an embryonic jellyfish” below Grand Drive, just above the Bigfork public dock next to Swan River Inn. The separator separates solids from the stormwater while the artificial “jellyfish” filters the water. Another separator was installed below an alley that runs next to Electric Avenue Gifts downtown.

There are two stormwater drains that need to be upgraded, Hanson said. These are north and south of the old bridge and haven’t been upgraded since the 1960s, she said.

Protection of Flathead Lake from polluted stormwater runoff started back in 2007, Hanson said. “Fifty years ago we didn’t have paved roads,” she said. “Most of Bigfork was gravel parking lots.

“We hope we can show enough support” from the community so that the commissioners support this, she said. Hanson notes that the Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee has done all it can do. It was originally created to advise the county commissioners on the use of grants. Hanson would like the community to know that creation of a Rural Special Improvement District is being pursued now by the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork.

Hanson said that the commissioners generally oppose tax increases, but she wants to let them let the people of Bigfork decide whether to be taxed or not.

Creation of a Rural Special Improvement District is estimated to cost $1.973 million, Hanson said, which local property taxpayers would pay for over 10 or 20 years through a bond. Hanson said an engineering firm estimated that a property taxpayer would pay $38 a year for 10 years for creation of such a district.

The boundaries for the Rural Special Improvement District would be the same as the Bigfork Water and Sewer District. There are 3,000 parcels in the district, Hanson said.

County Administrator Mike Pence said the commissioners will consider approval of a resolution of intention to create a Rural Special Improvement District.

If they approve it, a notice would then be published in a newspaper. After that, individual property owners in the proposed district would receive a mailing. If more than 50 percent oppose creation of the district, it would be defeated.