By Michael Howell
The Stevensville Park Board on December 12, entertained the idea of setting up a subcommittee to identify alternative proposals to the offer made by the owner of Fort Owen Ranch to trade three and half acres of ranch land at the Stevensville Bridge and another acre along the roadside in town in exchange for eight and half acres of land at the north end of the Town’s River Park. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) would then develop a Fishing Access Site (FAS) by the bridge. After some discussion, the idea of establishing a subcommittee was abandoned but a few alternatives were identified including a proposal by Stevensville resident Loey Knapp to purchase the three and half acres from the Capps at its appraised value and give it to the town for the creation of the fishing access site.
Another alternative discussed would add a riverside trail to the original proposal that would connect the north end of the park land to the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. A third alternative identified was an equal acre for acre land exchange between the Town and the Ranch owners. A fourth alternative mentioned was the “no action” alternative, a possibility added because some people questioned the need for the town to do anything. They suggested that the state and the ranch owner could work out the access issue at the bridge on their own and there was no need for the town to be involved.
Rory Zarling, FWP’s FAS Director, noted that the agency’s offer to develop a $250,000 FAS site with a parking lot and a pit toilet could not be extended indefinitely as the offer was tied to annual funding that could disappear. He offered to facilitate moving the issue forward by contacting ranch owner Roy Capp and asking if he was interested at all in considering any other options.
Park Board members accepted the suggestion and also agreed to seek a couple of legal opinions, one about the legality of a land exchange by the town if the appraised value of the lands involved is not equal, and the other, whether or not the decision to exchange the land can be made by the Town Council or if it has to go to a public vote. The latter question may hinge on the determination as to whether the land has ever been dedicated to some purpose or not.
Park Board members Tonya Eckert and Vicki Motley and FWP FAS Director Zarling met with ranch owner Roy Capp last week after the Park Board meeting to discuss potential alternative options. According to Park Board Chair Tonya Eckert, Capp is not interested in considering any other options than the one he has offered.
“It will be a big loss to the town if we lose that river access,” said Eckert.
Clark Lee says
I never did really understand what the big deal was all about. At first we were told it was a liability issue, then it was a trespass issue, then it was a fencing issue. All of which could have been resolved if the Capp’s would have deeded the river front property in question to the city , county or state. The people have legal access to it and it is cut off by the easement to the park so it is worthless to the Capp’s. But apparently at the encouragement of some of our local public-servent/land developer’s, the Capp’s believe that they can something for nothing and even resort to threats if they don’t get it.
Apparently the Capp’s are new to Montana and are unawaire that this kind of river access issue has been tried over and over before and has, for the most part, always ended in favor of the public.
But maybe the Capp’s and their local public-servent/land developer complisitors have some new tricks.
But what the heck, we are all used to wasting taxpayer money on legal shenanagans.