The Ravalli County Commissioners made an unusual, and perhaps precedent setting, agreement to what was called an “exceptional” request from the Ravalli Electric Cooperative. The County agreed to provide the labor to pave a quarter mile of Bell Crossing Road to the west of the Highway 93 intersection, if the company would pay for the materials. Bell Crossing Road, west of Hwy 93, is currently a gravel road.
But REC has purchased land at the intersection with plans for the construction of a large complex at the site and offered to pay for the materials to pave the road if the county would do the work. The cost of materials to pave a quarter mile of road was estimated at about $26,000 to $28,000 (if the cost of top seal was added).
The precedent possibly being set is for the County to jump out of its established pavement priorities and schedule to do a project at the request of a private landowner. REC would like to see the project done by next summer.
“We haven’t done much in the way of private partnership on paving. I think it’s a model worth trying.” said Commission Chair Jeff Burrows.
But Burrows also recognized a problem with the request in that the county was currently not taking on any new pavement projects because it can’t keep up the pavement its already got. He said the county would have to pave 12 miles a year just to keep up with pavement maintenance of their current inventory and they are only doing six miles.
He said, “We can’t add pavement to our inventory without good cause,” but then, he said, “this request is exceptional.”
Complicating the issue was Road Department Administrator John Horat’s concerns about paving one quarter mile of a half mile section of road. He said it left a quarter mile of gravel road “in the middle of nowhere” that would need to be graded. He said operationally it was not a good idea to pave only half of a section of road.
There was discussion about the increased traffic expected in the area once the company builds its proposed 50,000 to 60,000 square foot complex. There was lots of discussion about trying to get other landowners along the road to participate in the cost share.
In the end the commissioners decided to approve the deal because of the exceptional circumstances, the expected increase in traffic and associated safety concerns, and the fact that the company provides citizens of the county with a valuable service in terms of providing power infrastructure and providing what amounts to an “emergency service” for repairs.
The commissioners also agreed, at the request of REC General Manager Mark Grotbo, to write a letter of support to DOT for doing a traffic count and potentially installing a traffic signal at the intersection of Bell Crossing and Hwy 93.