Volume XXI, Number 18

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

By James E. Rokosch, Stevensville

This letter is in response to your front-page article November 30 concerning the proposed 500+ lot development adjacent to the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. I hesitate to use the word "subdivision" regarding such development, as what this actually consists of is siting a new town in our rural community. Presently there are about 760 lots in the town of Stevensville on town services. Whatever you wish to call it, "major subdivision", "mega subdivision", "Master Plan Community" - the reality is that this is a proposal to site a new town with an urban population density in a rural area that has no existing infrastructure of public services to support it.

This is not the only development of this magnitude in the works. The Aspen Springs development east of Florence proposes 500-600 new lots, the proposed development off of Golf Course Road near Hamilton is of similar size, and let's not forget the development northwest of Stevensville between North Kootenai and Bass Creek roads, or the proposed resort village between Florence and Lolo. We are kidding ourselves if we think these will be the only new towns that we will face here in the Bitterroot. More likely, this represents the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

Why are we seeing this unprecedented level of development of such magnitude? Unfortunately, it is all too consistent with Montana's history of exploitation. We simply have inadequate county regulations, state legislation, and leadership at either level to ensure public values are protected, and that the true and full costs of these developments are paid for by those reaping the huge profits. The public needs to increase its awareness and activity towards holding public leadership and private business accountable for the costs of development. Otherwise, existing taxpayers can expect to continue to foot these developments' ever-increasing bills for schools, fire and police protection, emergency medical services, roads and transportation, and others, such as libraries and cemeteries.

We will pay directly: through bond issues, mill levies, increased state taxes, and increased license and user fees. We will pay indirectly: both through increased costs of goods, services, and insurance, and through reduced levels of service, such as degraded roads, slower response times by police, fire, and medical personnel, and crowded classrooms. Put your own price on impacts to values such as water quality, wildlife, wildlife habitat, and rural lifestyle - we will pay. The real question to ask ourselves and our elected leadership is, "What value are we getting for what we are being forced to pay?"

There will be a community meeting Tuesday, December 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Lone Rock School cafeteria to discuss the impacts of the proposed development adjacent to the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on the existing community. We can either get involved - or get overrun.

County needs to enforce subdivision regulations

I read Phyllis Bookbinder's letter to the editor with great interest (Growth issues need our attention now). I agree with her that citizens must be involved to ensure that development in Ravalli County is orderly and planned. However, I disagree with her conclusion that zoning is the answer. Still, I applaud her letter and share her hope that residents will become involved.

In recent hearings before the Ravalli County Planning Board and County Commissioners, I became painfully aware that we suffer from a severe lack of leadership rather than a lack of regulation. Chairman Chilcott exhibits an incredible dedication to fulfill his responsibility but he is outnumbered 2-1 by Commissioners Thompson and Lund. Commissioners Thompson and Lund lack the basic understanding of the responsibility given them under the Montana Code Annotated, Section 76-3-501 to "adopt and provide for the enforcement and administration of subdivision regulations" and instead use their own beliefs to grant variances to those regulations, without the required factual determination.

On November 29, I witnessed approval of a preliminary subdivision with four requested variances from the subdivision regulations, in spite of the fact that the property could be subdivided according to the Subdivision Regulations. There was no determination of the effect the variances have on public health and safety. Still worse, there was no determination that an "undue hardship" existed, a prerequisite to consideration of any variance by the Commissioners. In fact, Commissioner Lund asked if the County "could" control development outside the existing utility easement when deciding whether or not to grant a variance for the Subdivision Regulation requiring a 50-foot setback. She also suggested that the speed limit on Ambrose Creek Road should be reduced to reduce to hazard created by the Commissioners. They have granted so many variance requests, thereby permitting developers to build multiple access points onto Ambrose Creek Road, that the current speed limit is no longer safe. This is the very hazard the Commissioners are required to prevent, as well as the interruption of traffic flow resulting from variances to the road construction and access standards of the Subdivision Regulations.

Commissioner Betty Lund clearly does not understand her job. I will now be required to appeal the decision to the District Court in order to achieve enforcement of the Subdivision Regulations in my neighborhood. Enforcement is something I had a right to expect from the Commissioners.

The fact remains that while Commissioners Thompson and Lund are in office, no amount of regulation will help us. Any new zoning regulations will necessarily include provisions for variances from the regulations and Commissioners Thompson and Lund will grant variances, essentially nullifying the regulations.

We need regulations, I agree. But, before the subdivision regulations we now have (or any future zoning regulations) can be effective, we need new leadership to ensure enforcement. So please, get involved, attend Commissioners' meetings, and then vote, when the time comes, for leaders who understand and carry out their responsibility.

Marilyn Owns Medicine
Stevensville

Opposed to subdivision

Dear Editor,

From my front deck in the Eagle Watch subdivision, I look out over the northern edge of the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. This end of the refuge is off limits to all human activity. Aside from a handful of bow hunters in the fall, no one goes there except the wildlife the refuge was created to sustain.

We are all familiar with the southern end of the refuge. Many of us have enjoyed the events that are hosted there: Welcome Back Waterfowl, Migration Mania, Christmas Bird Count, Junior Duck Stamp Awards, and countless school field trips.

Though less visited, the northern end of the refuge is no less vital in serving the refuge's mission; and no less worthy of our protection and concern.

At issue is a 500-lot subdivision planned for the very edge of the refuge, on what used to be the Houtchens ranch. Fifty quarter-acre lots are planned for the site of the Houtchens' former home and outbuildings, directly above the northern pond and wetlands. Another 450 lots will be separated from the refuge only by the Eastside Highway and a proposed 50-foot "buffer zone."

This part of the subdivision is in a bowl that drains downhill into the refuge, the refuge ponds, and eventually, the Bitterroot River. Where is the sewage generated by 500 families going to go? Subdivision planners have proposed several large leach fields (also known as "open space"), as opposed to individual septic tanks for each home, to mitigate the problem. Can a few leach fields, each draining a huge pool of human waste, be any less disastrous than individual septic tanks? That sewage is bound to drain right down into the water table and flow right into the refuge. What about the herbicides and pesticides that will inevitably join the runoff from folks' yards, gardens, rose bushes? What about pets? What will be the impact of roaming dogs and cats on song bird and nesting waterfowl populations?

There are predictable burdens we as taxpayers can expect to bear if this subdivision goes through at its proposed density: the cost of added infrastructure; the cost of air pollution from automobiles and 500+ woodstoves; the cost of light pollution to our night skies... you name it. A 500-lot mini-town is inappropriate in any rural setting. It is particularly inappropriate in this instance because of its vulnerable neighbor, the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.

Please let your voice be heard if you agree that the refuge is too valuable to sacrifice to a group of short-sighted developers.

Marnie Prange
Stevensville

Blown away by SID proposal

Dear Editor,

We have a planning board that represents different parts of the public. A farmer, a realtor, a mortgage broker, a retired software consultant, a developer, a wife of a California Corporation CEO, and our local State Senator, a retired university professor.

The commissioners appointed these individuals to give a down to earth view of what each and every development will do to this valley.

Balance and informed decisions are what we would pray for but what we get is sometimes tainted by our layered perspective of life.

One of the perspectives made to me by our local developer Chip Pigman was that he thinks we should have a special improvement district for the areas surrounding the new development. Well, right away I went into my 'protect the general public' mode. Then I slowed my thoughts down and started to open my mind... my parents explained without being open to others' perspective you'll never see the whole picture.

What the heck is this guy thinking? This would mean that the neighbors would have to pay to have a development change their neighborhood. Well, okay, let's walk that thought all the way through. If a special improvement district was put on Wilcox lane, it breaks down that the development would pay $117,252 and the surrounding neighbors would pay about $900,000 for improving the road. Now I'm thinking, this is unbelievable... that's the mother in me speaking (protector of communities, etc.)

But let's look at this. If the Commissioners voted on every SID then we're probably in some real trouble. But if we allowed the public to vote on each and every SID, would there be a problem?

Sheriff Chris Hoffman asked the voters for more money and they turned him down. And most of those expenses were caused because of the growth and development in our valley.

Right now voters are having bills slip under the radar because of new development but to actually say out loud that you would want an SID to cover the cost of a development even blows this open mind.

Kathleen Driscoll
Hamilton

Lolo Peak should be preserved

Dear Editor,

The Bitter Root Valley is blessed with pristine "open space" at Lolo Peak and Carlton Ridge - an American heritage. This forms the Bitter Root's northern entrance and Missoula valley's southwest rim with untouched glory on nearly year-around snow-capped Lolo Peak. Winging east, we find the unsurpassed national Carlton Ridge Research Natural Area where rare combination of climate and soil allows the world's only crossbred Alpine and Western Larch (Tamarack). These trees bestow the mountain's winter white that tenderly turns to summer blue-green, then losing needles, to awesome autumn orange. At little cost, solitude here is serenity to each who hikes, camps, hunts, fishes, or cross country skis.

Here, diligently and respectfully preserved is earliest recorded American history that influenced our western culture regarding the Salish, Nez Perce, and other tribes, Lewis and Clark pioneers, and early U.S. soldiers in one of a kind Lewis & Clark Travelers' Rest State Park and U.S. Forest Service Fort Fizzle Rest Area. Both serve as a welcome visitor centers.

Now, a Bitterroot Resort competitive to Vail and Aspen is proposed. Its planned Lolo Peak ski lift with a "village" below of 2200 "exclusive" housing units, golf, and shops would further increase traffic, taxes, and expenses in an already overly impacted infrastructure. Out here, with ribbons of vehicles on our already busy highways, we rely on a volunteer fire department, even for ambulatory needs.

My Holden/Carlton family has lived and worked in this place 137 continuous years. The souls of my 5 and 7-year old, 7th generation grandchildren recently fed upon the same primal forest in this designated primitive area as did grandparents who built Bitter Root Valley's first irrigation storage in 1886 at Carlton Lakes before Montana statehood. Invigorating winds breathed in their faces at 8252' elevation at Carlton Ridge Vista. Backpackers greeted them who, like grandparents who hunted, camped at the two pristine little high-mountain lakes that water the thirst of our semi-arid valley floor.

Now a Bitterroot Resort restaurant is proposed to feed the stomach and quench thirst at this very vista on national Forest Service land that belongs to us. Irrigation rights are needed for artificial snow. No comparison.

If one desires to ski or work at a resort, seven others counting Marshall (closed due to lack of snow) are within about 100 miles in any direction. Progress can be planned. It is a sad day indeed when we even consider giving up the souls of majestic Lolo Peak and Carlton Ridge. They stand sentry for us; let us guard them, our American heritage and open space.

Cheryl Holden Rice
Stevensville

Voice your opinion on subdivision

Dear Editor,

My letter is in regard to your article on the proposed 500-lot subdivision off the Eastside Highway adjacent to the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. My family and I have lived just to the north of this piece for over 25 years. I am not against development, but a development of this density and magnitude, irregardless of the amenities it may provide, is going to overload our infrastructure. Fire protection, law enforcement, schools and school buses, the Eastside Highway, the ground water supply, the Lee Metcalf Refuge, all will pay a price. The developer has offered a small sum to the Lone Rock and Stevensville School system. You and I will foot the rest of the bill for all of the above, and it will be high dollar. Go ahead with a subdivision of less density, but a lot of residents don't want and are not asking for a new town. I've seen this community come strongly together on many issues over the years. Now is the time to get involved and voice your opinion. There is a meeting for concerned citizens Dec 13th, 7:00 p.m. at Lone Rock School. Be there if you care.

Scott and Marcia Bloom
Stevensville

Too much development

Dear Editor,

In response to the article published on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 about developers coming into the Lone Rock and Stevensville areas: It is my opinion that your story has projected to this community, that these developers are doing us a favor, by putting in huge subdivisions in the numbers equal to that of the size of Stevensville itself. Who do these people think they're fooling? If anyoneıs been following the trend of what is happening to our community and outlying areas, they know that our nice little piece of Montana, that by the way is one of the oldest towns in Montana, is being overburdened with development.

Drive around and take a look at all the white PVC pipe sticking up out of the ground. Those are perk test areas for development. Take a drive and you will get tired of counting them all. Does anyone really think that these developers are going to live in the messes that they create? I highly doubt it. Stevensville has about seven hundred homes that its City services take care of. OK, let's do the math. If this development goes in off of Eastside Hwy that will be five to six hundred homes. It will be its own little city.

These developers need to tell the truth, not selectively go around and talk to just a few people, refuge managers, a Stevensville firefighter, the park bureau, and part of the school board. Let's see if these developers will come out and face the people of the area that they are going to destroy. That is exactly what they are going to do if we let them. These people are only interested in one thing and we all know what that is, money of course. These developers have found legal ways to get around having to pay any kind of an impact fee for the services that the whole area will be in need of. That is why they are buying up all the large pieces of land and doing what they do. It costs them less and they make larger profits.

Wake up, people! This is going to affect all who live here greatly. Think for just a moment, how much money all of this is going to cost. And guess who gets to pay for it. You got it. We do. Don't be fooled. We as existing, taxpaying residents will have to pay the price for the services if it is approved. I think our taxes have gone just about to the maximum for what we are getting out of it. All this developer has to basically do is build his homes and whatever utilities that it requires for these homes to function.

Here are some of the things that we get to pay for: road maintenance and new roads; schools for all the kids that will be living in this mini-city; busses to bus the kids to the new schools; school bus driver and teacher wages; higher taxes because of the new school and busses that will be needed. This will affect fire department personnel and equipment, sheriff and police services, Lee Metcalf refuge, noise and air pollution, increase in crime, etc. We all need to realize that this is going to affect all taxpayers and property owners in this area and all of Ravalli County to a certain extent. Why are we building more homes when we all know that this valley does not fully support those who live here already?

Hey, somebody has got to listen. The economy here does not support the population density that these developers are trying to create. This is not Aspen, Sun Valley or any other resort type of area. This is a little area that people go to work, come home, ride their horses up and down the roads, go hunting and fishing, pretty much know all the people within at least a three-mile radius if not more. So, do we really want to let this area be turned into a giant mess at the profit of just a few developers?

It is here, and if we don't start doing something to stop it, it will be too late. Let our county commissioners know that they are in their offices to work for our community, not the out-of-state developers. Let them be reminded that we put them there, and we can always put someone else there if they don't do what they are supposed to do. Every resident should take a look at the Ravalli County growth policy. It has some interesting information in it. I have read it at least five times and still can't find where the property owners in the county are really protected from sure disaster of developers. If anyone hasn't driven to Missoula in a while then they should. Go out by the airport and see the mini-California that has been created. That is what you are going to look at right there off Eastside Hwy if you don't stand up and fight against this kind of growth. And I mean right now! People will tell you that growth is inevitable, and that is true to a certain extent. Let's be just a little wiser in our growth and how we plan for it. If we let our commissioners approve these huge subdivisions then we who live here already and have lived here for years are going to be greatly disappointed that we didn't stand up and say no to this kind of building in our rural areas. That's right, rural. We are not a suburb of Missoula. If we don't stop it now, we will be.

There are lots of ways that builders and contractors can make a good profit without creating huge subdivisions. How about taking some of the rundown homes in the area and remodeling them and improving on what's already there? I have been a builder in this area. I know for a fact how these kinds of developments can impact small areas in a negative way. I hope it won't happen to ours.

Steve Conner
Stevensville

Library image versus library content

Dear Editor,

I have never thought of myself as naive, but it must be true. According to librarian Renee McGrath at the North Valley Library, itıs not about the books. Her mission is to create space, on the shelves, that is. The notion that libraries are repositories for knowledge, language and ideas is passe. Her policy, now vigorously being put into effect, is to cull every book that has not been checked out in the past five years, no exceptions.

I spent a few days last week stacking these discards for the Friends of the Library book sale. Not just odds and ends, but row upon row of books with historic and literary value.

Our library once owned a sizable collection by Nobel laureate, Pearl S. Buck. All but one is gone. Ditto for Nobel laureates William Golding and Sinclair Lewis. The library's collections by Pulitzer prize winners John Hersey, Edna Ferber and Allen Drury have been severely thinned or have disappeared altogether. No more John Cheever, John Dos Passos, Erskine Caldwell, James Dickey, John Fowles, Bernard Malamud or Lawrence Durrell. The library lost a remarkable set of Edgar Rice Burroughs this week, as well a dozen or so of C.S. Forester's Hornblower novels. Even noted modern writers such as Don DeLillo and James Ellroy did not escape the purge.

The truly frightening part is that there is no record of which books have been discarded. It was pure chance that I discovered what happened to the ones listed above, and that's just the first half of the alphabet.

The same policy is being applied to non-fiction. Why have waste half your shelf space on non-fiction when you could replace the entire collection with a just a few rows of the "for Dummies" series? I've been told it's a good thing. There will be room for more internet users; our kids won't have to read the real thing. The library is adding a coffee shop to attract browsers, just like Barnes and Noble.

I've resigned from the Friends of the Library. It doesn't feel the same now that it's the Friends of the North Valley Cyber Cafe. I'm not too worried; I know where to find the books I want to read. But will you or your children be able to say the same?

Leslie Ann McGuire
Stevensville

Thanks from Hamilton Study Commission

Dear Editor,

The Hamilton City Study Commission would like to take the opportunity to thank all Hamilton citizens who participate in the November 8 election. It was an unprecedented turnout. Nearly 1200 voters made their choices for mayor, city council and Study Commission recommendations. We hope that this signals a new day for the City. Citizen participation in any election is crucial to effective and responsible government. We are amazed that so many voters took part this time. Thank you so much.

The next step for the Study Commission is to draft a "Transition Report" covering the new provision in our Plan of Government that will require city council approval for the hiring and firing of all city employees. This is a major change in staffing procedures. We appreciate the wisdom shown by the voters in making this decision. We hope that the new council and mayor will join us in drafting this report.

Our second Recommendation, which was to remove the mayor as Presiding Officer of the city council meetings, narrowly failed with 47% of the votes. The third Recommendation, which was to increase the Council size to 7, also narrowly failed with 49% of the votes. We continue to believe that many citizens misunderstood the ballot due to the confusing language used by the City Attorney when he rewrote our ballot proposal against our will. We received many complaints about this illegal action by Ken Bell.

Every since the election results were announced, we have received a great number of phone calls asking about the winning candidates, and what these changes mean for the future of Hamilton City residents are powerfully divided about who they believe should be running their community. This was evident in the voting tallies, with no clear mandate to any particular candidate. We hope that the new mayor and city council will recognize this and act accordingly. As Ronald Reagan once said, "To be a successful leader, you have to have people willing to follow." To our new leaders, we can only say: "Put your priority where it belongs - the well-being of Hamilton citizens." And always remember - leadership means standing up and being accountable.

The principles of honesty and integrity are not outdated ideals of a bygone era, but are really the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which Hamilton will either prosper or falter. Citizens innately know that they have the right to be treated with kindness, honesty and respect, and should not settle for less from their elected representatives.

We wish all of our new city staff the best of success. Please feel free to contact any member of the study commission at any time. We have gained a great deal of knowledge about the inner workings of the Hamilton city government, and are more than willing to share this information with you. And to our fellow citizens, letıs all put our support to our new city government. They have a great deal of work to do in the coming months and years. We all need to consider attending Council meetings and workshops a and voicing our opinions about issues affecting us and other citizens. We need to continue to participate in our city government. And don't forget that copies of our Final Report are still available at City Hall, The Annex, and the Library. Please stop in and pick up a copy.

Thank you all, again, for your many calls and words of appreciation for the Study Commission. We will continue to keep you informed along the way, as the Commission work comes to an end in early 2006.

Hamilton Study Commission: Bob Frost, Ellen Prosser, Lorraine Crotty and Dave Snell

Thanks from Main Street Assn.

Dear Editor,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Town Maintenance Employees and the Town Police Department for the great job they did on First Friday, December 2. Your efforts helped the Parade of Lights go off successfully and safely - everything went like clock work. The efforts put forth by the Police Department in blocking the street and assuring safety for the wagon rides, horses and people are very much appreciated.

A big thank you to all of the volunteers from Civic Club, Stevensville Main Street Association and participating community members for making the Christmas Gift Fair and First Friday a great event!

Joan Prather, Program Director
Stevensville Main Street Association