County doubles Evergreen donation

A year after agreeing to give the Evergreen sewer district 10 acres for a new

sewage treatment plant, the Flathead County commissioners doubled their offer.

A year after agreeing to give the Evergreen sewer district 10 acres for a new sewage treatment plant, the Flathead County commissioners doubled their offer.

On Monday, the commissioners took the first step toward giving 20 acres to the district.

The county-owned property is located near the Flathead Vo-Ag school and Stillwater Christian School along FFA Drive about a mile east of Kalispell's wastewater treatment plant.

The exact boundary of the site still has to be determined. The latest discussions put it immediately south of the Vo-Ag building adjacent to the Stillwater River.

Before the property can be given away, a resolution of intent would need to be approved. The resolution would include a public comment period.

On Monday, the commissioners voted 2-1 to bring forward such a resolution as soon as the boundaries of the 20 acres are determined.

If approved, the resolution would give the sewer district an option on the property. It would have 10 years to secure the financing needed to build a new treatment plant. If the deadline is met, the district would get the property; if not, the option would expire.

Commissioner Joe Brenneman voted against Monday's motion, saying this approach was "anathema" to good planning.

"This is taking a narrow view, rather than considering from a broader perspective where we need to put things," he said. "We need to look at the whole valley."

Brenneman recommended doing a feasibility study for the best location for a regional sewage treatment facility, rather than just focusing on a plant for Evergreen and the surrounding area.

"If the study shows that [FFA Drive] is the right location, then the county can donate the land," he said. "And if it shows that somewhere else is better, then we can sell this land and use the money for the regional plant."

Jack Fallon, a longtime director of the Evergreen sewer district, said this wouldn't be an "Evergreen-only" facility.

"That's never been our intent," he said. "To us, it's a regional concept. But the Evergreen district seems to be the entity that's able to pursue something like this."

Fallon said the FFA property offers several advantages over other potential treatment-plant sites.

For example, Evergreen's sewer lines already run down Willow Glen to Twin Acres Road, passing within about a half-mile of the FFA site.

Extending the lines down FFA Drive would cost about $270,000, compared to potentially millions of dollars for other sites.

Moreover, effluent from the plant would be discharged into the Stillwater River, which has a much higher average flow rate than Ashley Creek, where Kalispell's plant discharges.

The higher flows would dilute the effluent more effectively, benefiting water quality.

"There would be less impacts on the receiving water than if this sewage flowed to Kalispell's plant," said Andy Hyde with Carver Engineering, the district's technical consultant.

"Ashley Creek doesn't have infinite capacity to handle more sewage," Hyde said. A new plant on the Stillwater River "would help Kalispell in the long run by giving them the ability to grow in other areas."

Fallon said a new plant could be built on 10 acres, which was what the district requested last year. However, a 20-acre site would give it room for future expansion, as well as a buffer area to help reduce any impacts on neighboring properties.

Commissioner Bob Watne voted in favor of Monday's action without comment.

Commissioner Gary Hall cast the other "yes" vote. He said he was unwilling to wait for a valleywide study that would take into account the future needs of the three municipalities.

"I don't think we have that luxury," Hall said. "But I would implore you folks to continue a dialogue with Kalispell. I'd love to have them on board and in agreement with this."

Once a final resolution granting the 10-year option is approved, the Evergreen district would invest about $125,000 in a feasibility study, Fallon said. The study would look at a variety of issues, including how big the plant should be and what it would cost.

If the study indicates that this is an appropriate site for the plant, the district would start researching how to pay for it.

Previous estimates have suggested that it could cost as much as $25 million for a facility that would handle 2 million gallons of sewage per day.

Evergreen currently handles less than 500,000 gallons of sewage per day. The sewage is sent to Kalispell's plant for treatment, under an agreement that runs for another eight or nine years.

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com