The long, hot dusty summer
No money. Too many miles of road.
And it's an unusually hot and dry summer, so the dust is going to fly.
Many recent letters to the editor are rightfully acknowledging the economic realities of paving dusty county roads: It just isn't going to happen in the near future because there are no funds for it.
But that doesn't mean that it should not be an issue that should be debated, a problem that local officials need to wrestle with for a long-term solution.
Flathead County has taken an important step in this regard, with new subdivision regulations that will require more subdivision developers to pave private and county roads that provide access to the subdivisions.
Initially, the requirement was going to be imposed on subdivisions that produce combined "average daily traffic" volume of 200 trips or more. But that standard was recently tightened, applying to subdivisions that produce 100 daily trips.
It's a policy that makes sense in terms of equity and economics. A new 100-home subdivision that is served by a crummy, dusty county road may eventually produce 100 complainers demanding that the road be paved at a cost to the general county taxpayer.
But why should they have priority over people in a 10-home subdivision who have been living with a dusty county road for 30 years?
The actual long-term costs of new development need to be addressed up front, rather than deferred to a future in which dust abatement will certainly be a bigger issue.
The state Department of Environmental Quality is scrutinizing Flathead County for not meeting air quality standards. The state determined that a previous county dust control plan was inadequate. The county recently sent in a revised plan that includes the changes in subdivision paving requirements among other added commitments.
It's not a stretch to assume that in years to come, the state will require stricter air quality standards and dust control measures. Even without adequate funding for paving now, it's an issue that's not going to go away.