Public opinion firmly against boat facility

Just minutes into Pete Rice's description of his proposed boat-storage facility on Riverside Road, someone accidentally leaned against the light switch and plunged the conference room into darkness.

"It's a sign!" someone yelled.

The lights came back on, but the evening held few bright spots for Rice and his proposal.

More than 100 people attended Thursday's public meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn. The Flathead Conservation District hosted the meeting to give the public a chance to speak before the district board takes official action on the project's "310" permit application.

The permits are required before anyone can do work in or near a river or stream. The purpose of the law (310 refers to the section of state codes) is to ensure projects on rivers do not damage the waterway, bank or the interests of adjoining landowners.

Rice asserted that his proposal meets a real need in the Flathead Valley. He said exorbitant costs for moorage on the lake and crowded public access sites leave the average family with few options to access Flathead Lake. Rice said the market value for a boat slip at Eagle Bend is about $110,000.

Initial plans for the project - located eight miles upriver from the lake - call for three boat ramps, two 40-foot docks, 90 feet of riprap and one or two buildings that would house 60 to 90 boats. At full build-out, more buildings could be added that would store up to 280 boats.

"Of the 280, and you can check this statement out by going to other marinas, the usage on a high-frequency day is about 20 percent of all the boats," Rice said.

That comes out to 56 boats coming and going on a busy day.

Public comment was almost unanimously opposed to the facility. People consistently cited concerns over water quality, bank erosion and the commercialization of the Flathead River.

The conservation district, however, cannot take secondary effects into consideration when approving or denying the permit. All the agency reviews are the impacts from the docks, ramps and riprap.

"This is a terrible idea," Mark Holston said. "It's hard to believe we are sitting here tonight giving something like this any consideration. This is a catastrophic failure of government to deal with an issue like this."

Elsa Putzier stood up and read from Article 9 of the Montana Constitution that says, "The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations."

Putzier told the board: "Don't tell me you don't have the authority to protect the river. You are mandated to protect the river."

Diane Johnson, who lives downstream from the proposed project, also took exception to the district's claim that secondary effects can't be considered.

"Morally, you have the right to deny something like this," Johnson said. "One man's right to make a bunch of money doesn't negate hundreds of other landowners' rights. Deny this. Let them take it to the court systems."

Rice did have a lone supporter in the audience. The man, who didn't give his name, said that riverbank erosion was the fault of individual property owners who weren't taking care of their land.

"You people have to take care of your own property," he said. "You look for someone else to fix your own problem. You people have got to quit intruding on our rights for access on the water. Look at the people complaining about this. They are the ones letting their land erode."

The man also got into a shouting match after the meeting was over.

Former county Commissioner Henry Oldenburg, who owns land downstream from Rice's property, said he has been taking care of his shoreline with riprap since he was 10.

"I took care of my property, sir, and those boats have destroyed it," Oldenburg said. "I stand opposed to this for the sake of the heritage given to me by my parents and grandparents."

The Flathead Conservation District's next meeting is Monday night, but the board probably will delay addressing Rice's application until its April meeting. The district will continue to take written public comment.

For more information about the district or the permit process, visit www.flatheadcd.org.

Reporter Michael Richeson may be reached at 758-4459 or by E-mail at mricheson@dailyinterlake.com