Thinking outside the (green) box

Neighbors weigh in on county's plan to merge Kila and Marion sites

Nearly 100 Kila and Marion area residents showed up at a public hearing on Wednesday about a proposed consolidated green-box site, but many wondered out loud if it's already a done deal.

"Are we wasting our time here?" one man asked, pointing to a detailed map that displayed the new location at the intersection of Ashley Lake Road and U.S. 2.

Flathead County Solid Waste Board members insisted they'll consider all of the testimony before making a decision. The proposal is to close the Kila and Marion green-box sites as early as this summer and build a joint collection site about halfway between the two communities.

"We are paying attention," board vice chairman Bill Shaw told the crowd gathered at Flathead Valley Community College.

Public Works Director Dave Prunty said the board will review public comments at its Feb. 24 meeting.

"I didn't hear any new issues," Prunty said in a phone interview Thursday morning. "I'm recommending that they discuss it and if they find nothing new, that they put it on the action agenda for March."

The state Land Board also must OK an easement for the new site.

The solid-waste board distributed handouts at Wednesday's hearing that addressed concerns such as road safety, access, ground and surface water contamination and how to preserve the area's scenic corridor.

"We'd love to see construction [of the new site] in June and July," Prunty said. "It's budgeted for this year, but we'll roll it forward" if it's not completed during this year's construction season.

It will cost about $375,000 to engineer and construct the new site, and about $70,000 a year to operate it. To address highway safety, a new site entrance is proposed about 600 feet to the west of Ashley Lake Road.

The state Department of Transportation maintains that 1,220 feet of sight distance is necessary in both directions for a speed limit of 70 mph. The new approach off U.S. 2 has well over 1,500 feet of sight distance in each direction, the solid-waste board maintains.

But neighbors aren't convinced.

"That's one of the most dangerous stretches of highway," said Anna Marie Bailey of Kila, adding that motorists have been killed along that stretch of road.

Carl Glimm said loaded logging trucks won't be able to stop in time to accommodate vehicles turning off the highway. That area of U.S. 2 is shaded, causing icy conditions in the winter, he added.

Christina Miller, who operates a hardware store in Marion, was concerned about personal safety at the proposed remote site, a cell-phone dead zone. She also wondered if the county would save money by installing a video camera at the new site that could tell truck drivers when the green-box containers are full.

Marion residents want to keep their fenced site, which got a $70,000 facelift three years ago.

"I don't think we should be spending a penny to take away the Dumpsters," Judy Mathiason of Marion said, pointing out that residents from outlying Pleasant Valley and Lost Prairie also use the site. "Forget this whole silly idea and leave us with our site."

The county eventually wants to close all of the green-box sites.

"These sites eventually are going to go," Prunty told the audience. "I don't know of any other large [Montana] county that does business like this. These are rural refuse sites in what's become an urban county."

When the sites are eliminated - probably in about 10 years - licensed private haulers would provide trash-hauling service or residents could take their garbage to the county landfill.

Several Kila residents asked if the new site could be moved closer to Kalispell, but Prunty said he's looked for land in that area for six years and hasn't found a suitable site.

"We won't get away from the 'not in my back yard' feelings," he said, addressing the Ashley Lake Road area residents who don't want the site there.

Everyone seemed to agree that the current Kila site, located on a thin strip of county right of way next to the Smith Lake Waterfowl Production Area, is out of space and needs to be relocated.

Helen Pilling said the site has grown from five boxes when she moved to Kila almost 30 years ago to 40 boxes now.

"I totally understand why something has to change," Pilling said. "A lot of us are just spoiled. It's convenient. I don't think these gentlemen 'solid-waste board] are trying … to make our lives more difficult."

Pilling, a leader in the Rails to Trails effort, said she hopes one day to see the Kila green-box site used as a viewing area for the waterfowl area. Once the green boxes are relocated, the county can reclaim the land and the trail group can complete its asphalt trail. The trail currently stops on both sides of the green-box site.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com