Residents question county road plan
Residents who live along many of the substandard roads the county wants to stop maintaining voiced objections and raised concerns about property values, fire protection and liability at a public hearing on Monday.
The county commissioners are considering a plan to eliminate maintenance and snow removal on portions of 21 county roads, as recommended by the county’s Road Advisory Committee.
The commissioners took two resolutions under advisement — one to set criteria for eliminating maintenance and another to stop maintaining the proposed road segments. They will vote on both resolutions at 10:30 a.m. June 1.
Stewart Stadler of Whitefish was among the nearly 20 county residents who spoke at Monday’s hearing. He lives off East Lakeshore Drive on the “No Name Road” leading to Les Mason State Park. That 300-yard stretch of road has existed as a county-maintained road for at least 50 years and is the only access to the state park on Whitefish Lake, Stadler pointed out.
Six homes are located along the short stretch, but the road gets hundreds of vehicle trips per day in the summer by those using Les Mason State Park. In the winter there’s a fair amount of use by ice fishermen, cross-country skiers and other recreationalists.
“This road should be considered as a major county road with significant year-round use by all county residents for recreational purposes,” Stadler said.
Also opposed to the road-maintenance abandonment was Mark Maskill, manager of the Creston National Fish Hatchery. Kauffman Lane, one of the roads the county wants to drop, runs adjacent to the western boundary of the hatchery property.
“This road is an important access point for the public to utilize forested recreational lands surrounding the Jessup Mill Pond, for wildfire control measures, grounds maintenance, fishery management activities and public educational programs,” Maskill said, adding that the hatchery is willing to work with the county to keep the road maintained.
Kauffman Lane residents Mark and Connie Ottey and Don Hauth likewise opposed the county’s proposal.
Hauth said his 94-year-old father lives with him part time and will be living with him full time and needs access to emergency services. He also wondered if the Postal Service will bring the mail if the road isn’t plowed, and said his insurance agent told him if there’s no emergency access, his homeowners policy may not be renewed.
“More taxes and less service; that’s unacceptable,” Hauth said.
“Why now?” was a question many people had. Quentin Vitt of Vitt Lane said his road has been maintained by the county for more than 80 years.
Others wondered about home values plummeting without road maintenance or fire-truck access.
A tight county budget is driving the move to reduce road maintenance.
“Let me assure you that if we could, we’d maintain and even pave every road, but there are limited resources,” Commissioner Joe Brenneman said.
The county developed six criteria for removing roads from the maintenance schedule. Obstructions, narrow widths, steepness and no room for turning around heavy equipment are key reasons proposed for abandoning roads. The county also will not maintain any alleyways.
Jim Sutherland of Hungry Horse was the only person who spoke in favor of the proposal because he wants to see the alley near his home closed off because it’s narrow and a place where people throw garbage.
Road Advisory Committee member Charles Lapp said the committee has been working on the maintenance issue for a long time. He noted that there are many other roads that “need to be looked at.” He pointed to homes in rural subdivisions and other outlying places that depend on private maintenance.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com