Commissioners slip up on slump
The Flathead County commissioners’ recent decision to reject a sizable federal grant to stabilize a section of bluff north of Kalispell has left a lot of people scratching their heads.
A group of homeowners worked for nearly four years — with a go-ahead from the commissioners — to get a slope stabilization mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA will put in $298,000, and the homeowners have raised their 25 percent match of $102,000. The money would be used to shore up an area prone to slumping, creating safer slopes and better drainage.
Everything appeared to be in order, with the county serving as the pass-through vehicle for the grant money. And since the county has no money on the line, it seemed like the proverbial win-win situation. Homeowners get a safer environment and county taxpayers don’t have to foot the bill.
Last October the commissioners gave a favorable nod to continue the process, but on March 26 the effort came to a screeching halt when two of the three commissioners voted to terminate the grant process.
The commissioners say they’re worried the county could be held liable if the bluff, located off Whitefish Stage Road near the Granary Ridge development above Village Greens, were to fail one day.
Homeowners who put their own money on the line to fix the problem are understandably frustrated, since the commissioners so far have refused to consider other alternatives such as a hold-harmless agreement. They also declined to schedule a time on their agenda to further discuss the matter. That kind of maneuvering by the commissioners is shameful.
Now another legal battle has begun for the county, jump-started by the very commissioners who all campaigned that they didn’t want the county involved in so many lawsuits. A judge has issued a temporary restraining order, stopping the county from terminating the federal grant. A court hearing is slated next Thursday.
The affected homeowners maintain the county has just as much liability by thwarting the grant, and we have to agree. We wonder how the commissioners’ do-nothing approach would hold up in court if there were future property damage or even personal injuries from further slumping that could have been avoided by the planned stabilization project.
Our county leaders are worried this could set a precedent for handling other slump-prone areas. We hope it would spur other neighborhoods to spend the same time and effort these homeowners have invested in protecting their property.
The commissioners should be encouraging this kind of citizen involvement in improving their neighborhoods, not doing everything in their power to stop it.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.