Slope repair may start this fall
The stabilization of a slump-prone bluff near Village Greens golf community is finally moving forward six years after the first landslide occurred.
The Flathead County commissioners on Tuesday awarded a contract for the project — not to exceed $945,000 — to Schellinger Construction of Columbia Falls and Tetra Tech of Missoula. The two firms submitted a team proposal, with Tetra Tech handling the design and engineering and Schellinger doing the construction work.
“Ideally work could begin later this fall,” county Grant Administrator Whitney Aschenwald said. “That would be our hope.”
Aschenwald has been handling the paperwork for the project since the county was forced to get involved with the stabilization project under a Flathead District Court order in April 2014.
“This has been a long, arduous task for everyone,” said Chuck Wilhoit, who represented Village Greens on a committee that reviewed two proposals for the stabilization work.
Schellinger and Tetra Tech scored higher in the review process than the other team proposal from Nelcon and KLJ Engineering. Nelcon and KLJ proposed to do the work for $949,000, but price was only one factor in the scoring process, Aschenwald said.
Homeowners whose property adjoins the slump area have been working for six years to find a way to stabilize a section of the bluff that first collapsed in 2010. A second slide occurred in June 2014 following record rainfall.
After the homeowners were successful in getting a $400,000 slope stabilization mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, the project was stymied when the county commissioners declined to serve as the sponsoring government agency.
The commissioners expressed concern about the county’s liability if the slope work were to fail.
Two of the homeowners who live along Whitefish Stage Road on top of the bluff then sued the county and a district judge ordered the commissioners to follow through with the federal grant.
Finding someone to complete the construction work was easier said than done, though.
Late last year the project stalled because the county received no bids from contractors. The total approved project budget is nearly $1.2 million, including various in-kind contributions. Subtracting the in-kind donations and costs of work already done on the project, the overall cost was estimated at $952,000.
The project will consist of four design elements: drainage improvements, a gravel buttress, granular backfill slope support and some flattening of the slope brow, accompanied with revegetation and reseeding.
To secure the rest of the money needed for the slope fix, Aschenwald took the lead in applying for additional grant money to handle the cost overrun.
The county won an additional $798,000 from the federal agency, which includes an innovative in-kind 25 percent match from property owners valued at $176,000.
Homeowners worked with the Flathead County Economic Development Authority to get the fill dirt needed for the project. The economic development authority will supply 17,600 yards of soil it needs removed from the Glacier Rail Park project, at an in-kind cost of $10 per yard, Aschenwald said.
Homeowners also chipped in an additional $23,500 in cash, beyond their original cash match of $102,000 for the $400,000 FEMA grant.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com