Letters to the editor Sept. 7

Kalispell impact fees

The Aug. 13 Inter Lake editorial (Kalispell misses mark on impact fees) was right on. Lower the impact fees for hook ups to city utilities by 50% and see new home prices sky rocket by 60%! This is not affordable housing.

Now who pays for critical water and sewer infrastructure projects and ongoing system maintenance? Surprise? No, we the long-term citizen taxpayers who have bought and paid for the existing infrastructure and will pay much more with the recently approved water fee increases (permanent) that amount to over 50% plus gallon usage fees.

Those most affected are our fixed-income senior citizens who struggle now with all the rising costs. An unintended consequence soon will be too expensive to water our lawns. Then we will see Arizona-style sand and cactus landscaping.

The solution is to create Special Improvement Districts for all new subdivisions and prorate costs for extending city services to said developments. There is no justification for long-term citizen taxpayers to supplement new construction costs of any city services.

Then our sympathetic caring City Council can rethink their recent 50% plus water rate increase!

— Dale Haarr, Kalispell

Abell right on homeless issue

Thank you, Flathead County Commissioner Brad Abel (and to the other two commissioners, too) for the guts to honestly confront the reality regarding the homeless population in the Flathead Valley.

Missoula seems to have adopted the policy of “build it, and they will come,” and the homeless came.

In the Good Samaritan Biblical passages in Luke 10:29-37, where a traveler fell among robbers, there is no mention of drugs, human waste or the choice of the victim to be a victim. It seems the Good Samaritan was apparently a working ordinary citizen who used his own resources in responding with compassion.

I think that is what Brad Abel is talking about and dealing with. And we much appreciate him for stepping forward and clearly stating the issues, and the fact that the victim of homelessness must want to solve their own problem.

— Mark Metzger, Kalispell

Evergreen development

I just want to send a shout out to Tractor Supply for bringing life back into a building that’s been a fixture in the Evergreen area for years. Long before Walmart came to town, K-Mart was the hub of the valley.

And it’s nice to see that, instead of tearing down. It’s coming back to life. With all the empty buildings around town, it’s just nice to see.

— Annie Tellow, Kalispell