The commissioners also look ready to ask folks in Seeley Lake if they want to levy a resort tax. At a Wednesday afternoon hearing that drew a couple hours of public comment in the Missoula County Courthouse Annex, the commissioners also postponed a zoning amendment for Placid Lake in order to shore up some language and ensure the regulations pass legal muster.
Board Chairwoman Jean Curtiss said based on public comment, the commissioners plan to OK the items headed for the ballot. Chief administrative officer Dale Bickell said the commissioners likely will sign off Tuesday on placing the general obligation bond on the ballot.
At the meeting, Bickell said the Emergency Operations Center has been in the works for a long time. The current center is inadequate in many ways, including its space and technology, and he said those shortcomings hurt county residents.
“Providing inadequate space contributes to increased turnover and decreased levels of service,” Bickell said in a prepared statement.
The new center is planned to go up next to the detention center on Mullan Road and house the 9-1-1 dispatch center and sheriff's office, and act as a regional training facility for emergency responders.
Its cost is running roughly $23 million. The county has set aside more than $4 million from land sales and federal funding for the project, and additional federal money is pending. The ballot will ask voters to contribute roughly $15.7 million.
County estimates put the annual cost for the center at $27.82 to a property owner who owns a house with a market value of $200,000. A house with an assessed value of $200,000 would cost the owner an estimated $40.85 a year for the project.
Missoula County Sheriff Mike McMeekin and director of emergency services Bob Reid both spoke in favor of placing the measure on the ballot.
Reid said dispatchers reach 28 agencies, and the job is difficult. Employees have reached the limit of their ability to do the job well in the current facility, he said. And responders are only as effective as the dispatchers' ability to get them on the scene.
The commissioners said it would be a mistake to wait any longer to build a new center. Commissioner Larry Anderson said he isn't generally one to support increases in taxes, but the center is needed. He also commended the county for its vision and for planning ahead.
Commissioner Bill Carey said making the pitch to voters will be “a bit of an uphill effort,” but the time is ripe for the project.
“Things aren't going to get any less expensive to build,” Carey said.
Curtiss agreed. She said the county has saved money for the center and already set aside land.
“I think we'd be remiss to wait any longer,” Curtiss said.
The commissioners also heard support for a resort tax in Seeley Lake, though Councilman Walt Hill said the tax isn't a shoo-in by any means. It wouldn't cover grocery food, but it would cover luxury items, though they aren't fully defined yet.
In any case, some residents don't want to pay an extra 3 percent on their dinner bill, he said.
That crowd didn't show up Wednesday, though. Instead, the public told commissioners they hoped the resort tax would bring in money to support expensive infrastructure.
Addrien Marx told a story of one couple at the meeting, and she said their story represented the situation of many in Seeley Lake. The couple built up their nest egg, made a budget and bought a small piece of land.
“They put a cute little dream home on that land,” Marx said.
Then, a water bond put a kink in their future. They went into sticker shock when they saw the unexpected bill, and Marx said similar bills are coming.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. We're looking at sewer and other things,” Marx said.
She said the resort tax is one of the solutions because it means visitors will pick up some of the tab.
Hill estimated the tax would bring in roughly $100,000 a year, as it does in St. Regis. It brings in some $1.8 million to West Yellowstone and $2.3 million to Big Sky, he said.
The boundaries of the resort district in Seeley Lake are irregular because the area needs to meet the state's income requirements, Hill said. And that means including businesses and excluding some retirees.
Only people who live in the district get to vote, and that poses a challenge for some supporters. Hill said some people who support the tax and have businesses in the district can't actually vote on the matter because they don't live in the district.
In any case, the commissioners sounded inclined to let voters have a shot at the measure.
“Sounds like people would like it on the ballot,” Curtiss said.
At the meeting, the commissioners also heard from people who have property on Placid Lake. Members of the Placid Lake Cabin Owners' Association are asking the county to amend zoning around the lake.
Basically, they want to keep the lake the peaceful place it is, and they want to keep commercial interests out.
They fear Plum Creek will build condos upland from the lake, and then buy lakefront property that funnels those people and their boats onto the water. They also want the ability to rebuild their old cabins close to the lake if fire burns them down.
Seeley Lake is working on a growth plan that includes Placid Lake, but the Placid Lake association wants to move more quickly. Deputy County Attorney James McCubbin said the plans can't clash, and some of the regulations proposed by the association won't fly legally.
On Wednesday, the commissioners postponed the matter. They agreed to work on the regulations proposed by the cabin owners and bring forward a revision, perhaps in October.
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