L&C County Commission denies 4x4 Road RID request

Lewis and Clark County Commissioners took the advice of county staff at their meeting in Helena Aug. 16, and voted unanimously to deny the request to create a rural improvement district for the 4x4 Road east of Lincoln.

The RID would have covered the cost of applying soil stabilization or dust abatement to the main 4x4 Road, at an annual cost of $72.21 per benefitted property

The discovery that one such property in the proposed district is a parcel of School Trust Land, prompted the Commission's decision, which was bolsterd by concerns that many property owners in the area were either confused or lacked the correct information about the RID.

"We're going to go back to the drawing board," said Commissioner Susan Good Geise during the monthly meeting of the Upper Blackfoot Valley Community Council Aug. 21. "We're going to have a bunch of meetings here in Lincoln."

Geise said she learned about the state parcel following the Lincoln Government Day Meeting and explained that school trust lands are exempt from taxation or levies under state law.

Removing the state land from the district would have forced them to redraw the boundary, but Geise thought it would be easy to leave it in and simply not assess it the annual fee. Spreading the difference out among the other benefited properties would have added roughly 78 cents to each one, she said.

That solution might have allowed for the RID to move ahead without violating the law, but the residents who attended the meeting made it clear approving it without further local discussion stood to sow divisions among neighbors.

Giese said some "really, really passionate" people who showed up to the meeting in Helena were opposed to it for various reasons.

"Some people had information that was old, there was a lot of confusion, and the staff recommendation was that it be denied for now... and try to take another run at it through the winter and see if we can get more participation earlier on, when the plans are initially being drawn up." she said.

Among the top concerns were the cost per parcel of the RID, which could add up for people who own multiple lots, and the fact that property owners on Snow Fleury and Snow Drift Lanes, who use a short section of 4x4 Road, would have to pay as benefited properties though those lanes wouldn't be treated.

"I have been told they might have to be in their own separate RID, because a bunch of other people don't benefit from having them in (the proposed 4x4 road) RID at all," Geise said."

Still more confusion also centered around whether the RID would mean an end to regular county maintenance of the road.

Lewis and Clark county Public Works Director Eric Griffin said the county would continue to grade, roll and water the road as it normally does at no cost to property owners. He said that makes the 4x4 Road RID a good deal because that is something most of the county's 100-plus RIDs do pay extra for.

Although Geise said she was unhappy about how things ended up, she sees it as a chance to make sure residents are all on the same page.

"The people who were initiating this seem to be a small nucleus of people, but they were the ones really calling a lot of the shots, she said. "We would like to broaden that out a little more and take a look at what the ramifications would be if, in fact, there would need to be two RIDS, and I'm not exactly clear on why that is or what that process is."

One possible solution she mentioned could involve the creation of a homeowners association, rather than a RID, to pay for the cost of the soils stabilizations.

"I don't know what the solution should be but I want it to come from the people of Lincoln and not from Helena."