County holds plan meeting in Somers
Flathead County planning staff met with members of the Somers community last Thursday regarding potential boundaries for a neighborhood plan. However, that train seemingly derailed before it ever left the station.
About 40 Somers property owners attended the meeting, which was organized and guided by the planning staff, including Flathead County planners Allison Mouch and Andrew Hagemeier and Flathead County Planning Director Jeff Harris. Mouch, who moderated the meeting, provided a brief explanation of neighborhood planning boundaries and then moved quickly to divide the property owners into smaller groups to discuss what seemed to them logical places for boundaries to exist.
Yet, a look around the room a hour-and-a-half later revealed multiple maps surrounded by Somers residents or landowners who had placed few if any markings and even fewer potential boundaries. That, residents said, was largely due to the fact that they still knew very little about neighborhood plans.
"You're asking people to draw boundaries and make decisions without understanding what a neighborhood plan is," Kitty Rich told the planning staff at the conclusion of the meeting.
Others voiced agreement with Rich, adding that they believed the planning staff should present a detailed summary of other neighborhood plans and the reasons for which the respective communities decided to form one.
"I think there are a lot of people who understand the mechanism of the plan, but they don't understand what they're buying into by becoming a part of the plan," said John Thomas of A2Z Engineering, a contractor who has done work in the Somers area.
While most of the dialogue remained civil and sincere, a few expressed outrage at the county for even organizing such a meeting. Jim Etzler, who owns property near Spring Creek Road, accused the County of disregarding its own growth policy.
"What I would suggest is, if you real want to see this plan go forward, follow the growth policy," Etzler said. "Neighborhood plans area supposed to be initiated by the community. If it's the people right inside of Somers that want it, then take a small area and do it and create your plan."
Issues were also raised concerning the post cards sent out by the county to Somers landowners to inquire whether or not they supported a neighborhood plan. Some alleged that not everyone had received a postcard or been notified of the last two meetings.
They further questioned the validity of drawing any conclusions based upon the number of responses from that mailing, since only 30 percent of the post cards have been returned at the present time.
Mouch referred to the 30 percent response ratio as "very significant," adding that a 10 percent response is typical in most communities. And, while she staid that the planning staff would love to see a majority of property owners respond, she stressed that such a response is unheard of. She invited any advice on how to improve the percentage of responses from the Somers area.
"There's a lot of concern about people not responding, but you have to take responsibility for yourself," Somers resident and local business owner Michelle Ahern said. "I don't know what you can do to make people respond."
The next meeting will be held Monday, June 15. That meeting will take place at Somers Middle School and is schedule to begin at 6:30 p.m. All Somers landowners and interested parties are encouraged to attend.