County finalizes land purchase for new trash site
Another step in the completion of the new Bigfork trash site has been completed.
Flathead County Public Works Director David Prunty signed papers on Friday finalizing the purchase of property for the new site.
Flathead County was scheduled to close on the purchase of five acres for the new site from Tim Calaway on Nov. 7, but discovered that a new survey of the parcel would be needed. Because the five acres were just a portion of a larger tract of the original Certificate of Subdivision, the county had to go through the process for approval for the two new tracts of land.
Procuring the land was a major step in completing the project. Now that the property is secured, the county will start the design process and hopes to go to public bid for construction in late April or May, Prunty said. He said construction could start in late June or early July and have the site operating by September.
“All times could float a bit, but unless something really strange happens this fall we should be up and running,” Prunty said.
The land is near the intersection of Montana 35 and 83, east of CrossRoads Fellowship.
The new container site will have improved recycling, with two 30-yard blue bins and a cardboard compactor.
The new site will be staffed seven days a week and will be landscaped to hide the containers.
“This project will greatly improve our service to our customers in the area, in the safety of them and our employees,” Prunty said.
The county had initially proposed closing the Bigfork greenbox site, consolidating with the Somers and Creston sites. But after significant pushback from the community the county decided to build an improved site for Bigfork, which will be funded by a special tax district.
The estimated annual cost to landowners in the tax district would be $39.75.
Prunty said the new tax fees wouldn’t be assessed until a year after the site has opened, when the county knows for sure what the cost of construction was and how much it costs to operate.
While the new trash site is in progress the old Bigfork site has remained open, though recycling was removed from the site at the first of the year after the county’s contract with Valley Recycling ended.
When the new Bigfork greenbox site opens it will be staffed and equipped with the same recycling and trash system as the rest of the county sites but will be funded by a special fee area rather than from the county solid waste district fund. The new Bigfork site could potentially serve as a model for what will be done in Lakeside, where the county also planned to close the greenbox site in favor of consolidation. Lakeside would also like to keep their trash site.