Innovative paving plan includes Chapman Hill Road

The Flathead County Road Department is working with property owners in three outlying areas on a collaborative agreement to pave sections of several county roads.

In all three cases, the affected neighbors don’t want to use a rural special improvement district as the funding mechanism that stretches payments out over a number of years. Instead, they want to pay the money for the road improvements up-front.

If the commissioners approve the innovative funding mechanism, the county would provide various levels of funding in a cost-sharing arrangement, according to Public Works Director Dave Prunty.

One of the projects involves paving 1.5 miles of the north end of West Valley Drive. Four property owners along the road are spearheading the project.

“They are the farthest along of any of the three proposed projects,” Prunty said. “They have performed the traffic analysis showing the costs to be 60 percent county and 40 percent citizens.”

In other words, 60 percent of the traffic on that stretch of West Valley Drive is generated by the public while 40 percent of the use is by property owners along the road. There is a gravel-pit operation along the portion of the road targeted for paving.

Prunty said the north end of West Valley Drive has some failing sections during spring breakup, so the design will need to address the subgrade concerns.

Another of the projects is a short stretch of Chapman Hill Road in Bigfork near Eagle Bend Golf Course. There are very few residents who live along the 0.4-mile section, but it’s a through road for area residents to get to Bigfork, Prunty said. He estimated the cost-sharing split for the Chapman Hill Road project could be 80 percent from the county and 20 percent from residents. Residents along the road have expressed interest in paying in advance for the road upgrade.

“Maintenance for this short gravel section is difficult since it is the only gravel road in this immediate area and has noticeable slop on each side, causing washboards,” Prunty said.

The third project involves paving sections of Sunrise and Harbin Hill roads in a subdivision off Montana 35 across from Hooper’s Garden Center east of Kalispell.

Prunty said a decision was made by the commissioners many years ago that the county would maintain paved roads in subdivisions where the county has ownership of the roads, but would not pay for overlaying those county roads with asphalt.

From the time the Subdivision and Platting Act was created in 1973 until 1983, Flathead County assumed jurisdiction — and maintenance — of all subdivision roads created during that time span, Prunty said.

For the subdivision roads accepted by the county between 1973 and 1983, including Sunrise and Harbin Hill roads, the county maintains them and even does drainage work but stops short of repaving the roads.

 Over time, as those roads deteriorate, subdivision residents must address how to pay for road improvements, Prunty explained.

Spreading the cost among property owners through a rural special improvement district over a number years has been the typical method used to pay for road upgrades, he added.

One of the homeowner associations in the Sunrise/Harbin Hill development has expressed interest in replacing the worn-out asphalt, he said, but residents don’t want a rural special improvement district.

“We’ve informed them that the required contribution from them would need to be in a fund prior to any work being performed,” Prunty said.

The county has proposed a 50/50 split of project costs for the Sunrise/Harbin Hill paving.

“This would set a precedent for this classification of roads, but we do believe this is a reasonable approach to provide overlays on these subdivision roads,” Prunty noted.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.