Road projects use unusual funding method

Two citizen-initiated road-paving projects will be completed by Flathead County this summer using an unusual funding mechanism that allows property owners to pay their portion of the cost upfront.

The funding arrangement is similar to a rural special improvement district in that property owners participate in the cost of the road improvement, county Public Works Department Dave Prunty said. But unlike a typical rural special improvement district, there is no established district boundary and not all property owners are required to pay for the improvements. The property owners who initiated the paving are required to pay their portion before the project can commence, Prunty added.

Traditional rural special improvement districts spread out the property owners’ cost over a number of years. By prepaying their portion, property owners can save money.

“There are two 5 percent charges in RSID laws we have to apply. By prepaying we don’t need to do that,” Prunty said. “This is a pilot project. We’ve never done it this way before, so we’re learning also.”

A 1 ¼-mile section on the north end of West Valley Drive, south of Kuhns and Spring Prairie roads, is the first paving project scheduled for the unique funding scenario. LHC had the low bid of $666,355. Other bids included Knife River at $756,948; Sandry Construction at $768,872; and Schellinger Construction at $808,888.

The engineer’s estimate prior to the bid-letting projected property owners contributing $167,356, with the county putting in $530,299. Based on a traffic study to determine local versus through traffic, the county determined property owners would be responsible for 39 percent of the project cost, with the county putting in 61 percent.

The county covers 100 percent of the gravel costs, Prunty said. “The theory is if we were to keep the gravel road we (the county) would cover that cost anyway.”

The West Valley Drive paving is expected to begin sometime after July 4.

A short segment of Chapman Hill Road in Bigfork is the other paving project that will use the innovative funding strategy.

“It takes three-eighths of a mile of gravel and ties pavement to pavement,” Prunty said.

The county commissioners will open bids June 19. The engineering study indicates a county/property-owner ratio similar to the West Valley Drive project, with the county responsible for 61 percent and the property owners 39 percent.

The project cost, with a 10 percent contingency, is estimated at $269,221.

Flathead County has paved nearly 15 miles of gravel roads in recent years using rural special improvement districts.

“Some of those are private roads that the county doesn’t have dollars in, but they go through the RSID process,” Prunty said.

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