Polson city council extends stay on annexation

The Polson city council voted to extend the original 60-day stay on annexation it approved earlier this year, reflecting some councilmen's concerns about water availability and growth issues, despite several recent engineering reports that have said the city's water supply is OK.

At the Jan. 18 city council meeting, the council voted to approve the 60-stay stay, effectively halting any new water hook-ups, as some council members said they wanted a chance to go over the city's new pending growth policy, and to give themselves some "breathing room" to analyze current and future growth issues.

Three councilmen, Fred Funke, Mike Lies and Bruce Agrella, were sworn in in January, although Funke and Lies have served on the council before. In January, they noted the 60-day stay would give them a chance to catch up the new growth policy, impact fees, current subdivisions and other issues facing them.

[The final growth policy will be unveiled at an April 5 meeting at the county courthouse, starting at 6 p.m.]

Funke asked the council Monday night to extend the 60-day stay on annexations, which had been listed as a "water moratorium" on the Jan. 18 agenda — prompting an overflow crowd to show up, many of whom had concerns about the city's water infrastructure, especially in light of the proposed Wal-Mart supercenter.

But an impact study done by HKM Engineering on behalf of the city said the proposed supercenter would only have the impact of about 14 single-family homes, and that the city's water system could handle it. Two councilmen and several members of the public, including the city's engineer, Bob Fulton, said recent studies such as that are showing that the city's water system is in good shape, and therefore there's no need for another stay.

Jules Clavadetscher noted he wasn't at the Jan. 18 meeting, and asked the council what the purpose of extending the stay was. He said he thought it was to "let the council get up to speed."

But Funke said he wanted to wait until the city got another well before lifting the stay, which had technically expired last Saturday.

Clavadetscher asked if the council had read a recent engineering report saying the city could handle more than 6,000 total homes.

"Our city engineer says we have enough [capacity], multiple engineering firms say we have enough … " Clavadetscher said.

He said forcing developers to put in wells and aquifers doesn't make sense from an environmental standpoint, given the close proximity to the lake, noting that the city paid good money for the engineering reports.

Councilman Tom Corse said the stay wouldn't stop the supercenter from being implemented because it doesn't apply to annexation requests already in the works.

"I don't know why Wal-Mart was even brought up," Funke said.

Elsa Duford asked if, given the engineering reports, people would be able to water their lawns at will, referring to water restrictions the city implements during the summer.

Mayor Randy Ingram said the water restrictions are a conservation measure, not a sign of the inadequacy of the system.

City engineer Bob Fulton was one of several people who spoke out against the stay, saying it contradicts the best evidence the city has.

"It is irresponsible to conclude that we don't have enough water. You can't just imagine you have a problem, you have to document it," Fulton said, noting that the HKM study said the city system can accommodate up to 3,000 homes, about a 1,000 more than are currently on the system.

Fulton pointed out it would actually be in the engineering firm's best interest to find problems so they could attempt to get more city business in the process, but that no such problems were found.

But councilman Mark MacDonald said the city is facing some growing pains, and that growth should be done in a sensible manner.

"I'd feel a lot better with another well," Funke said, when he was asked why he wasn't as optimistic as the engineering reports.

The motion to extend the stay another 60 days was approved 3-2, with Funke, Lies and MacDonald voting in favor, and Clavadetscher and Corse voting against.