Lake County Candidates talk Hwy. 35, Real ID at forum

By Ali Bronsdon / Leader Staff

FINLEY POINT- Candidates for county and state offices met at the Finley Point Montechato Club Thursday night for the second of nine scheduled candidate forums. Candidates for Montana legislature, county commissioner, district court judge and clerk of district court were invited. About 30 Lake County residents attended for the opportunity to submit questions on index cards, which moderator Gehrand Bechard read to the candidates. Topics included Montana Hwy 35, the Real ID Act and improvements to Finley Point Road.

Lake County Sheriff Lucky Larson also spoke to the audience about a mil levy the department hopes to pass in June.

Hwy. 35

One audience member asked the candidates to share their views regarding making Hwy. 35 a national scenic byway.

Democratic candidate for county commissioner and Finley Point resident Jeanne Windham referred to the recent fuel spill as an "opportunity."

"What just happened here is very serious," she said. "We're lucky lives weren't lost. I think what we're going to be able to do is remove the pups. It's going to be a big fight-the transportation industry is huge. I am really sorry about what happened to the people at the five-mile mark, but I've been waiting 17 years and this is an opportunity."

Edd Blackler, Democratic candidate for House District 9, said, "I will promise to carry any kind of activity in the legislature that is reasonable to solve this problem once and for all." Blackler agreed it would not be an easy battle, but thinks there can be restrictions on the type of product and truck lengths permitted on the road. "They're going to argue, 'We pay taxes; we can be on this road.' But this road is not built to carry this kind of traffic," Blackler said. "That is way up on my list of priorities."

Republican candidate for county commissioner Ron Boyce said, "I will fight to get all hazardous materials off that road." Boyce defined hazardous materials as anything that meets Federal HazMat requirements.

Bill Barron, Republican candidate for county commissioner, pointed out some of the many problems associated with restricting traffic to Hwy 35. "There are a lot of issues around this," he said. "I think that you can restrict the size of the trucks, you can restrict the loads, but you have to be able to get propane up this road. People are building houses and you've got to get materials there. Another consequence of this is all those trucks are now going to go through Polson. One of their huge concerns right now is that that bridge was not built to hold standing traffic. There will be standing traffic on that bridge for long periods of time." Barron also mentioned the possibility of building a bypass around Polson. "Half the people want it, others don't."

Mark Nelson, Democratic candidate for House District 15 who runs the solid waste program for Lake County, said HazMat and size restrictions on Hwy 35 would be problematic for solid waste management as well. "We wouldn't be able to get our trucks up there," he said.

Real ID Act

Candidates for House District 15 were asked to give their position on the Real ID.

Nelson said he is opposed to it. "I've been opposed to it all along," he said. "Maybe when you're born they can insert a little radio chip [into you] like they do the bison."

Democratic candidate James Steele said he agreed with Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. "I am opposed to that," he said. "Our requirements for our driver's licenses and state IDs are more stringent than what the feds have. I think our IDs should be official and we shouldn't be infringed upon by the federal government."

Frosty Calf Boss Ribs said the Real ID is a problem for the tribal community that reaches across the border and into Canada.

Finley Point Road

An anonymous homeowner on Finley Point asked candidates for serious help with the road leading out to Finley Point. He said the road is littered with potholes and in desperate need of repair, but residents have already paid so much.

Windham agreed with that analysis. "When that road was put in, it was paid for by our money with the understanding that the county would maintain it," she said. "The complete circle of Finley Point is eight miles and there is a state park out there. One of the things that we could do is explore the idea of getting some state funding- make it a safety issue."

Barron proposed a way to fix the roads and eliminate, or at least decrease the amount of outstanding warrants in Lake County. "Let's get the chain gangs going," he said. "I'd like to take all our non-violent offenders out there. We can't make them do this, but we have to give them some sort of incentive. They'd jump at the idea because most of them don't like being in there. They'd rather be out in the sunshine doing something."