Tag Archives: North Fork Road

An illegal road home

News, ,

Wouldn’t you know? The end of the year and the beginning of a new one brings yet another road article. This one isn’t about dust or potholes or snow removal, though. It seems that several sections of Flathead County roads, including the North Fork Road, do not actually have easements to cross state lands.

From the December 30, 2008 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .

Flathead County hasn’t fulfilled a nearly decade-old state Supreme Court ruling requiring Montana counties to pay full-market value for road easements across state trust lands, meaning the county – and the property owners who live on those roads – don’t have legal access.

In Flathead County, officials from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation estimate that there are at least 80 different segments of road – all of varying length – with unpaid easements. And hundreds of property owners could be affected.

“Anyone who lives on a road that crosses state trust land before their property, technically does not have legal access,” DNRC area manager Bob Sandman said. He added that it’s “unlikely that many people know” and that most will only find out when they try to sell.

Among the affected roads in Flathead County are frequented areas like Pleasant Valley Road, KM Ranch Road, North Fork Road, LaBrant Road, Jewel Basin Road and nine roads in the Happy Valley area.

Read the entire aricle . . .

County staff shortage affects snowplowing

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From the Saturday, December 13, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

If you live in the far reaches of Flathead County, don’t hold your breath waiting for the snowplow to come.

The county road department has 8.5 fewer full-time employees to handle the road maintenance load this winter, and no “floaters” to cover those who are sick or on vacation, county Public Works Director Dave Prunty said.

“The more remote the area, the longer it will take,” Prunty said Friday, just hours before the Flathead’s first blizzard of the season was predicted to begin. “If it hits like they say, it will be a slap in the face for us.”

Read the entire article . . .

County sets aside $100,000 for dusty roads

News, , , , , ,

The Thursday, December 4, 2008 online edition of the Hungry Horse News included a report on the November 20th meeting concerning the North Fork Road called by Commissioner Gary Hall. It is an interesting read. Although the meeting concentrated mostly on dust remediation and funding issues, there was another little gem of more immediate interest: County Public Works Director Dave Prunty indicated that snow removal may be sub-par this year.

So, make sure you have a good set of chains and read the article . . .

Flathead County is considering a plan that could help mitigate dust on the county’s some 700 miles of unpaved roads — including the North Fork Road.

In a recent meeting with representatives of several government agencies and North Fork residents, Commissioner Gary Hall presented a draft agreement for a dust control cost share program.

Read the entire article . . .

Yet another dust meeting

Environmental Issues, , , ,

Outgoing Flathead County Commissioner Gary Hall wants to have another meeting on the North Fork Road. This one, apparently, will concentrate on dust mitigation issues. (For background on an earlier, similar meeting, see here and here.) The meeting will be held on November 20th, from 4 to 6pm in the conference room at Freedom Bank in Columbia Falls. Contact him at ghall@flathead.mt.gov or 253-3026 to let him know you are coming.

We’ll post more details here as they become available.

[Update: Corrected Gary hall’s email address.]

The road in the 50’s

Commentary,

Seems the humble North Fork Road has gotten way more than its share of attention for an inordinate length of time. From an editorial entry in the October 23, 2008 online edition of the Hungry Horse News titled “Looking back to ’54, ’55” . . .

Future of the North Fork Road, millions of feet of lumber shipped, Anaconda Aluminum Co. plant construction and Columbia Falls post office increases highlighted front page stories in the Hungry Horse News in November and December, 1954.

Continual maintenance and improvement of the North Fork road plus a new bridge at Polebridge were issues discussed. It was pointed out virtually all North Fork road construction had been through the Forest Service with some maintenance shared with Flathead County.

Read the entire article . . .

Dupont ousts Hall in GOP showdown

News, ,

Apologies for all the political news today. This item is relevant because “roads and dust” was a hot button during the primary and because Hall’s approach to the issue likely cost him some votes.

From the Wednesday, June 4, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

Jim Dupont has limited Gary Hall to one term as Flathead County commissioner.

Dupont, longtime former sheriff, far outdistanced incumbent Commissioner Hall in Tuesday’s primary election to win the Republican nomination for the county’s top job.

[…]

Dupont campaigned on three key issues: roads and dust, public safety and private property rights. He said he is running because he believes the county needs someone on the commission who can make better decisions.

Read the entire article . . .

The Road. Again.

Commentary, News, , ,

Last week, a couple of rather pointed letters to the editor appeared in local newspapers in response to Commissioner Gary Hall’s missive that appeared in the April 24 edition of the Hungry Horse News. The full text of Hall’s letter is available here. Hall is in favor of paving the North Fork Road as far as the Camas Creek entrance to Glacier Park. He also announced a couple of meetings related to this issue. The first is on May 21st. It was originally scheduled to be held in the conference room at Freedom Bank, but has since been moved to the North Valley Hospital Community Center, which is a couple of blocks north of Smith’s in Columbia Falls. The second meeting is the “reveal” of the short-term North Fork Road dust study conducted last summer and paid for by the NFRCHS. It will be held in the County Commissioner’s meeting room on June 9th.

Both letters take a jaundiced view of spending big money on a section of the North Fork Road when the need is so much greater elsewhere. The full text of the letters follows…

Continue reading The Road. Again. →

North Fork Road paving season opens

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The push to pave the North Fork Road — as far as Camas, at least — opened up more or less on schedule this week, with County Commissioner Gary Hall leading the charge. The following letter to the editor, nominally in response to a question by Joe Franchini, appeared in the Thursday, April 24, 2008 edition of the Hungry Horse News.

(A little background for those of you coming in late: Gary Hall is, of course, the Flathead County Commissioner who has been pushing to pave the North Fork Road at least as far as the Camas Creek entrance to Glacier Park. Joe Franchini is one of the backers of the NFRCHS and an investor in Freedom Bank, the location of the May meeting referenced in Hall’s letter. The dust study being presented at the June meeting was sponsored by the NFRCHS and performed last summer. According to this article, results were due by January of this year.)

To the editor,

This is in response to Joe Franchini’s letter to the editor asking the commissioner candidates what their position was on the North Fork Road. First of all, thank you for asking the question, it deserves an answer.

Interestingly, Rick Hanners, editor of the Whitefish Pilot and previous editor at our hometown Hungry Horse News, sent me a copy of an article he wrote on my last campaign six years ago and I stated in the article that, “I am completely in favor of paving the North Fork as far as Camas Creek despite claims that the grizzly bear would be impacted by pavement.” I still feel strongly about that and I believe that Columbia Falls can benefit as the Gateway to Glacier.

Before my term of office, the previous commissioners redirected the money set aside for paving the North Fork to the Big Mountain Road. Currently, I am working closely with the North Fork Road Coalition for Health and Safety (NFRCHS) to bring all government parties to the table May 21, from 1 to 4 p.m., in the conference room of Freedom Bank. I am hopeful we can come away from that meeting with a solid plan for dust mitigation or paving of the North Fork Road to the Camas Creek entrance to Glacier Park.

Also, on June 9 at 1 p.m. at the Commissioners’ meeting room, 800 South Main, we are having a report from Dr. Holian and Dr. Ward of the University of Montana department of Environmental Health Sciences briefing the commissioners and other county officials on the result of the North Fork Road dust studies conducted last summer.

All this has been said to respond to Mr. Franchini’s questions of the candidates’ position. If there is a way to protect the air quality for Glacier Park and the health safety and welfare of county citizens then I am available to do my part. I look forward to the other two candidates’ response to this important issue.

Gary D. Hall

Flathead County Commissioner