Upcoming vote to determine 1 percent resort tax increase
By Brandon Walker and Michael Somerby EBS STAFF WRITERS
BIG SKY – After months of work and
facing down an expanding population and exploding development, two local boards
have come to a critical agreement that, upon voter approval, could allow an
additional 1 percent of Big Sky resort tax dollars to help fund a $35 million
upgrade to local water and sewer infrastructure.
At its Feb. 4 open meeting, the Big
Sky Resort Area District tax board’s agenda included a key item: the
ratification of the language of the Infrastructure Interlocal Agreement with
the Big Sky Water and Sewer District.
Capping a months-long collaborative
effort with the Big Sky Water and Sewer District, the board unanimously
approved the Interlocal Agreement language. The agreement seeks to activate
Senate Bill 241, a piece of legislation that failed in 2017 and passed during
the 2019 session that allows Montana’s 10 resort tax communities to propose a 1
percent tax increase for the duration of vetted infrastructure projects.
A critical infrastructural endeavor looms large: upgrades to the existing wastewater treatment plant combined with expanded service to the growing community in Gallatin Canyon.
BSRAD District Manager Daniel Bierschwale noted the ratified agreement will be null and void if the community fails to pass the measure, which would add 1 percent to the existing 3 percent resort tax, in a May 5 mail-in vote—a date that doubles as the BSRAD’s election day.
“I think this was a really good
example of how this subcommittee worked with Water and Sewer to accomplish
something that not only benefits Water and Sewer, but also the community,” said
BSRAD Secretary Buz Davis.
Water and sewer board follows suit
One day after BSRAD voted favorably
on the language of the proposed Infrastructure Interlocal Agreement, the Big
Sky County Water and Sewer District board voted unanimously on Feb. 5 in favor
of proceeding with the agreement.
The pending 1 percent bump in resort
tax would be applied to the improvement of the
quality of treated water and increase the facility’s daily intake capacity by
more than 300,000 gallons to a total of 910,000 gallons.
The aforementioned
service to the residents of the Gallatin Canyon would be rendered through the
installation of a lift station and pipeline systems in Gallatin Canyon, pending
the formation of a separate water and sewer district in the canyon by 2022.
That newly formed district would in turn have to enter into an agreement with
the existing water and sewer district regarding the handling of its wastewater.
If the canyon fails to form a new water and sewer district by 2022, then the
agreement would be disbanded.
Water and sewer General
Manager Ron Edwards explained that if the existing district were to get the
necessary approvals and install pipelines from the current plant to the canyon,
water from the canyon would go to the
newly proposed lift station, then up to the existing water and sewer plant. A second pipeline would
take treated, reclaimed wastewater back to the canyon where, pending the
granting of a permit by Montana Department of Environmental Quality, it could be used for groundwater disposal in the canyon area.
“There’s a line that
would pump raw influent to the plant and then there’s a second line which would
allow us to take water by gravity back down the hill,” Edwards said.
According to the water
and sewer district’s website, the facility upgrade will offer benefits in
addition to the expanded holding capacity. Bacteria, nitrogen and phosphorus
levels will all be decreased by 90 percent or better in the treated water after
the upgrade, meaning less will enter existing groundwater after its disposed.
Per the agreement
between the two boards, 60 percent, or a maximum of $27 million, would be
allotted to the facility upgrades and all costs would be covered for
construction of the new canyon lift station and pipe systems up to a maximum of
$12 million.
“These are based on engineering cost estimates
that are being done in a really crazy period of time the way costs have been
rising in these infrastructure projects, so it’s our best numbers, at least
right now,” Edwards said. “But you don’t know until you actually bid the
project what you’re going to have.”
The $35 million in total granted for these projects caps the amount resort tax
district can award to the water and sewer district during the term of the
agreement, which would last until 2032. If additional assistance is necessary,
the original agreement would need to be amended, according to language in the
current agreement.
The potential roadblock
was one of the larger causes for concern within the water and sewer board as
they discussed the agreement before the May 5 vote.
Based on current growth
projections, BSRAD believes the $35 million commitment could be collected in
just over a decade.
