Launches novel chapter for Big Sky Resort Area Tax District
By Michael Somerby EBS STAFF
BIG SKY – On Jan. 7, the Big Sky Resort Area District open
board meeting had an air of significance, as community business members and
organization representatives took their seats in The Wilson Hotel’s Sapphire
conference room.
For the most part, save ordinance tweaks and evolving
compliance measures, the resort tax—the 3 percent collection levied on luxuries
and goods and services in Big Sky since 1992 when the general electorate of Big
Sky voted to introduce the tax to meet the growing influx and financial
subsequent strains of tourists—has remained consistent, relatively unchanging.
It’s only fitting that a mere week after ushering in a new
decade, nearly 30 years following that critical financing decision, the BSRAD board
usher in a new chapter of resort tax, one in which an additional 1 percent tax
be levied in conjunction and for the express purpose of backing voter-approved
infrastructural projects.
The impetus behind the approval is the direct result of
years of BSRAD conversation and presence in Helena, beginning in 2017 and
coming to a close in May 2019 with the passing of Senate Bill 241, which
allowed for the incremental percentage in the state’s 10 resort tax
communities.
SB 241 laid the foundation for several organizations in Big
Sky to approach the BSRAD with the community’s first-ever applications for such
projects, most notably the Big Sky Water and Sewer District’s request for
funding for two separate projects.
The first would address future shortcomings of the existing
Water Resource Recovery Facility, upping average day-rated treatment capacity
from 600,000 gallons to 910,000 gallons.
The project is also conditioned by the BSWSD’s commitment to
facilitate 500 additional Single Family Equivalents in a bid to address ongoing
workforce housing shortages plaguing roadways and business owners across Big
Sky.
The second application highlights the community’s growth in
a nutshell: construct a Lift Station near the intersection of Highway 191 and
Lone Mountain Trail in order to convey wastewater from the canyon to the
existing facility adjacent to Big Sky Community Park, a tonic to growing water sewer
needs in Gallatin Canyon as the community increasingly turns toward the area
for community facilities and housing.
Bundled into the second application is also a proposed
second main to dispose of treated effluent in ground water infiltration
galleries. Ultimately, the combination seeks to “improve water quality, address
capacity issues due to population growth and minimize environmental impacts,
most notably on the Gallatin River,” according to a BSRAD press release.
The combined requests reach a total of $35 million, $27 and
$12 million, respectively—60 percent of both projects’ total needs, but no
trivial sum.
This percentage was agreed upon by the joint committee
because approximately 60 percent of the resort tax revenue is generated within
the boundaries of the BSWSD, and approximately 60 percent of the registered
voters of the BSRAD reside within the boundaries of the BSWSD.
Yet, considering collections grew by 16.2 percent over last
three years, 13.6 percent over the last five years and 13 percent over the last
10 years—at 5 percent projected growth, the $35 million sum will be reached in
around 11 years, according to BSRAD District Manager Daniel Bierschwale.
“We are very happy with the outcome [application approval],”
said BSWSD General Manager Ron Edwards.
“It’s really important to show the resort tax working with
the Big Sky Water and Sewer [District] on these communitywide needs,” said
Kevin Germain, BSRAD chairperson.
“These are huge win-wins I see across the community,” he added. “If you didn’t see the resort tax helping to pay for this, it would 100 percent be paid for by the ratepayers … This is just another example of trying to take the burden off our property tax payers and our locals and shifting that burden to the tourists on all these projects.”
Another notable achievement of the BSRAD from the past
calendar year, commissioning consulting firm Logan Simpson to survey the
community, which resulted in the “Our Big Sky: Vision and Strategy Plan,” actually
listed “Improve and Maintain
Infrastructure, Protect Wildlife Habitat and Natural Resources, Promote the Development
of Affordable Housing” as high-ranking community priorities.
“I looked back to ‘Our Big Sky,’ where our community
provided their priorities, and the combination of these two projects hit at
least five of the top 18 priorities,” said Ciara Wolfe, the board’s newest
member and CEO of the Big Sky Community Organization.
While the BSRAD has approved the applications, the proposed increase
must first pass a community ballot in May.
Deliberation over tentative proxy voting also took up a
notable portion of the open board meeting. Ultimately, members of the board
decided to revisit the discussion at a later date.
The next open board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 4.
