The window for winter construction on Flathead Lake has ended, dashing the hopes of a community group that an illegally constructed bridge on the north side of Flathead Lake would be removed before the equinox. However, a new court order in the decade-long legal battle over the structure looks to end the legal discussions and bring about a resolution.
In a court filing on March 7, Flathead County District Court Judge Robert Allison ordered intervenor Roger Sortino deposit $300,000 to pay for the removal of the private bridge that connects Dockstader Island to the north shore of Flathead Lake.
Allison also ordered a previously appointed Special Master, Mitch Stelling of Great West Engineering, to determine the method of removal and what route will be utilized to access the bridge during its demolition.
The north shore bridge has been the basis for lawsuits since it was built in 2011 after a permit was granted by Flathead County commissioners, leading to a challenge by the Community Association for North Shore Conservation (CANSC).
In 2019 the Montana Supreme Court upheld a decision by Allison that the lakeshore permit was invalid, and the structure needed to be removed.
Since then, Allison has repeatedly expressed frustration over delays in the bridge’s removal. In the recent filing, Allison wrote that “the Court has come to the realization that the tail is wagging the dog,” adding that Sortino had ample time and opportunity to come up with the “means and method of removal of the bridge but failed to comply with the Court’s order.”
Sortino previously came up with a cost estimate of $150,000 to remove the bridge, which included plans to build a temporary road on the lakebed adjacent to the bridge to remove it. The road would also span 800 feet of floodplain area on the shore of Flathead Lake. Allison stated that the plan submitted by Sortino had “an absurd level of complexity,” and while the bridge was built with a single permit from the county, the demolition plan required “at least seven permits, and the involvement of five different agencies.”
Last year Allison asked that CANSC appoint an engineer to act as Special Master to develop an expedited plan for removal, to be paid for by the original property owner, Jolene Dugan, who has since passed away. Her father, Roger Sortino, and his company Flathead Properties LLC are now the defendants in the suit.
Allison also wrote that Sortino had managed to “derail the monetary issue” after failing to meet a self-imposed Dec. 15 deadline for submitting funds for the bridge.
As Special Master, Stelling will enact an independent process to determine the best approach route through the lakeside properties to access the bridge in order to “expeditiously remove the bridge and restore the area to its natural state.” Stelling will review all work bids as well as coordinate and oversee the project.
Sortino has until April 3 to deposit the required amount or the court will order the sale of the bridge property to secure the necessary funding for removal.