Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 8.20.14

8 | AUGUST 20, 2014
NEWS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
A partially completed bridge along Flathead Lake leading to Dockstader Island. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Sayin’...
“(Rep. Steve Daines) seems like a nice guy with a wonderful family, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t understand what life is like for the rest of us.”
State Rep. Amanda Curtis, who was chosen as the Democrats’ new U.S. Senate candidate, after Sen. John Walsh resigned following a plagiarism scandal.
“My personal
determination was
that she would be
far better for the
county in looking
at all the people’s
needs.”
Flathead County Commissioner Cal Scott on why he crossed party lines and endorsed Democrat Stacey Schnebel in the general election race to replace him.
“We are going to
have a different
approach and
have the approach
that we’re in this
together.”
Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, amid citizen protests after an unarmed black teenager was killed by a police officer.
Developer Rescinds Amendment Request for Bigfork Bridge
Project to go back to original specifications; construction can resume
By MOLLY PRIDDY of the Beacon
The landowner building a bridge from the shoreline of their property on Flat- head Lake to the island they own has de- cided not to pursue an amendment to the project and will move forward while working within the terms of the original permit.
The bridge project has become con- troversial in recent months, despite hav- ing been approved by the Flathead Coun- ty Commission in 2011. The landowner, Jolene Dugan, planned that the bridge, which would be used to restore access to a portion of private property that was once a spit but is now an island in the lake, would be 481 feet long and 16 feet wide.
But construction was put on hold after the county issued a stop-work order when the planning office was informed that the
friday, august 22, 2014
bridge would need to be longer after crews had to navigate around some obstacles.
According to a request to amend the bridge’s permit, the site plan in the origi- nal permit from 2011 was “grossly inac- curate,” because the northeast section of Dockstader Island shown on the permit does not exist.
Moving the bridge also brought it across recently moved property lines, ac- cording to the planning office, which tech- nically made the bridge a road in the eyes of the planning office, and roads are for- bidden in the lakeshore protection zone. The location of the bridge also violated the setbacks for structures in the lakeshore protection zone.
According to Flathead County Plan- ning and Zoning Director BJ Grieve, Du- gan’s father, Roger Sortino, who has been representing the family throughout most of the process, called the planning of- fice and said he didn’t want to amend the bridge project, and didn’t want to move the property boundary lines.
The project will go back to its original
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design, and construction can begin again, Grieve said.
“He has the permit to do it,” he said.
However, the developers may not use just any type of construction process to get their bridge pilings into the ground. If they are running into rocks and bedrock issues, Grieve said, they must use autho- rized construction techniques as listed in the permit.
If construction crews can’t seem to get a piling in where it was outlined in the permit, then they won’t be able to put that piling in, Grieve said. Techniques such as blasting aren’t allowed, he said.
The planning office also keeps track of permitted projects, Grieve said, and if a landowners doesn’t get in touch with the office once the project is completed, the of- fice will go out and do an inspection when the permit expires.
“Either way, we have a look,” Grieve said.
The bridge’s permit expires next
spring.
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