Plains street slated for repair

Dave Colyer’s Sinclair Gas Station might lose property value because it won’t be considered “waterfront property” after Farmer Street is fixed, said Plains Mayor Dan Rowan.

Farmer Street has long been jokingly referred to as Lake Sinclair because the street constantly floods after heavy rainfalls and after snow and ice thaws. Rowan announced at last week’s town council meeting that a bid package for the first step in the Farmer Street repair is being worked on and will soon go out for bids. Farmer Street will be the first street to be worked on using the Road District Tax funds. The mayor said City Hall has received more complaints about Farmer Street than any other road. It is by far the worst of the town’s streets and needs the most work, according to the Public Works Department.

The drainage issue would have to be fixed first, which Rowan believes would cost an estimated $27,000, followed by the paving, which would be about $30,000. Work will probably begin sometime in May and be completed this summer.

Plains Town Council members selected the top five worst streets to be fixed, based on input from public works. Rowan said that virtually all of the 12 ½ miles of the town roads need work. Second on the priority list is the chip sealing of Ryan and Boyer Streets and Central Avenue. Rowan said those roads had been recently repaved and the town wants to protect its investment.

Number three is First Street from Walnut Street to Central Ave. Fourth is Willis Street from the railroad tracks to Stanton Street. And the final project will be Garber Street from McGowan Street to Central Avenue. A list of the priority streets will be posted at City Hall and on the town’s website.

“We’re hoping to get the very worst roads done in five years. I’m looking forward to seeing progress,” said Rowan. The Road District Tax was voted in last year, giving the town around $250,000 over a five-year period specifically for road repair. Rowan hopes that if residents see improvements they are more likely to vote on a road tax for another five years.

The town is also getting closer to having an ordinance that addresses residents with unsightly yards. A proposed ordinance, tentatively called a nuisance/decay ordinance, was presented to the council at last week’s meeting. The town already has a nuisance ordinance under Title 7’s Health and Welfare, but it was basically only about two pages and “very limited,” said Rowan. The new proposed ordinance is 10 pages long and covers rubbish burning, noises, mobile homes, junked vehicles, and community decay. The proposed ordinance would amend the wording of the present ordinance and add several pages. The old ordinance did not address junk vehicles or an abundance of rubbish in yards, something people have specifically complained about.

“A lot of residents have asked the city to do something like this for a long time. I believe more people have talked to me about this than the roads,” said Rowan. It’s been a subject the council has talked about since Rowan began as a council member six years ago.

A man last week told the mayor that he had a potential buyer for his home in his living room, but backed out when he saw a neighbor’s house. Another man recently addressed council members of a similar situation.

“I firmly believe in property rights, but I also believe if your property’s poor upkeep or condition is having a demonstrable negative impact on your neighbor or neighborhood, that’s when your property rights end,” said Rowan. “If a person has to lower their price to sell their property, that’s not right – you’ve harmed your neighbor.”

The proposed ordinance specifically addresses the “accumulation on the premises for an unreasonable period of time of any personal property or wastes, including, but not limited to, abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles, abandoned, wrecked, or dismantled boats or vessels, automotive parts and equipment, appliances, furniture, containers, packing materials, scrap metal, wood, building materials, junk, rubbish, debris, dirt, sand, gravel, concrete or other similar materials, which is within the view of persons on adjacent or nearby real property or the pubic right-of-way and which is detrimental to the public health, safety and general welfare.”

The mayor said they’ve looked at similar ordinances from other communities in Montana, including Manhattan, which has about the same population as Plains. He said that only about a dozen residents are guilty of having problem yards. “I believe there will be resistance and I believe it’s going to come from the people that are needing cleanup. There will be a certain percentage of those that will not want to comply.

Council members will be looking over the proposed ordinance at a recodifying workshop on May 3 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The purpose of the workshop is to review all of the town’s ordinances, which had been done last in 2012.

Rowan said no voting will be done at the workshop and the public can attend. A first reading of the proposed nuisance/decay ordinance might take place as early as the regular May 7 council meeting. The second reading would then take place on June 4. The ordinance becomes law 30 days later.