Firelight Meadows

Water & Sewer District 

VOTE MAY 6

JUST ONE MORE VOTE

Mail-in Election

Ballots must be received (not postmarked) by May 6. Gallatin County will mail ballots on April 18.

Per Montana law, at least 40% of all qualified electors must vote in favor of creating a district.

One year ago, the Firelights attempted to form a water and sewer district but failed to meet the 40% threshold by just one vote. On May 6, registered voters living in the Firelight community have a chance to change that.

Voting for the formation of the Firelight Meadows County Water and Sewer District is a critical step toward resolving the deficiencies of our current septic system, which is polluting the Gallatin River and cannot meet DEQ’s new treatment standards.

YOUR VOTE will allow us to create a county district with nonprofit status to access funds unavailable to our current utility provider. This will allow our community to offset the cost of meeting DEQ’s new requirements.

HOW CAN I HELP?

  1. Click to review the INACTIVE VOTER LIST to make sure you, your household, or your friends are not on the list. Currently, Firelight has 76 AUTOMATIC NO VOTES DUE TO INACTIVE VOTERS because only active voters will receive a ballot.

  2. CLICK TO CHECK YOUR VOTING STATUS to ensure you’re an active voter. (Or ask your tenants to check their voting status!)

  3. RETURN YOUR BALLOT BY MAY 6. We recommend returning your ballot at the Big Sky Water & Sewer District, 561 Little Coyote Rd. (MON- FRI 8 AM-5 PM; MAY 6: 7 AM-8PM)

    WHO CAN VOTE?

    1. Firelight residents who are ACTIVE registered voters will automatically receive their ballots in the mail.

    2. Owners who don’t live on campus can vote but must request a special ballot called a “landowners ballot.” The deadline to request a landowner ballot is April 11.

VOTING INFORMATION

BALLOT DEADLINE: May 6 at 8 PM. Postmarks do not count.

Gallatin County will mail ballots on April 18.

FAILURE TO RETURN A BALLOT = A NO VOTE

FIRELIGHT RESIDENTS ONLY: Click if you need to register to vote(Not sure if you’re registered? CHECK HERE)

  • VOTING FOR FIRELIGHT RESIDENTS LIVING ON CAMPUS

    Gallatin County Elections Office must receive your ballot by May 6.

    3 WAYS TO RETURN YOUR BALLOT

    1. THE RECOMMENDED METHOD TO AVOID POSTAL DELAYS: Drop off by May 6 at BIG SKY WATER & SEWER, 561 Little Coyote Rd. (MON- FRI 8 AM-5 PM; MAY 6: 7 AM-8PM)

    2. DROP OFF BY MAY 6 at the Gallatin County Elections Office located at 311 W. Main St. Room 210 Bozeman, MT 59715

    3. RETURN BY MAIL (Postage is required and must be mailed by April 28 to be received and counted. Postmarks do not count.)

    GALLATIN ELECTION INFO

  • VOTING FOR FIRELIGHT OWNERS NOT LIVING ON CAMPUS

    Owners who do not live in the Firelights can vote but must request a special ballot called a “landowners ballot” from the Gallatin County Elections Department.

    You are not changing where you are registered to vote. Instead, you’re requesting to vote in this one ballot measure as a “landowner.”

    Please don’t request a ballot if you cannot return it by May 6 because UNRETURNED LANDOWNER BALLOTS ARE AUTOMATIC NO VOTES.

    The deadline to request a landowner ballot is April 11. Return your ballot by April 28 to be received and counted. Postmarks do not count. The Elections office must receive your ballot by May 6 at 8 PM.

    LANDOWNER BALLOT REQUEST

  • HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM AN ACTIVE OR INACTIVE VOTER? (for Firelight residents only)

    Per Montana law, only ACTIVE voters living in the Firelights will receive a ballot for this mail in election.

    You can help by checking your voting status with the Montana Secretary of State. If your status says ACTIVE, you don’t need to do anything but vote on the ballot you will receive in the mail.

    If your status is INACTIVE: you will not receive a ballot and your vote is an AUTOMATIC NO VOTE. YOU MUST REACTIVATE YOUR VOTING STATUS TO RECEIVE A BALLOT.

    Check My Voting Status

  • HOW DO I FIX MY INACTIVE VOTING STATUS?

    Any INACTIVE voter is an automatic NO vote, but it’s an easy problem to fix!

    If you are a Firelight resident with an INACTIVE status, you need to update your contact information with the Gallatin County Elections Office BEFORE IT MAILS BALLOTS ON APRIL 18.

    GALLATIN COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICE: 311 W. Main St. Room 210 Bozeman, MT 59715

    CALL TO REACTIVE: (406) 582-3060

    REACTIVATE INSTRUCTIONS

Learn More…

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY

SEPTIC SYSTEMS

IN THE NEWS

Video from the Firelight Town Hall meeting on March 26. Expert guests include: owners of Westfork Utilities, the Executive Director of Big Sky Water and Sewer District, the Executive Director of the Gallatin River Task Force, and the Board Chair for Big Sky Community Organization.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

  • A committee of concerned owners drives this grassroots effort. The Big Sky Water & Sewer District, the Gallatin River Task Force, Big Sky Community Organization (BSCO), and Westfork Utilities also support its creation.

  • Our sewer system is not compliant with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). DEQ has issued an Administrative Order of Consent to our entire sewer system, which means we are unpermitted and “probationary” until we find a fix.

    Westfork Utilities, a private company, owns our water sewer system, not the HOA. Its original DEQ discharge permit required the sewer system to treat wastewater to a maximum nitrogen effluent concentration of 24mg/L. Because new environmental studies show that the Firelight’s wastewater flows towards Town Center’s drinking water and pollutes the Middle Fork of the Gallatin River, DEQ will now require Westfork Utilities to treat Firelight’s wastewater to 7mg/L of total nitrogen.

    The current sewer system cannot meet DEQ’s updated treatment requirements, requiring Westfork Utilities to make substantial capital improvements. To cover these costs, Westfork Utilities will increase the fees to ratepayers (Firelight owners).

  • Creating a district allows us to form a nonprofit and seek local, state, and federal dollars to offset costly service increases.

    Unlike HOAs or private companies like Westfork Utilities, districts can apply for grants and low-interest government loans to offset the cost of making our sewer system compliant with DEQ.

  • Outside of communicating with owners, there are no costs associated with establishing the district. The district will initially operate with five Firelight owners volunteering as board members. When it’s time to decide on solutions to address DEQ’s updated treatment requirements, the district will incur costs for items such as management, insurance, and legal counsel.

  • After its formation, the new district board will pursue connecting to the Big Sky Water & Sewer District (BSWSD). The estimated cost of connecting our wastewater to BSWSD is $1.8 million. Additional costs include the piping needed to connect to BSWSD and purchasing the existing system from Westfork Utilities. (The HOA owns the land and the irrigation rights; Westfork owns drinking water rights and the water sewer systems, including the piping as it exits Firelight’s buildings.)

  • Confirm your are an ACTIVE VOTER. Then, vote on May 6.

    PER MONTANA LAW, WE NEED AT LEAST 40% OF ALL QUALIFIED ELECTORS TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF CREATING A DISTRICT. A MAJORITY YES VOTE IS NOT ENOUGH TO FORM THE DISTRICT.

    NOT VOTING = A NO VOTE!

  • Water and Sewer Districts (WSD) are units of government within the State of Montana that may supply water, provide wastewater treatment and disposal, or both.

    Per state law, five voted-upon volunteer board members will guide the Firelight Meadows Water and Sewer District, not the HOA.

  • The formation of this district will provide access to opportunities from Local, State & Federal resources.

    Currently, private companies and HOA’s are not eligible for these grants. The formation of a district will also provide access to significantly lower cost interest rate loans if necessary. This would be a sizable savings since interest rates are currently over 8%.

  • If no action is taken, owners and renters will pay substantial costs to build a new system or join Big Sky Water and Sewer. We must meet DEQ wastewater treatment requirements, and our current system cannot meet these requirements.

    Additionally, without an effective system, property values could be negatively affected.

  • The following owners are running for District Board Positions:

    Jeff Gill

    jeff.gill.flmcwsd@gmailcom

    Becky Brockie

    brockie.firelight@gmail.com

    Kurt Rice

    kurt.rice.flmcwsd@gmail.com

    Carol Powell

    carol.powell.flmwsd@gmail.com

    Cassie Farr

    cassandramfarr@gmail.com

  • Last year, Firelight failed to form the district by one vote, making it necessary to complete the election process again before we can pursue alternative funding resources to offset the costs of addressing the inadequacies of our sewer system.

Independent Analysis of Firelight Water and Sewer District

Hi,  

My name is Richard Schwalbe, a long-time owner and full-time resident of Firelight. I have been following developments with the sewer and river situation here for several years as a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee of Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks and a local resident. I have discussed this with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Big Sky Water and Sewer District, Gallatin River Task Force, West Fork Utilities (our current provider), and the people spearheading the set up of a Firelight Water and Sewer District.

Key Facts

  1. The Gallatin River has been formally listed as impaired by the US EPA.

  2. Detailed tests of pollution sources, including drilling test wells, by DEQ and the Montana Bureau of Mines clearly show that Firelight is a significant source of pollution.

  3. The DEQ lowered the permitted amount of nitrogen from septic systems (a big change) – Firelight’s septic system does not and cannot meet these requirements; our permit will not be renewed without a big change.

Solutions

  1. Option one is to do nothing (as owners) and have our current provider build a sewage treatment plant on the property at an estimated cost of about $8 million and a double to tripling of our monthly sewer and water bills.

  2. Option two is to set up (vote for) a new municipal water & sewer district with the goal of connecting to the Big Sky Water & Sewer District. The advantages are:

    1. This will be a government entity with a 5-person volunteer board – little operating cost.

    2. The estimated cost of connecting to the Big Sky Water & Sewer District (BSWSD) is $1.8 million. Additional costs would include the piping to make the connection to (BSWSD) and purchasing the existing system owned by West Fork Utilities.

    3. BSWSD has an interest in year-round disposal in Firelight’s drain fields, which could reduce the costs to connect to BSWSD.

    4. This new District can borrow funds at 2.5% for as long as 30 years (I have confirmed this) from the US Government. HOAs and our current private provider cannot.

    5. There are grant programs that might pay for a portion of the cost. (I have also confirmed some of these.)

    6. All of the groups I spoke with (see above), including our current provider, want this option.

This requires your vote in the May election – all owners can vote on this even if you live out of state

So, who am I, and why do I know anything? 

I am a retired Adjunct professor, having taught in MBA programs at two universities.  I am currently on two committees at Montana State University, Department of Academic Technology and Outreach – you can see programs I produced on Water Issues in the Gallatin Valley (April 2023) and the new Montana Statewide Fisheries Plan (September 2023) as well as other non-water related subjects at MSU/OLLI Recordings. I am also a volunteer at the Big Sky Community Housing Trust, Fish Wildlife & Parks, and the local hiking club. I am not connected to the effort to set up this District, and no one asked me to do this; I am just sharing what I needed to understand – I was originally a skeptic until I confirmed the facts.

Additional Information

You can email me at rjschwalbe@aol.com. I deliberately kept this brief. If you want additional detail, send me an email.

Thanks, we need your help.

Richard Schwalbe