36-lot subdivision planned near Alberton

Locals know it as the Thompson Ranch, and when it went up for sale a few years ago many crossed their fingers that the buyer would keep it the same. But many others could see the handwriting on the wall.

Lower Meadows is a proposed major subdivision touching the west boundary of Alberton. It’s proposal, which was approved by the Mineral County Planning Board last month, is for 35 individual lots to be used for residential homes, with one light commercial lot making a total of 36 lots.

The project proposes three access points onto the adjacent Adams Street which is a public road maintained by the Montana Department of Transportation. The road surface will be paved and constructed in accordance with the Mineral County Subdivision regulations with individual driveways. These will be accessible from the proposed road that runs east to west through the subdivision itself.

This property consists of a flat bench located approximately 35 feet above I-90 and is best described as a grassy farm field with a small stand of mature pine trees. It contains a historical family cemetery and a cell tower utility lot as it runs parallel to the westbound lane of I-90. There would be a separate water storage facility at each end of the subdivision bringing total storage for fire flows to a total of 40,000 gallons.

The subdivider and owner of the property is Dave Levenson of TR Dev Corporation, located in San Anselmo, California. The agent is Paul Forsting of IMEG that has an office in Missoula. There will be a public hearing with the Mineral County Commissioners that is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at 10 a.m., in the Mineral County Commissioner’s conference room.

John Zunski, owner of the Sportsman’s Bar in Alberton, is on the fence about this addition to his hometown.

“As a business owner it’s great because it brings in more people. But as a rural Montanan, it sucks because there is a really great meadow there that’s going to be gone. It’s going to be full of houses. I’m just resigned to whatever happens because, what am I going to do about it?”

West of Alberton on the same side of I-90 as Lower Meadows, the subdivision that sat nearly empty for 10 years is now plum full of new houses in the last two years. Jaemi Pottruff has been the manager of Valley Grocery for the two years she and her husband have lived in Alberton. Prior to their move they lived for 15 years in Frenchtown.

“The commercial lot might hurt us because if they put a gas station and convenience store in, more people will go there from the freeway as they will be able to see it. Right now, tourists come through and drive the whole strip to get gas and food from us and that helps everybody along Railroad (Avenue). But the houses inside the subdivision will help us”.

However, Pottruff and store owner Mike Morse have a backup plan.

“I’m going to stock more groceries if it is a gas station and convenience store, so we won’t be hurt as bad. But it would be nice for us if it would be something different, like a canoe and kayak shop.”

The Montana Valley Bookstore has large billboards on I-90 informing travelers that they are open seven days a week and have over 100,000 books. Keren Wolhart has been the owner and proprietor of this business for 44 years and understands the true pulse of Alberton.

“The planning board (Mineral County) has a tough job because all of us want Montana, our Mineral County, to look like 1950 Montana. And we know it’s going to get more built up.”

Wolhart has done her homework and she listens to people on the Lower Meadows proposed subdivision.

“I have been to every Alberton Town Council meeting since April, minus October. Then I went to the Planning Board meeting in Superior and will go to the commissioners meeting next month.”

She admits that what is happening is inevitable because as Missoula expands, the small rural towns in the Bitterroot, Blackfoot and Mineral County are becoming bedroom communities.

“I’m in favor of personal property rights and doing with the property of what the law allows you to do. They have done everything required of them in order to put a sub-division forward,” she shared.