Rediscovering home: Superior Council updates

Our ranch was about a mile from town back in the day. Now, the town of Superior has practically reached our doorstep. Houses occupy the forested land where dirt roads intertwined and young people “frolicked.”

Often, “town kids” would visit the ranch and get a taste of our electric fence. We would always tell the uninitiated that we could form a human chain with them at the rear. I or Brett, the brother just older than me, would tell them that because they were at the end of the line, they would feel very little. Of course, the human body conducts and amplifies the current, so new guy gets zapped. He or she would always be willing to join in the next episode when another new kid came along.

Though we lived outside the town limits, we always felt like Superiorites. We shopped, played and gathered in town. What happened in town mattered. 

But I had never attended a town council meeting until this month. In contrast to the introspective Superior School Board, the town council is boisterous. The  group laughed and told stories, with everyone joining in. Not better, just different. Freedom recognizes more than one path can find success.

Construction is set to begin in mid-July on the $6.7 million sewer project. The cost of the project came in approximately $2 million over the original estimate because of rising construction costs. The city had obtained grants totaling just below $4.7 million. There are seven funding agencies involved, keeping town clerk Brenda Schneider, a 40-year veteran of the job, on her toes. The Town is in the process of obtaining a loan from the State Revolving Fund Program for $2.3 million. The Fund can currently forgive $750,000, but that may increase to $1 million. The council hopes to complete the project without raising rates, but that remains to be seen.

The project will continue through November of 2025. Though the baseball fields next to the sewer lagoons can still be used, construction equipment will fill the surrounding area, including parking. Visiting team members will not be able to camp around the field. The fear is that participants and spectators will park in the surrounding residential area.

The Town is now juggling 11 grants, including three as “pass through” for community organizations, including the new fire station at the old school location in Tarkio, a disability leave at the Human Resource Council, and initial architectural/engineering studies for both food bank remodeling and construction of the pool in the Eva Horning Park.

At the other end of the water system, a main line recently broke causing a muddy mess on Second Avenue. The town crews were able to replace the old iron pipe (see photograph of Brenda Schneider holding the offending section). There are more than 8,000 feet of iron pipe under the town. While the pipes are holding for now, Andy Cadman of the Public Works Department told the council, a plan needs to be made for replacing the pipe in the future, possibly in sections.

Town employees recently completed an extensive inventory of lead and copper pipes far ahead of the deadline. The inventory had 470 items with 13 questions attached to each. Cadman reported that the town had never failed a lead test to his knowledge. One is taken every three years. Councilor Terry Dillon remarked the efficient completion of the inventory “shows what kind of employees” the town has.

Cadman also announced that Department of Environmental Quality plans to begin testing for plastics in the water system sometime in the next few years. The town is part of a lawsuit against plastic manufacturers, where a $2.2 million settlement was reached. However, the town must test for plastics to be eligible for any of the funds. The test is highly sensitive and is subject to false positives. Kalispell is conducting the test. Superior will wait to see how the Kalispell testing goes before deciding whether to do its own testing.

The 15 mph speed limit on the curve on Fourth Avenue has been a topic of discussion. I recall a couple of accidents on that corner, including a fatality. But, if memory serves, the drivers were going very fast. The town plans to paint “15 mph” on the street surface. Gordon Hendrick of the Sheriff’s Office said deputies have increased patrols around the curve.

Two matters outside the town caught the attention of the council. Fire Chief Scott Dodd reported that the well for the new Tarkio station has reached 650 feet, and the driller hopes to find water by 700 feet. The rural fire district annexed the Tarkio area and has volunteers there. Equipment is housed at the local horse ranch for now. 

The lack of a state statute, Hendrick advised, has handcuffed the Sheriff’s Office when it comes to accountability for owners of vicious animals. The town has a solid ordinance but outside town is a different matter. A recent attack has spotlighted the problem, which is common to all rural counties. Even if the Sheriff's Office seized a dog, Hendrick said, there is no place to take it. There is no dog facility here, i.e., dog pound or animal shelter, and Missoula will not take them. People were urged to talk to their state legislators about crafting a statute like the town’s ordinance.

In closing, I want to note the passing of a fellow out-of-towner, Wayne Bricker. My dad let me work away from home my freshman summer at Wayne’s ranch, the Happy Hollow. Wayne lived life like a perpetual grin. One day in a hay shed, a snarling gray rat with a pink face and feet, and sharp incisors, emerged from among the bales. Wayne said the rat chewed his leg off when caught in a trap. He never fell for the trap again. He and Wayne had reached détente. The rat did little damage to the baling twine and Wayne met his snarl with a smile.