Molt residents raise road, tax-abatement and impact-fund concerns; commissioners decline comment on Park City Homestead due to pending litigation

Residents from the Molt area and a reporter raised several issues during the Feb. 23 public-comment period, including road condition, a proposed solar project, property-tax abatements and a separate trailer-park legal matter.

Linda Halstead-Acharya of the Stillwater County News asked whether the commissioners would comment on the Park City Homestead trailer situation and reported the current owner intends to replace trailers; Commissioner Steve Riveland said "there is a current lawsuit and due to the pending litigation, it would not be appropriate to comment at this time." Commissioner Roger Webb said buying the property could be an option but the county would wait for litigation to run its course.

Residents from Molt raised concerns about Columbus Molt Road. Kevin Scheidt said the road "is down to the base with little to no gravel" and warned that traffic could increase substantially if a solar farm is built. Commissioner Webb said Road and Bridge and Weed departments planned a working session to address the condition; Kisha Cornell, the county finance administrator, noted that increases in property values would benefit special districts and schools through higher mills.

Commenters also questioned how a requested tax abatement for Puget Sound Energy would affect the area and whether the process is fair to local farms; the board explained the standard multi-year percentage abatement structure but provided no specific financial analysis in the minutes. The board approved the consent items that included the acknowledgment of a county representative to the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority and receipt of the tax-abatement application (vote 3-0).