A controversial rural special improvement district proposed for Mennonite Church Road will be considered by the county commissioners on Thursday.

A 10 a.m. hearing will take public comments on the project, but since the county has waivers of protest from a majority of the affected lots it appears to be a done deal.

At 11 a.m. the commissioners are scheduled to open bids on the road project.

Even though it's an uphill battle for Mennonite Church Road residents, it hasn't stopped them from writing protest letters to the county and the Daily Inter Lake, imploring the commissioners to use county money to pave the through-road.

The county's most recent estimate pegs the construction cost at about $868,252 for the more than 3 miles between Montana 35 and Creston Hatchery Road. The county intends to pay 100 percent of the road base cost, about $287,400, and the developers of Fox Hill Estates are expected to pay about $92,000 to pave 1,000 feet of the road that serves the subdivision.

Mike Corbett, who lives in Fox Hill Estates, wrote to the commissioners saying he believes residents in the proposed district are being unfairly burdened because Mennonite Church Road is a through-route used by the general public.

Property owners in the district will be taxed roughly $250 a year for the next 20 years to pay for the paving, although county officials say that amount could be less, depending on final construction costs.

Another neighbor, John L. Thomas, said he, too, believes it's the county's responsibility to pave the road.

"A through-road that needs upgraded is a countywide need," Thomas said in a letter to the commissioners. "Many people benefit from the improvement…this is a countywide problem which should be handled with a solution from general county funds, not by picking off a select group of people to carry an unfair portion of the load."

The one thing both sides agree on is that something needs to be done about the dust problem on Mennonite Church Road.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com