Flathead District Judge Ted Lympus on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order stopping Flathead County commissioners from terminating a federal grant to stabilize a bluff off Whitefish Stage Road near Village Greens.

A hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. April 23 in District Court to allow the commissioners to argue why a preliminary injunction should not be issued.

The case involves a recent decision by the commissioners to halt a four-year effort by a group of homeowners to get federal money to stabilize a section of bluff that collapsed in 2010.

With previous approval from the commissioners, the homeowners successfully won a $298,000 slope stabilization mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The county had agreed to be the sponsoring agency — a pass-through vehicle for the grant money — and no county money was committed to the project.

Then on March 26 commissioners Gary Krueger and Cal Scott voted to terminate the grant process. Commissioner Pam Holmquist was absent when the vote was taken, but all three commissioners voiced concerns about the county’s liability if the slope were to fail.

Homeowners pleaded with the commissioners to wait 30 days before notifying the state to stop the grant so they could have time to explore other options. The commissioners declined to grant the extra time and also declined to schedule a time when the homeowners could speak to the commissioners.

The homeowners’ only opportunity to make their case will be during a 15-minute public comment segment of the commissioners’ agenda at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, and they plan to fill the chambers with concerned citizens.

Scott Gearhart and Susan Storfa, two of the neighbors who worked toward getting the slope stabilization money, are listed as plaintiffs in the court action filed by Whitefish attorney Sean Frampton.

The order issued by Lympus restrains and enjoins the county “from terminating the grant approved by FEMA, by letter or otherwise, until [District] court can make a determination of the rights of the plaintiffs and obligations of Flathead County.”

Frampton said the plaintiffs’ application for an injunction was filed as an ex parte action without prior notification to the county. The law allows ex parte filings if it’s an irreparable situation, he said.

Gearhart said he bought his townhome near the bluff under the assumption the grant was going forward. He alleges the county could be held liable for blocking a grant aimed at mitigating a slope hazard.

Homeowners have raised their 25 percent required match for the grant — $102,000 — which would be added to FEMA money for a total of $400,000 to complete the slope work.

So far the commissioners have been unwilling to discuss other options, such as a waiver of subrogation or hold-harmless agreement that would not hold the county liable for any future slide damage.

Slumping has been an ongoing problem in that area north of Kalispell for years. The stabilization work outlined in the grant would build safer slopes and create adequate drainage.

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