Another section of hillside overlooking the Village Greens subdivision collapsed early Thursday morning under the weight of record rainfall in Kalispell.

The slide at the north end of West Nicklaus Avenue moved a sizable amount of soil and tree debris into a Village Greens pond used for stormwater runoff and irrigation. It is further evidence of the unstable nature of the bluff, neighbors asserted.

It’s the second major slide in that area in four years and comes just a week before a Flathead District Court hearing June 27 on a county decision to terminate a grant for slope stabilization related to a 2010 slide.

“This [latest] slide is a specific example of why it’s important to do some remediation to that slope with the funds that are available,” said Chuck Wilhoit, a former president of the Village Greens Homeowners Association.

In April a district judge granted a temporary restraining order stopping the county commissioners from terminating a $298,000 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 stabilization project. Homeowners have committed their match of $102,000.

At the last minute, though, the commissioners declined to move forward with the grant, citing concerns about liability for any future slope damage.

“The reality is something needs to be done and we’re prepared to do it if we can get our hands on the FEMA money,” Wilhoit said. “With the amount of moisture we’ve had it may have unstabilized that [entire] slope.”

Kalispell received 3.3 inches of rain from the potent storm system this week.

The latest slide is about three houses north of the 2010 slide area — and once again there’s a conundrum about who has jurisdiction to deal with it.

“It’s the same issue. It’s just a never-ending story,” one director of the Village Greens Homeowners Association said. “We just need a collective effort” to solve the problem.

The steep hillside lies within the jurisdiction of both Flathead County and the city of Kalispell, but neither government body wants to get involved with slope stabilization. Homeowners spent close to four years working with the Flathead County Office of Emergency Services on the FEMA grant, only to have their efforts put on hold.

Even though stormwater runoff from city streets within Village Greens drains into the pond, the homeowners association is responsible for the pond, Kalispell Public Works Director Susie Turner said.

Turner said she hadn’t heard about the latest slide, but noted that as a rule, stormwater management is the responsibility of the development or homeowners association.

Neighbors maintain there are several factors contributing to the unstability of the slope. Stormwater runoff from Edgerton School off Whitefish Stage Road is piped down to the retention pond. And homes on the bluff above Village Greens are on septic systems.

Some neighbors believe the city of Kalispell has some responsibility because the City Council approved the annexation of the Granary Ridge townhouses that they claim are built too close to the crest of the hill.

The FEMA grant that now is the focus of a court battle would provide stabilization and better drainage along the slope. The grant application noted that if unabated, the gradual erosion could cause catastrophic damage within a number of years.

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