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(SEELEY LAKE, Mo.) — A slice of Montana paradise is suffering economic disruption, but it’s not the result of political battles or environmental change. Seeley Lake’s problem is its lack of a centralized sewer system.

The Missoula County community’s reluctance to come up with a plan to replace its septic system means it can’t build affordable housing for working people. While high-end septic systems can serve multi-family homes, local officials say they’re not cost-effective for the type of housing developers want to build in the area. The solution? A sewer system alone will do.

Due to the lack of housing, Seeley Lake’s largest employer, Pyramid Mountain Lumber, cannot attract enough workers to stay in business, and the family-owned business of 75 years is closing.

“It was probably the hardest thing to make the announcement to the crew; I have friends, family, you know, generations, good friends that work here. I had to tell them we’re closing the doors,” Todd Johnson, a third-generation sawmill worker whose grandfather started the mill in 1948, told ABC News.

“I’ve never had a paycheck from another company in my entire life. I started here in sixth grade,” Johnson said. “This is all I’ve ever known.” Johnson has since worked his way up to general manager.

Missoula County was once home to several sawmills and a thriving lumber industry. Pyramid Mountain Lumber is the last, so its closure will spell the end of the industry in the area.

“There hasn’t been an apartment, duplex or fourplex built in this city in over 30 years,” Johnson said. “When you’re talking about entry-level housing for more working-class people … it’s not available.”

Pyramid isn’t the only local business affected by the labor shortage. Rovero’s Hardware is “running on a skeleton crew” as its busiest season approaches, noted general manager Kyle Marx.

“There’s no affordable housing here,” he said. “Rents have gone down since COVID hit, and everybody came here, bought every rental they could find and turned them into vacation rentals or moved here themselves.”

According to Dee Baker, owner of antique store Grizzly Claw Trading Company, it’s a long-term problem.

“There could be public housing built, but the people in the city can’t get an agreement (for a sewer system) with Missoula County,” Baker said. “And that’s been going on for years and years.”

According to Dave Strohmaier, chairman of the Missoula Board of County Commissioners, the situation arose because locals were reluctant to pay for a centralized sewer system that would expand Seeley Lake, and there was fear that such a major infrastructure change would change the character of the community.

“The irony is that the lack of infrastructure … is a major reason Pyramid Mountain Lumber can’t find housing for their employees and the workers to keep the business running, and that’s why change is on the agenda,” Strohmaier said.

Johnson gave a preview of how much the city would lose if the lumber yard closed.

“Our payroll just for our employees is over $6 million a year,” he said. “When you take that out of this economy, it changes the fabric of the city. That’s for sure.”

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