A Yellowstone Club's request that essentially bars meter readers and power line workers from unannounced access to its exclusive gated community was approved by Montana's Public Service Commission on Thursday, but not without a caustic dissent by Commissioner Ken Toole on the culture of private communities.

The club near Big Sky wanted permission to install "turtle meters" at its 111 private residents and 30 non-residential facilities. These meters can be read remotely, which means that meter readers don't have to visit the premises. It also wanted to retain ownership of its electrical transmission line.

"The changes that were proposed appeared to be in accord with the rules for that sort of thing," PSC Chairman Greg Jergensen said.

The measure passed 3-2, with Brad Molnar also dissenting.

To Toole, the Yellowstone Club's request not only sets dangerous precedents, it also is indicative of a larger issue in Montana.

The Treasure State, he writes, is seeing an influx of the rich and famous crowd, who increasingly are cutting off access to the general public and isolating themselves from the rest of the community. The Yellowstone Club, he says, is "the epitome of the high-end gated community."

"This is the richest of the richest of the rich," Toole said. "The owner is building a $155 million house there."

He writes that the agreement that allows the Yellowstone Club to own the distribution system is unique, and "the apparent reason for this unique arrangement put forth in the cover letter is that the Yellowstone Club prefers to control NWE (NorthWestern Energy) employees' access to the property for work on the distribution system and to 'eliminate the need for monthly intrusions on owners' property by NWE personnel to read meters.' "

"I am worried about the precedent we set by accommodating this kind of request," Toole wrote. "It does not take an overactive imagination to come up with scenarios which could lead to more of these 'unique arrangements.'

"The reality is that we here in Montana are likely to see more of these gated, exclusive communities and I do not see how setting a precedent of accommodating their exclusionary and elitist restrictions serves the greater public interest."

He also wasn't persuaded of the need for the change, arguing that the desire to restrict the presence of NWE employees wasn't a good enough reason to grant the change.

"I'm not going to go with that," Toole said. "I think that's setting a precedent, and we shouldn't do that."

Jergensen said the other commissioners generally agreed with some of Toole's concerns about exclusive communities seeking special treatment. But that wasn't the issue before the PSC in this case.

"All of us kind of share Ken Toole's distress at the kind of notion that folks up there think they should be accorded some special treatment because of their wealth, but that's not a basis to turn down what appeared to be a legitimate, legal request," Jergensen said.

A Yellowstone Club spokesperson wasn't able to be reached for comment.

Reporter Eve Byron can be reached at 447-4076 or by e-mail at eve.byron@helenair.com