Commissioners July 14, 2023 Minutes

The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Turley, Commissioner Pancratz and Commissioner Goffena were present.

Pledge of Allegiance.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to approve the agenda as is. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to approve the July7th meeting minutes as written. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Board meetings.

Commissioner Goffena attended a “Homes on the Range” meeting with Snowy Mountain Development Corp. on Monday July 10, 2023 they went over the SMDC fee schedule.

Commissioner Goffena attended the Bair Collins Advisory Board meeting on Monday July 10, 2023 to discuss the options for utilization. Kansas State University is doing a feasibility study. They need to remember there will be an operational cost for some of the ideas mentioned. Vern Lang is going to be clipping the area.

Commissioner Goffena attended the Central Montana Health Board meeting Thursday July 13m 2023 in Harlowton. They will be charging a per person, per County fee to run the board next fiscal year. They signed a new contract with OneHealth. Todd Harwell and Karry Pride from DPHHS were in attendance also.

Commissioner Pancratz, Commissioner Goffena and Commissioner Turley attended the Department of Revenue meeting where they showed how assessed values are calculated. The State has not reduced their mill levy but the legislature reduced the Rural County mill levies.

Commissioner Turley attend the Refuse Board meeting. The new Contract with Republic was reviewed and remains under negotiation.

Commissioner Turley attended a National Association of Counties (NACO) Opioid Settlement Zoom meeting on July 11, 2023. It was noted that Fentanyl mixed with prescription drugs is a major driver in record fatal overdoses in 2022. Drug overdoses in 1999 were 25,000; in 2022 they were 130,000. Drug use has not notably increased. However, Drug marketing for pain killers has increased substantially, and being noted by Mexican/Central American Cartels who are taking advantage of mixing unapproved addictive drugs with approved drugs. Of major concern are that even if death is prevented with immediate treatment of overdose, permanent organ and brain damage occurs.

Opioid settlement money is being monitored to ensure it is not misspent for purposes unrelated to Opioid mitigation as was the Tabacco Settlement in 1998.

Justice of the Peace Marking met with the Commissioners regarding his meeting with Jon Tester about Veterans and behavior management/mental health. There is a Supreme Court seminar in September. The Memorandum of Understanding with the City for Court Services is still being worked on.

County Agent Solf gave her weekly report to the Commissioners. The 4H Youth Fair is next week July 17 through July 22, 2023. They will have open riding again after the 4H Fair and until the end of September. The fairground ARPA water project will probably begin in the spring of 2024.

Sheriff Lesnik gave his weekly report to the Commissioners. A spreadsheet of wages for the State was given to the Commissioners. Musselshell county is the lowest paid. Longevity was talked about.

CFO Kirk did the DES SIT-REP. Questions were submitted to FEMA regarding the Roundup Land Project but they have not received a reply. There may be a floodplain training panel in November. They put in a reimbursement request for the fire chief stipend with DNRC. There were 3 new addresses this week. They will be submitting final reimbursement for the EMPG FY 2022 grant next week.

Treasurer Hetrick met with the Commissioners to give the Quarterly report and the Cash Reconciliation report.

Victim Witness Advocate Allen met with the Commissioners for signature on the Acceptance Letter and Special Condition Form for the Victim Witness Assistance Program through the Montana Board of Crime Control. Ms. Allen received $131,000.00 this year.

Lynn Lipps, John Karns, Jack Foster and J.P Wegmuller from the Delphia Pines area met with the Commissioners regarding the condition of Delphia Road. Dallas Teini had been in earlier with a list of road issues. Commissioner Turley and Commissioner Goffena are going to meet Mr. Teini Monday, July 17, 2023 to tour the road.

Angie Tatman met with the Commissioners about the fire hydrant at the arena being broken and the ridge around the arena is causing water to sit. They would like to get more sand for the arena.

Public comment:

Theresa Doumitt met with the Commissioners to give an update on the “Welcome Center Kiosk”.

Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to sign the letter to the Coal Board for an extension on the contract MT-CB-CG-23-0922 for the Generator Project that was funded through the Coal Board. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to table signing Certificate of Survey 2023-8RB until they got more information. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion. Motion carried.

There being no further business Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to adjourn. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioners July 21, 2023 Minutes

The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Turley. Commissioner Pancratz and Commissioner Goffena were present.

Pledge of Allegiance.

*CLARIFICATION* In the June 16, 2023 Minutes, I put that Commissioner Goffena attended the Council on Aging Area II Executive meeting on Monday June 13, 2023. Commissioner Goffena attended the Musselshell Council on Aging Executive meeting and NOT AREA II AGENCY ON AGING. Sorry for the mistake. Also, it was never mentioned that anyone from the Council on Aging was retiring or stepping down. It was mentioned however they were possibly going to hire another individual to help the director but they are going to wait until the year end reports and finances are Available. If there are ever any questions regarding the minutes, feel free to contact me directly at 406-323-4617. Bonadee Hagstrom

Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to approve the agenda for the day as is. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to approve the minutes from the July 14, 2023 minutes after changing an error in grammar. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Turley and Commissioner Goffena attended a Refuse Board meeting on Thursday July 20, 2023 where the contract with Republic was discusses and accepted but not signed. The signing will be on August 1, 2023.

On Monday July17, 2023 Commissioner Turley and Commissioner Goffena toured North Delphia Road. Some culverts need repaired or replaced.

On Tuesday July 18, 2023 Commissioner Pancratz attended a Transportation Board meeting. They approved the requests for reimbursement for students that live more than 3 miles from drop off.

All Commissioners looked at the old Hitching Post building as a possible place to use for the Golden Thimble.

Maintenance Supervisor Jett gave her weekly report to the Commissioners. They are working on replacing the flooring in the lady’s downstairs restroom. The Extension Office air conditioner is freezing up and they either need to look into getting more air conditioners or getting air installed.

Sheriff Lesnik gave his weekly report to the Commissioners. Judge Spaulding also visited. There are 6 in jail today. They have not received any applications for the Jailer position or the Deputy position. They are also going to be needing a Youth Probation Officer.

DES Director Russell and Coordinator Rook gave their weekly report to the Commissioners. There were 2 new addresses this week. They should be finishing up with the County maps. All new roads have been entered into the system. Open burning is closed.

Airport manager Kelly Gebhardt visited with the Commissioners regarding a host vehicle at the airport. The State awarded $5,000.00 towards the vehicle.

Mayor Jones met with the Commissioners with a possible site for junk vehicles to be stored until they can be taken away.

Public comment:

Theresa Doumitt was present for the signing of the draw down request for the Coal Board grant. There will be a Coal Board meeting on September 14, 2023 and Ms. Doumitt would appreciate it if a Commissioner would attend.

End of public comment.

Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to sign Certificate of Survey 2023-8RB in Section 10, 15, 22 and 26, Township 9 North, Range 29 East submitted by Sanderson Stewart for Central Holdings, LLC. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to approve and sign Coal Board Draw 5 documents for the RMH Generator Phase 2 Project. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion. Motion carried.

There being no further business Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to adjourn. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

July 20, 2023, Commissioner Turley and Commissioner Pancratz did the second run of claims for the month of July, 2023

Claims for the second run of July 2023 =$84,087.30

Commissioners July 28, 2023 Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 8:30 by Commissioner Turley, Commissioner Pancratz and Commissioner Goffena were present.

Pledge of Allegiance.

Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to approve the agenda for the day after adding Vern Lang for the 1:00 time slot. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion as amended.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to approve the minutes from the July 21, 2023 meeting after clarification of the amount of money given by the State for the curtesy vehicle at the airport. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion as amended. Motion carried.

There were no board meeting for the week but Commissioner Pancratz worked on the minimum allocation grants with GreatWest and Stahly Engineering. Commissioner Pancratz also worked with CFO Kirk on budget amounts for fund 2991.

Commissioner Pancratz worked with Dave McAlpine from the Montana Tax Appeal Board regarding Musselshell County’s Board. A Commissioner cannot set on the board so they are going to have to appoint some people. There is a zoom training on August 9, 2023 and a training class in Billing September 13, 2023.

Kathy Pfister with the Community Library Board met with the Commissioners. The library has been sharing with Golden Valley during the school year because they do not have a library Ms. Pfister asked if the Commissioners would sign a letter in support of getting South Central Federation monies to put toward both Counties for the library? All Commissioners agreed to sign the letter. The Commissioner will be calling MACo regarding HB234.

County Agent Solf was not able to attend the days meeting but submitted a report. The 4-H Fair went well aside from the heat. There was over $8,000.00 put back into the Musselshell/Golden Valley 4-H Council, shooting sports program and scholarships. Look for a writeup in the papers on buyers for market animals. The toilet at the campground is going to be replaced and the comfort station and latrine will be pumped out.

Sheriff Lesnik and Treasurer Hetrick met with the Commissioners regarding delinquent Mobile Home Taxes.

Sheriff Lesnik gave his weekly report to the Commissioners. There has only been 1 application received for the Deputy position and not one for the Jailer positions. Sheriff Lesnik thinks the housing and rental situation in town is a factor in not receiving more applications.

DES Director Russell and Coordinator Rook gave their weekly report to the Commissioners. There will be a meeting with FEMA and State DES August 1, 2023 at 8:00 regarding the flooding. They are meeting with Wendy Jones from the Conservation Board Monday July 31, 2023 to talk flood prevention. There were 8 wildfires and 1 structure fire. The fire restriction calls begin Monday July 31, 2023 for status updates. They will be advertising for 2 per diem addressing employees. Wheatland County is getting a new DES Coordinator.

Patti and Vern Lang met with the Commissioners and they all went to the Bair Collins property to see about clipping the grass.

Ambulance Director Solberg gave his weekly report to the Commissioners. The new phone system estimate should be coming in next week. The distress buttons should be installed Monday or Tuesday of next week. There is a Coal Board Certification form to be signed at 3:00 business. The grant is for a new ambulance.

Public Comment:

Dave and Wendy Shreeve asked about the mail out ballot for the Middle Musselshell Water District. Clerk and Recorder stated that 43 ballots went out and 18 are needed for it to pass. 40% of the ballots. Mr. Shreeve wanted to say that he is in support of the Water District.

End of public comment.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to sign the Certification form for a Coal Board Impact Grant Application for a new ambulance submitted by Roundup EMS. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion.

Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to sign Resolution 2023-39 for the Noxious Weed Management Advisory Council. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to sign the Certification for a Coal Impact Grant Application for the Road Department for various road related expenditures. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to sign Resolution 2023-40 to apply for a Coal Impact Grant for the Road Department. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to vote on the ballot for the County owned property in the boundaries of the Middle Musselshell Water District.

Commissioner Goffena made the motion to suspend the rules to sign Certificate of Survey 2023-9RB submitted by Sanderson Stewart for Hartland Living Trust. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Monty Sealey met with the Commissioners to update them on the Regional Water Authority work. The Roundup area bids will be going out in August and Melstone bids should be going out before Christmas.

There being no further business Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to adjourn. Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1077 to complete a short-term loan with the general Fund to clear the deficit cash balances A draw was submitted to the Coal Board on 5/30/23.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1075 (posted to June 2023) Correcting claim #25169 to go to Care Prisoner from Public Safety Admin.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1079 recording Grant money due to hospital- money not received by fiscal year end.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1080 recording grant money due to Weed Department-money not received by fiscal year end.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1081 recording grant money due to Road Department for belly dump trailers-money not received by fiscal year end.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1082- Loan from Airport to Airport for extra loan payment.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1083 -Short term loan from Fire Protection to DNRC Funds applied for 7/13/2023.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1085 loan from Fire Protection to DNRC to cover cash deficit in DNRC.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1089 allocating the fair market value of the investments. This will have a revering journal voucher posted in July.

Commissioner Turley signed Journal Voucher 1092 Transferring tax receipts to correct cemetery fund 7301.

Monday July 31, 2023 Road Department Meeting

Commissioner Turley, Commissioner Goffena, Road and Bridge Supervisor Stockert and Secretary Newman were present.

The chemical they put on Melstone Custer worked very well. They have to figure out a way to keep traffic off of roads when they use the chemical in the future. There were quotes submitted for an old grader, brand new would be $438,000.00, rebuilt there were 2 different numbers $276,774.00 and $259,776.00. They did not get the floodplain permit for the Goffena Bridge project. There is a Coal Board grant being submitted today. There is a FEMA and State DES meeting regarding flooding August 1, 2023. Commissioner Turley and Commissioner Goffena went out to North Delphia Road. There are some culverts that need looked at and possibly replaced. Mr. Stockert talked to a resident on CA Road regarding his gravel pit. They will possibly use the gravel in October if the budget allows. The new employee starts Wednesday August 2, 2023.