Commissioners Proceedings

March 11, 2019

Commissioners met for their weekly meeting with Donna Giacometto, Lee Randall and Rod Schaffer present.

No public comment was received at this time.

Consent agenda – Rod moved, Donna seconded this motion, all in favor, motion carried. Consent agenda approved.

Maint. Supervisor, Marty Drane, was unable to meet with board due to snow removal.

Commissioner Randall informed board he received a call from Denbury and the postponing of gas pipeline.

Mary Rumph, county agent, was in to update the board on the beginning date of the Working Horse Show. 1959 was the year it started.

Sheriff Drane stopped in to report he had a deputy resign and will start the process of advertising for help.

Road Supervisor, Teel Mullanix, met with board, to report three machines are down and the road crew is doing all they can to get the snow off the roads. The Oshkosh needs a new tire and they can only be purchased by an army surplus store. Teel found one in California. Teel will contact the company and see if they will direct bill. All bus routes were plowed on Sunday. The EGR valve in a blade has been recently replaced and the machine is still not running well. Teel has drove the machine and verified the issues and does not know what it could be either. Teel reported he will be gone Thursday and Friday; Rich Aubert will be in charge. Discussion was held regarding weight restrictions; no decision was made.

Transportation Department, Kathy Roberts stopped in to inform the board she has offered the road department her pressure washer as she never uses it and hates to see it go to waste. She also reported all things are going well.

The board discussed predator control forms.

The board discussed the moving of some of the offices in the courthouse. No decision was made.

The board discussed the weed department and what their best interest is for the weed program.

Weed Coordinator, Tammy Vantine, was in to meet with the board. They asked what grants she is working on at this time, and weed budget expenditures and revenue were discussed. They discussed chemicals. She informed the board the conservation district is concerned about the weed problem. Vantine will work with the district. She also informed the board that MSDS forms are now online. If the county is interested in this program, there is a cost but the exact number is unknown. The board asked Vantine to bring more information back in regards to this - no decision was made. Her dealer license is in process, she will continue to map problem areas. There is an upcoming training in Billings and Bozeman. Bark oil was discussed and the board agreed to sell it at a discounted price. The board informed Vantine of the possible office moves.

The board reviewed the Montana Department of Transportation fuel tax maps.

An agreement letter was presented from public health to show support for family planning. Darlynn stopped in to discuss this agreement in more detail.

Darren Pluhar, Pluhar Spraying Services, stopped in to discuss the operating lease agreement between Powder River County and Pluhar Spraying Services. Pluhar will buy his fuel from the county. Pluhar will also be in touch with Marty Drane regarding getting easier access to airport when he is flying. Jeff Noble read the agreement and there is some wording in the agreement that will be changed and then both parties will sign agreement.

Pat Phillippi, County Treasurer, presented the Interlocal Agreement with MT Dept of Justice Motor Vehicle Division and Powder River County. A copy will be given to Jeff Noble for legal advice. No final decision was made.

Nursing Home Administrator, Cheri Stachey, met with board to discuss the cost of benefits vs. the employee hours. There are 22 residents. Stachey reported there is no head of housekeeping and that is working well at this time. The manor housed the local blood drive due to the community center having frozen pipes and it was reported that went well. The budget was discussed.

Teel Mullanix, Road Supervisor joined the meeting to discuss the Montana Department of Transportation fuel tax maps.

Extension office, Julie Riley and Mary Rumph stopped in to present February month end report. They discussed nitrate poisoning, steps of charity, the upcoming trail meeting, and insurance on the community garden. Julie will be out of the office next week. They discussed extension office working with mental health; Commissioner Schaffer just wanted to make sure no other programs would suffer. The group discussed the policy and procedures for 4-H books and fair projects.

Commission approved the 2019-2020 Montana Department of Transportation fuel tax maps.

Commissioner Giacometto updated the need for a District 4 MT Dept of Transportation Commissioner. The state is responsible for appointment.

Commission scored the RFQ’s. Great West Engineering was the highest scorer. Commissioner Schaffer motioned to accept Great West Engineering, Commissioner Giacometto seconded the motion, all in favor, motion passed. The board will contract Craig Erickson the start the contract process. After draft contract is signed, they will need to do a kickoff meeting which will be by phone conference. Step 1 will be to get the TSEP Grant started; this will take a year. Step 2 will be construction.

Jaci Phillips, Powder River Clinic, met with board to present a Memorandum of Understanding with Montana Healthcare Network, for a Chronic Care Management Agreement. By signing this agreement, the county will receive $3000 stipend to use however they wish. Discussion was held regarding the stipend and the decision was made to purchase a new eye machine between the clinic and public health.

No public comment was heard at this time.

Meeting adjourned.

March 18, 2019

Commissioners met for their weekly meeting with Donna Giacometto, Lee Randall and Rod Schaffer present.

No public comment was received at this time.

Consent agenda – Rod moved, Donna seconded this motion, all in favor, motion carried. Consent agenda approved.

Maint. Supervisor, Marty Drane, met with board. Commissioner Schaffer asked if there could be more snow removal behind the manor where the employees park. Drane explained they are doing what they can with all the circumstances involved. Drane informed board of upcoming days off of work. The main sewer line at the community center is thawed out. There is an issue at the airport with a fuel pump. The computer board seems to be the problem, Drane will continue to work on this issue. Drane reported he will be doing a lot of snow plowing due to other absences at work in his department. Drane reported the new employee in his department is doing a great job. Commissioner Giacometto asked Drane his thoughts on moving some of the offices around in the courthouse. Drane was willing to do whatever worked best for the board and county.

Commissioner’s Randall and Giacometto along with Clerk and Recorder Cynde Gatlin updated Commissioner Schaffer on their two trips last week. On Tuesday they went to Jordan and toured the CAH facility and then met with CEO and business manager there to discuss different pros and cons of their facility. On Wednesday the three attended a MACO sponsored meeting in Miles City for Human Resources.

Road Supervisor, Teel Mullanix, met with board. He reported the road by Roger Gaskill’s has water running over and the culvert is freezing up. He has put up cones and will do what they can to prevent anymore damage. They discussed the various areas where roads are washing out and they are worried the frost is not finished coming up. They will continue to monitor the roads closely. Weight restrictions were discussed but no decision was made. The Oshkosh is at Powderville with a flat tire. Teel is in the process of getting a new tire. The board asked how the projected costs were going for the crushing project. He did get one back – but did not bring it in with the exact numbers. If Mullanix can he would like to set this crusher up at the new Riesland Pit. **250,000.00 is the approximate number**

The board and road supervisor then discussed the road weight ordinance. They discussed doing a per road ordinance. Teel will check on roads and let the board know which ones are the worst at this time. No final decision was made.

Clerk & Recorder, Cynde Gatlin presented the chemical bid letter to be mailed out. The board approved letter and she will get them mailed out.

Commission received paperwork back from Jeff Noble’s office in regards to the Block Grant—Noble had electronically signed it. Board reviewed it, approved and Commissioner Randall signed it as well. Julie Korkow will be contacted as to what needs to be done now.

Dowl engineers, Andie Maddie and Cory Wilhelm met the board and clerk & recorder to discuss the changes in the landfill reporting with DEQ and the SWPPP. They discussed the responsibilities of the county in regards to the SWPPP program and the new requirements by DEQ. The county will now need to have a SWPPP Administrator. Dowl informed the board of the specific job duties of this administrator, and negative effects of not having one. Dowl will do the paperwork for the SWPPP permit every year but the administrator is responsible for the landfill. Commissioner Randall will act as interim administrator until the board can make a final decision on how to handle this new job. The storm water ponds were discussed and explained to the board the importance and requirement of these ponds. The discussed the ½” rain fall requirement by DEQ- if there is more than ½” rainfall the administrator has 72 hours to do a physical inspection, record the documentation and take pictures. If the water does go over the ponds, they have 72 hours to test the water. There is now going to be a set number of training hours per year for the landfill operator and adminsitror. DOWL and DEQ can do this training. There is also the snow melt that needs to be monitored. Cory from DOWL will work on a proposal to give to the commission in regards to possibly being the SWPPP coordinator. They also discussed the issue of a new cell expansion, Cory took a topographic map picture and will be in contact with the board regarding this thgouths.

Nursing Home Administrator, Cheri Stachey, met with board. 21 residents were reported. Discussion was held regarding administration of new resident. Commission informed Cheri about the snow removal issue in

the employee parking lot. She also has been in contact with maintenance and is trying to get the issue resolved. The commission updated Cheri on the recent trip to Jordan, MT. Telemedicine was briefly discussed. There will be an adult protective service meeting on March 19.

Department of Revenue met with the board to finalize the details on the closure of the Powder River County office. Rich Sparks, Wendy Twedt, Pat Phillippi, Liz Franz, Michelle Mattick, Robin Rude, Debbie Bell, and Lisa Reiger attended the meeting. The group discussed the RTC and survey process. The board asked for a monthly appearance by the department of revenue so the taxpayers of Powder River County know on a regular schedule when someone will be here to assist if needed. The Department of Revenue is willing to give this request a trial run and after that if the Department of Revenue feels there is not enough public correspondence they will go back to meeting in Broadus on a request/ appointment system only.

The board received a phone call from Great West Engineering in regards to the contract/ agreement for the RFQ. Carl at Great West will contact Teel Mullanix at MACRS and visit more about the bridges in the county. They discussed the planning of the TSEP grant. This grant helps with bridge assessment. Great West will do the work for the grant. They discussed the Little Powder Bridge and cost of repairs/replacing it. They discussed the main contract with Great West and the task orders that will follow after the contract.

The board then discussed the cell phone for the employees.

Jeff Noble, county attorney, stopped in to visit about the Great West Engineering contract. This contract is a 6 year contract. Noble approved the contract.

There was a joint meeting with the predator board. Mike Moullet, Bud Williams, and Arnie Mader were in attendance. Doug Mraz was also at this meeting. No public comment was taken at this time. Board commented on the predator control by-laws - Williams found one typo, Commissioner Randall will fix this. The group discussed the by-laws - Arnie Mader motioned to accept the predator control by-laws, Bud Williams seconded, all in favor, motion passed. Helicopter update: Dakota Flying and Bighorn Airways- both companies have paperwork still in the process with the state of Montana. Den hunting was discussed; Doug Mraz has chosen to take the offer of becoming a temporary employee of the county and working predator ground control. County and predator board are requesting a monthly kill report by Mraz. The commission asked the predator board who to contact when a den is found. They also discussed the death loss in the county. Doug Mraz will start work on April 1. He will be employed for 90 days, it was decided in previous meeting he will earn $5000/month. Commissioners will get a job description. They discussed the 2019 sign up sheets. Public comment was opened up for items not on the agenda, none was heard. Meeting adjourned at 3:45.

Pat Phillippi, County Treasurer, stopped in to see if commission has heard anything on HB253. They have not at this time. The board discussed HB253.

No public comment was heard at this time.

Meeting adjourned.