Commissioner Proceedings

Monday, October 28, 2024

Commissioner Chair Lee Randall called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Commissioner’s office, Powder River County Courthouse. Commissioners Lori Fortner and John Olson were present.

Commissioners reviewed and approved the consent agenda. The minutes of October 21, 2024 commissioner proceedings were read, approved, and ordered published.

Jackie Beardsley, Extension Agent, met with the board to conduct her monthly department meeting.

Tracy Thomas, Powder River Chamber of Commerce representative, met with the board to request the county to allow the chamber to place a storage unit on the county property. Thomas presented the location between the baseball field and fairgrounds and the board approved.

Becky McEuen, DES Coordinator, met with the board to discuss her department and the coordinator position. McEuen also presented the FY25 grant to be signed.

Raymond Ragsdale, Fire Chief, met with the board and recommended the county to lift the current fire burn ban restriction. The board signed Resolution 2024-27, Rescind Fire Ban, with Lori Fortner motioning to approve, John Olson seconded the motion, motion carried.

Nursing Home Administrator Kylie Randall met with the board to conduct her bi-weekly department meeting. Randall reported there are some issues with the physical therapy billing and they are working on resolving the issues. Randall also reported she is in the process of updating various employee policies for the facility.

Ron Hecker, Forest Service Manager, met with the board. He reported on prescribed burns, the budget, leases, and other various issues. A local resident joined the meeting to discuss trapping and his need for help with coyotes on his place.

Jim Atchison, SEMDC, along with Julie Stoddard via phone, met with the board to present the FY25 membership dues. He also informed the board of this year’s achieved goals and upcoming goals. Stoddard then informed the board of an energy audit that is offered through DEQ for the nursing home. This would offer the nursing home the ability to proceed with potential energy grants.

The board spent the remainder of the day conducting administrative duties. The 24/25 Aging contract was signed.

After hearing no further public comment the board adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Commissioner Chair Lee Randall called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Commissioner’s office, Powder River County Courthouse. Commissioners Lori Fortner and John Olson were present.

Commissioners reviewed and approved the consent agenda.

The board left the office to tour the East Powderville Road and East River Road gravel projects.

During the day claims were reviewed and approved for payment of various county departmental expenses as submitted by the Clerk & Recorder’s office.

Abbey Barnhart and Vikki Klemm, Powder River Medical Clinic, met with the board to discuss locum Physician Assistant KT Copps. The board approved to move forward with contracting with Copps to be the clinic’s locum physician assistant.

After hearing no further public comment, the board adjourned at 4:30 but stayed until trick-or-treaters were done.

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Commissioner Chair Lee Randall called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Commissioner’s office, Powder River County Courthouse. Commissioners Lori Fortner and John Olson were present. Commissioners reviewed and approved the consent agenda. Minutes from October 21 and 28, 2024 were read, approved and ordered published.

Soil Conservation District members Gene Smith, Gloria Rosencranz, Bill Stevens, John Herman and Broadus Volunteer Fire Department Raymond Ragsdale met with the board. The Soil Conservation District is donating a 2024 Dodge pickup to the fire department. The fire department will send the vehicle to Missoula for equipment installation and will sign the title to the county for ownership.

The scheduled Board of Health meeting was cancelled.

Christy Olson, Transportation Director, met with the board. Christy reported both new Honda Pilots have been received. She is requesting lighting, a nozzle holder and a meter for the new fuel tanks. There will be three vans ready for sale in the county spring auction with the possibility of transferring one van to the nursing home. Christy Olson reported the generator at the transportation building was not working. Marty Drane was notified and will be working on the problem.

Raymond Ragsdale, Broadus Volunteer Fire Department, met with the board to discuss the construction of a new building. The building will be located at Station 2 and will be 60x100 in size and have a gravel floor. The estimated cost is $150,000.00. The fire department will be covering the cost and insurance of the building with an anticipated request for insurance reimbursement by the county on a yearly basis. Ragsdale reported they are waiting for one more estimate before proceeding with the construction.

After hearing no further public comment, the board adjourned at 12:00 p.m.

Monday, November 18, 2024

Commissioner Chair Lee Randall called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Commissioner’s office, Powder River County Courthouse. Commissioners Lori Fortner and John Olson were present. Commissioners reviewed and approved the consent agenda. The minutes of October 31, 2024, commissioner proceedings were read, approved, and ordered published.

The board reviewed and approved payment of mid-month claims submitted by the Clerk & Recorder’s office.

The Motor Grader Bid Opening began at 9:00 a.m. Teel Mullanix, Road Supervisor and Truman Neprude, Tractor and Equipment representative, were both present. The bids received were as follows:

CAT Tractor & Equipment

Bid Bond received

$445,000.00- purchase price includes snow wing

Model 150

Will be available by 8-31-25 or sooner

RDO- John Deere

Bid Bond received

$468,000.00 – purchase price includes snow wing

Model 772 G John Deere

Available March 2025

The board did not award any bids at this time.

Ambulance Director Adam Johnson met with the board for a department update. Johnson is requesting the commissioners to review the weekend pay for EMT’s and add an hourly pay line for Search and Rescue. The budget was discussed. If the diesel fuel in the EMS tanks gels up during the winter, the EMS department has permission to fuel up at local fuel stations to keep emergency operations going.

The board conducted the 2024 Federal General Election Canvass.

The board spent the remainder of the day reading correspondence and taking care of various administrative duties.

Having completed all current business for the day, the board adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Monday, November 25, 2024

Commissioner Chair Lee Randall called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Commissioner’s office, Powder River County Courthouse. Commissioners Lori Fortner and John Olson were present.

Commissioners reviewed and approved the consent agenda.

The board reviewed the Montana Motor Vehicle Department contract for use of the courthouse for driver’s license renewals. The board agreed to renew the contract.

Teel Mullanix, Road Supervisor, joined the meeting. Mullanix and the board discussed the motor grader bids. After discussion of the bids, the board voted unanimously to accept the RDO Equipment bid with a purchase price of $468,000.00.

Teel Mullanix, Road Supervisor, then conducted his general department update.

Marty Drane, Maintenance Supervisor, met with the board to conduct a general department update. He reported he has found the generator issue at the transportation building. There was an underground electrical fault at the transportation building, and he had Don Koegle come in and locate the fault. It was determined that when the fiber optic was installed, they nicked the coating on the line coming from the building to the generator and that is why the transportation generator is not working. Range Telephone has been contacted and the cost will be forwarded to the fiber optic company. The nursing home air curtain has been installed. He also reported there has been unauthorized use at MP/indoor arena. They discussed possibly blocking the door so only the east door with the keypad can be used. They also discovered the new scale was moved off the concrete pad.

Sheriff Boman met with the board. Russ Kinzer has been hired and he has a full staff of deputies at this time. Central Square will be starting January 2025 for installation.

Kylie Randall, Nursing Home Administrator, met with the board. Randall reported the new security camera upgrade is estimated to cost $47,000.00. They discussed doing the installation in phases to help with the cost. Randall will prioritize the areas for cameras and work on finding an electrician. Discussion on rates in general was discussed and the need to hold a public hearing at some point with no final decisions made. Randall reported she is working on updating policies within the department. The Christmas party is set for December 27 at the Stockman’s Club. The nursing home open house is scheduled for December 19th at 5:00 p.m.

A Zoom meeting with SDI Architects Brandon and Jenna Jahnsen to present the design options the nursing home renovations was held. Kylie Randall attended the meeting. After finalizing the nursing home renovations, Kylie left the meeting, and the board and SDI continued to discuss design options for various county buildings. The Community Center, baseball field, and fairgrounds were all discussed.

Teel Mullanix stopped back in the office to report DEQ wants to close 3 old previously reclaimed gravel pits.

The board spent the remainder of the day reading correspondence and taking care of various administrative duties

Having completed all current business for the day, the board adjourned at 5:00 p.m.