COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
September 3, 2020
Commissioners Scott Blain and Bill Bullock; Administrative Officer Angela Newell; Commissioners’ Secretary Barbara Daniel; were present.
8:30 Pledge of Allegiance
Discussion regarding the upcoming November General election. Judges training is next Wednesday and approximately 120 judges will be trained; to account for possible attrition due to COVID-19 quarantines or fears/drop-out, some County staff and Commissioners will attend the training. The Sheriffs office will have Deputies available, but not on-site, if needed at polling places; they will not be enforcing the masking order.
8:45 Gordon Sirrine joined via tele-conference.
Commissioner Bullock moved to accept the District Court Fees and Fines report for August 2020; Commissioner Blain seconded; motion carried.
Commissioner Bullock moved to approve Commissioners’ Proceedings for August 25th and 27th, 2020; Commissioner Blain seconded; motion carried.
Newell provided an update on her progress with Brent Moore of Interstate Engineering regarding the draft Capital Improvement Plan. Rural Special Improvement Districts will not be included in funding plan. The Chance Road Bridge replacement will be added to the plan; this project will be completed by the Department of Transportation, but the County will pass through the $750,000 TSEP grant it received to assist the State with the cost of replacing the bridge. She reported that an engineer, who has examined the Red Lodge airport, feels that the issues currently keeping the airport from being FAA-funding eligible are not insurmountable.
9:30 Disaster and Emergency Services (DES) Coordinator Tom Kohley joined the meeting for his monthly update. The Hazard Mitigation Plan Grant has been submitted to FEMA. County addressing has maintained a steady flow; development appears to have increased this season. 9:35 Red Lodge Mayor Bill Larson and Council President Dave Westwood joined the meeting. Regarding current fire danger, he recommended staying in Stage 1 Restrictions.
Commissioner Bullock updated Larson and Westwood that the by-laws for the library board have changed and the board now includes each of the three Librarians as members. Discussion regarding library funding and City mills. Newell stated that the Interlocal Agreements will come due in 2022. Newell recommended that the City match the County mills for more consistent funding and to curb the trend of the County mill providing an increasing portion of the libraries’ operational costs. Larson reported that the City’s budget has passed and that they have one Council vacancy.
Casey Collins, representative for Congressman Greg Gianforte, phoned Commissioner Blain for a status update on the County.
10:25 Sirrine departed the meeting.
Election Administrator Macque Bohleen joined the meeting to discuss preparations and logistics for the Election judges training on September 9th; discussion about COVID-19 mitigation measures. Carbon County News Reporter Eleanor Guerrero and Sirrine joined via teleconference.
10:30 Red Lodge Area Community Foundation Executive Director Tracy Timmons joined the meeting to provide an update on their Transportation project; they will be hiring a Transportation Coordinator and will be acquiring three vans. $60k raised for COVID-19 relief funds; funded 43 applications averaging $500 per applicant. She has nine full-time VISTA volunteers from September until mid-December available for community projects. The Fun Run for Charities will be a virtual format this year, instead of in-person, but is more successful than originally anticipated.
11:00 Commissioner Bullock moved to close the Public Hearing for the adoption of the budget; Commissioner Blain seconded; meeting has been open since Tuesday and no further public comment; motion carried. Commissioner Bullock moved to approve Resolution 2020-25 to Adopt the Final Budget for Fiscal Year 2020-2021; Commissioner Blain seconded; Newell detailed that cash reserves will increase by 0.5% to 29.5% and that no budget cuts were needed due to the Pryor Mountain Wind Farm taxes and COVID-19 CARES Act reimbursements; no public comment; Commissioner Blain asked Guerrero whether she had any questions for her Carbon County News reporting and she asked for a budget summary prior to next week’s edition; motion carried. Guerrero stated she has questions for her article that she will email in advance of her upcoming article.
11:30 Airport Board member Gary Herem joined the meeting to discuss board versus staff duties, the vacancy for Red Lodge Airport Manager, paving bids, and upcoming grant proposals due.
12:10 Adjourned.