175
COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
September 7, 2023
Commissioners Scott Miller, Scott Blain, and Bill Bullock; and HR Administrator Kate Asbury were present.
8:30 Pledge of Allegiance.
8:35 Public Comment – Clerk & Recorder Macque Bohleen & Deputy Clerk & Recorder Piney Helmuth shared info regarding phone system for Weed District and the Extension Office. The Windstream bill went up over 685% due to the phones lines at these locations being old and not eligible for an upgrade. Bohleen contacted The Connect Group, the County’s current phone provider, and got the ball rolling to transfer everything to them for these locations. Helmuth contacted Windstream to inquire on how the bill amount could increase so much, and they indicated it was noticed on the last invoice and the increase could continue in the future. Commissioner Bullock instructed Bohleen and Helmuth to pay the current invoice, get The Connect Group to port the phone lines as soon as possible, and then cancel the Windstream contract. Bohleen informed the Commissioners that the current bill was only through August 26th, so there will be another invoice. Bullock and Commissioner Miller stated again to cancel the Windstream contract immediately and those departments will just get new phone lines so that they are not impacted by the new rates.

Helmuth presented claims to Bullock and Miller to sign and delivered mail that she received for Commissioners. One piece of mail was from DEQ and another was from Railroad Maintenance Company III, LLC. Commissioners asked that the invoice from RMCIII, LLC be given to Blain to review and distribute to the appropriate entity.

9:00 Public Health Director Erin Cross was in for her monthly update (see attached). Cross requested the Commissioners to review the office leases in the PSB for Carbon County staff to be able to utilize the larger spaces. Bullock agreed that due to the limited amount of time the tenants spend in the leased spaces they could be better utilized by County offices that are already short on space. Miller agreed that leases need to be reviewed and changes made.

9:30 Treasurer Lori Lynde and Lori Kane came in to finalize school budgets and authorize tax levies – all budgets present for County schools except for Luther School. Kane indicated they are waiting for final submission from Luther. Per Kane, Luther approved their budget at the last board meeting but they are waiting on one signature. Bullock made a motion to approve budget fix mill levies for FY 2024; Miller seconded for school budgets at Belfry, Fromberg, Bridger, Joliet Elementary, Joliet HS, Red Lodge
176
COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
September 7, 2023 (cont.)
Elem, RL HS, Roberts K12, and Luther; which will be signed at a later date once paperwork is received. Motion carried.

9:40 Helmuth in again regarding email from Administrative Officer Angela Newell on adding a whereas statement in compliance with Senate Bill 332. Bullock requested we enter the language necessary to capture the info in SB332. Language was updated and agreed upon by Bullock and Miller.

10:00 County Attorney not present.

10:02 Bullock moved to approve and accept Clerk & Recorder monthly reconciliation report for August 2023 and the Treasurer’s Office cash report for June 2023. Miller seconded. Motion carried.

10:04 Roland DeVries entered the meeting to inform Commissioners that the culvert below the cemetery has a hole that is being filled up with sand. Bullock indicated that he is aware and will find a new pipe to put in there.

Bullock then informed DeVries that DEQ has notified the County of problems with their gravel pit that will need to be addressed. Bullock questioned DeVries if he received the same letter or not from DEQ. DeVries stated he has not gotten a letter that he knows of. Bullock indicated that DEQ did a drive by inspection and there are issues with a fuel tank and some equipment. DeVries stated that this is probably the last year on that pit, and then they will go back and reclaim everything at that point. Bullock said they did send a notice of violation, and he will find the letter and get back with him. Bullock will bring the information out to him and figure out a game plan on what needs to happen.

10:11 Bullock informed Miller that he spoke with RC&D to see if they have a grant that would be able to supply funding to CARTT. RC&D agreed that it would meet the perimeters of their grant and CARTT will need to submit an application. Bullock will facilitate getting the process started for the Community Foundation.

10:30 Brent Moore with Interstate Engineering was in to sign the master agreement to continue their service with Carbon County. Bullock made a motion to approve the master agreement. Miller seconded. Bullock thanked Interstate Engineering for their diligence and hard work to get things done. Motion carried.

177
COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
September 7, 2023 (cont.)
11:00 DES Coordinator Cyrina Allen was in to give monthly update (summary report attached). Allen has been working on a flood update with Josh from FEMA.

Allen is conducting County PA site visits with FWP & Army Corps – completed Carbon Avenue & Fox, and going to Lovers Lane and River View still today. Allen is looking to build restoration plans because FWP & Army Corps are not on board with the plans at this point due to the fish habitat concerns. Bullock asked where specifically are they not on board with the County’s plans – which location? Allen said one place is south of Carbon Avenue in Roberts where the County did some work – they feel it won’t sustain fish habitats. Allen stated Tyler with Interstate Engineering worked really hard on these plans and has been very effective, and it seems FWP & Army Corps are teaming up to squash the work.

Allen ensured the Commissioners got the scope of work for all the rock debris removal. Bullock questioned where are dump-out sites? Allen stated any of the 5 that are already approved.

Allen questioned Commissioners whether or not the County wanted to build a mitigation project plan – example: bridge on Tuttle Lane. Allen questioned do we want to do one County Road & Bridge plan? Or a Master plan? Or do each individual project? Allen thinks it would be a good idea to do one master plan to use other studies that are being done on other levels so the work isn’t being done twice which will help keep costs lower. Bullock & Miller agreed that one Master plan is the way to go. Allen is going to start recruiting Interstate Engineering and others to help. Miller is on board as long as it’s not pushing stuff down the road 10 years, stating we need to get things fixed now.

Allen is going to Fromberg town council regarding the USDA grant to help with their water. Miller stated he wants it made crystal clear to the Fromberg town council that that County will not be providing funding to repair their water issues. Allen stated this grant has the possibility to be a major financial resource for them to fix their water issues.

11:30 Bullock made a motion to approve resolution 2023-24. Miller seconded. Motion carried.

11:33 DES Coordinator monthly update continued.

11:58 Adjourned

1:00 Meeting reopened.

1:00 Bullock made a motion to approve the August 2023 claims. Miller seconded. Motion approved.

1:05pm Garrett Johnson DIS Technologies IT Services Director, Sheriff Josh McQuillan, and Clerk and Recorder Macque Bohleen met with Commissioners to discuss Carbon County IT services. Johnson gave an update on the security cameras; they are ready to go for the next election. Bohleen asked if someone with security video footage would be able to remove the “masks” off the camera footage. Johnson stated with enough computer power it could be possible. Bullock requested Bohleen explain why we need to mask the cameras. Bohleen responded that because the public comes into the building to vote their ballots, the cameras must be off so that the camera cannot pick up anything on someone’s ballot due to privacy laws set by Montana. Bohleen asked if the cameras be turned completely off in the future to protect the privacy of public voting.
Bohleen asked if CISA came back with anything to DIS. Garrett said the report is not final at this point, but they will reach out when they get it.
McQuillan said that they started the conversation about bringing DIS back into the Sheriff’s Office, but wanted to see what was going to shake out about budget cuts before changing anything at this time. Johnson and McQuillan talked about a preliminary plan, but never talked about hard numbers. McQuillan would like to have DIS help with basic stuff and provide backup coverage for more technical aspects. Bullock asked if everyone is on board and McQuillan confirmed that everyone was. This would be more for routine maintenance, setup, etc. McQuillan would like to continue to manage the 911 system and other emergency response hardware/software in-house. McQuillan asked if funding was available to move forward. Bullock asked what has changed in the Office to ensure historic conflicts with Sheriff’s Office Staff and contracted IT staff were not repeated. McQuillan noted the size of the staff in his Office has made it difficult for one person to provide all IT functions and perform their regular duties and sees they are going to need help moving forward. McQuillan would like to start to slowly onboard contracted IT.
Johnson noted the importance of ensuring the network remains CJIN compliant and recommended that the tools that are in place now on other County equipment can be automated and put into place with the Sheriff’s Office. Johnson noted the software would give DIS the ability to understand and maintain what the network is doing, which can forecast any future, potentially emergency, situations and save time on maintenance.

Johnson noted that their other clients’ after-hour calls are mostly regarding forgotten passwords and mobile devices sync issues.
Johnson confirmed the current in-house IT person could still have Admin rights, you would just have to explain it to the Feds when they come into audit. Per Johnson, there is potential liability regarding video rights in the case that someone says that things have been altered. There was a discussion of what information was tracked in current audit logs.
Bullock requested McQuillan and his staff develop a list of items he would like DIS to assist with so a quote can be generated. Miller expressed concerns about liability, perceptions, and risks of IT being a one-man show; also expressed concerns about the best service options to support staff.

Adjourned.

Respectfully submitted: Kate Asbury, HR Administrator