FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office for a while in the morning before he went to Fort Peck to attend the CMR Community Working Group meeting regarding the CMR Refuge Water Rights Compact held at the Interpretative Center.

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session in the office of the Commissioners with Chairman David L. Pippin, members Bruce H. Peterson and David Reinhardt and Recording Secretary Joanne Strommen present.

Wayne Waarvik, Jr., Valley County Road Supervisor, visited with the Commissioners about some current road issues.

Loran Albus visited with the Commissioners about the Television District's lease.  He said that the property is no longer in his name and needs to be adjusted to match the current owner of the property that is leased.  The Television District Board will be informed of this change.

Mr. Albus left the office.

Chairman Pippin spent the day updating the CCR (Central Contractor Registration) which allows Valley County to be eligible for electronic payments from State and Federal agencies.  

The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.

ATTEST:                                                                     ATTEST:                                                        

               Lynne Nyquist, Clerk                                                             David L. Pippin, Chairman

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session in the office of the Commissioners with Chairman David L. Pippin, members Bruce H. Peterson and David Reinhardt and Recording Secretary Joanne Strommen present.

John Egosque stopped in and visited with the Commissioners.

Samar Fay, Glasgow Courier, joined the meeting.

Chairman Pippin began Discussion and Decision at 10:35 a.m.

There was no public comment submitted.

A motion was made by Commissioner Reinhardt authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Employment for Lisa Redfield, who is a permanent part-time Clerk for the Health Department, changing her funding source to half of her salary coming from Fund #2972, and half of her salary from Fund #2968, effective January 27, 2013. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Peterson and passed unanimously.

Commissioner Reinhardt questioned this change and said he would visit with Vickie Bell, Health Department Coordinator, to see why this change is being made.

A motion was made by Commissioner Reinhardt authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Employment for Peggy Fleming as a permanent full-time Dispatcher for the Sheriff’s Office effective January 27, 2013, increasing her pay by 25¢ per hour to $13.87 per hour.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Peterson and passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was the Fair Commission member appointment.

Commissioner Peterson said that he visited with Nick Murnion, Valley County Attorney, about the request from the Fair Commission to increase the number of their Board members.  Because the Valley County Commissioners had made the motion in 2007 to allow them to increase their Board members, the Commissioners can go ahead and make the appointment.  Now the Fair Commission Board will be made up of six members, with one student member, making a total of seven members for the Fair Commission.

Commissioner Peterson said that in September, 2010, Resolution No. 15-2010 was adopted to establish the terms for the Valley County Fair Commission members to be three year terms beginning on January 1st and ending on December 31st of their term end year. Discussion followed.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson to appoint Adam Powell to the Fair Commission Board, per the request of the Fair Commission, with a term ending date of December 31, 2014, for the first term, and then this position will be for a three year term thereafter.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and unanimously carried.  By adjusting this first term, it will make this appointment fall into the rotation with all the other members so that there is not more than two members being replaced in one year. 

Rewiring the phone system for the Courthouse was the next item on the agenda for consideration.

Chairman Pippin said that he got a cost estimate from Chris Richard, Communication Resources, to rewire the phone system but Chairman Pippin suggested the County bid the job. He said he would like the phone wire to be category 6.  Discussion followed.

Commissioner Peterson said he would like to see the bid broken down showing the cost of the supplies and the labor. 

After some discussion it was agreed that Chairman Pippin will put together a bid document for this job and have the Commissioners take a look at it. 

No action will be taken at this time.

Chairman Pippin informed the Board that the phones in the Valley County Attorney's offices went down on Thursday and he phoned Chris Richard, Communication Resources, for some direction and they discovered that the phone module for the County Attorney's offices had overheated and shut down the phone system to those offices.  Chairman Pippin tried to reset the system with no results and ordered a new phone module to replace the one that overheated.  Friday morning the phones were working again, but the replacement module was already on its way.  He said he will keep the module for a while to make sure the phone system is going to continue to work and if the module is not needed it can be returned.  Chairman Pippin voiced his concern that this old phone system was going to start to "nickel and dime" the County substantially so the sooner they get a new phone system in, the better.

Chairman Pippin said he attended a meeting last Thursday at the Fort Peck Interpretative Center regarding some policy changes with the CMR and he said that he didn't have any problem with most of their changes except those involving water rights.  He said that the Montana Resource Advisory Council (RAC) had discussed these same issues at their meeting last week and were also opposing the water rights issue with CMR.  Discussion followed.   

Mrs. Fay asked if the County had anything invested in the City's project to update their Growth Policy which the City is currently working on and Chairman Pippin said no.  He said Valley County has their own Growth Policy that is monitored by the Valley County Planning Board.  He said the City works with René Clampitt, who is the Valley County Planner, in regards to any of these issues that come up.

Mrs. Fay asked if the County was in agreement with the City on their proposed boundary that reaches outside of the City limits for their Growth Policy.  The Commissioners said they have not been made aware of those proposed numbers. 

Chairman Pippin said that originally he thought there was a two mile perimeter outside the City that was used in the past for this reference.   He said the two miles is what the Mosquito District uses.  Discussion followed.

Mrs. Fay said a question came up at the last public meeting regarding the Glasgow City-County Planning Board.  She said that the Glasgow Mayor said this Board has not met for several years and maybe it should be eradicated.  Discussion followed.

Chairman Pippin said he would look into the original organization of the City-County Planning Board and visit with Nick Murnion, Valley County Attorney, to see what should be done with it.  He said he would keep Mrs. Fay informed as to what he finds out and Mrs. Fay left the office.

A motion was made by Commissioner Reinhardt, seconded by Commissioner Peterson and carried unanimously to approve the minutes for the month of January, 2013.

The Commissioners contacted the various department heads informing them of those individuals in their department that have not completed the insurance forms for Blue Cross Blue Shield who is trying to collect information to submit a bid on the Valley County employee's health insurance. 

Commissioner Peterson left the office for the day.

Commissioner Reinhardt left the office for the day.

Maxine and Ron Korman visited with Chairman Pippin about some water right issues.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.

ATTEST:                                                                     ATTEST:                                                        

               Lynne Nyquist, Clerk                                                             David L. Pippin, Chairman

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session in the office of the Commissioners with Chairman David L. Pippin, member Bruce H. Peterson and Recording Secretary Joanne Strommen present.

Commissioner Reinhardt will not be in the office today.

Chairman Pippin left the office.

Nick Murnion, Valley County Attorney, visited with Commissioner Peterson.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.

ATTEST:                                                                     ATTEST:                                                        

               Lynne Nyquist, Clerk                                                             David L. Pippin, Chairman

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office today.

Commissioner Peterson was in the office for a while before he attended the Valley County Transit Board meeting.

Chairman Pippin submitted the checks for the grazing fees and completed documents for the four grazing districts that lease grazing land from Valley County.

Tanja Fransen, National Weather Service, Dan Carney, Fire Marshall, Mark Gruener, Disaster and Emergency Services (DES) District 6 Representative, René Clampitt, Planner/Dispatch Supervisor, Vickie Bell, Health Department Coordinator, Roubie Younkin, Extension Agent, Bob Hanson, Long Run Fire Department Chief, and Samar Fay, Glasgow Courier, joined the meeting.

Mrs. Fransen said that they were all here to inform Bob Hanson that he was one of the winners chosen for the Ready Montana Award. She said he was awarded this for service specifically related to disaster services, emergency preparedness, and emergency response.  She said Mr. Hanson will be given the award at a luncheon in Helena on Feb 28th at the Serve Montana Symposium and Lt. Governor Walsh, and DES Administrator Ed Tinsley will be presenting the award.

The majority of the group left the office and Mr. Hanson and Mr. Carney visited with Chairman Pippin about some possible options to gather funds to build a new fire station for Long Run. 

Mr. Carney and Mr. Hanson left the office.

Chairman Pippin left the office.

Ralph Ellsworth stopped in and paid his grazing lease fees.

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Commissioner Peterson and Commissioner Reinhardt were in Helena this week attending the MACo Midwinter Conference. 

Chairman Pippin was in the office today.

Dick Rhodes visited with Chairman Pippin about the history with the Glasgow City-County Planning Board that he was a member of.

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office today.

Roger Moran visited with Chairman Pippin about an issue with his son who was incarcerated in the Valley County Detention Center.

Valley County received a request from Julie Blockey, Southwestern Montana Financial Center, who is working on a proposal to submit a bid for the Valley County health insurance.  Mrs. Blockey asked for a copy of Valley County's most recent health insurance statement.  Chairman Pippin contacted Commissioner Reinhardt, who was in Helena, and it was the consensus of the two that they would not submit a health insurance statement to Southwester Montana Financial Center.  Chairman Pippin informed Mrs. Blockey of their decision not to give them a copy of health insurance statement.

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office today.

Julie Blockey called and visited with Chairman Pippin.  She asked him if he would tell her the current rate for a single employee's health insurance so they could compare and see if their price would be competitive.  Chairman Pippin told Mrs. Blockey that the Commissioners had already made the decision to not give her their current health insurance rates.

Chairman Pippin attended the City-County Library Board meeting this afternoon.

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office today.

Charlie Bennett, AT&T Representative, and René Clampitt, Planner/Dispatch Supervisor, visited with Chairman Pippin about the possibility of putting a cell phone tower on some Valley County land.

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office for a while in the morning.

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session in the office of the Commissioners with Chairman David L. Pippin, members Bruce H. Peterson and David Reinhardt and Recording Secretary Joanne Strommen present.

Wayne Waarvik, Jr., Valley County Road Supervisor, visited with the Commissioners.

Commissioner Reinhardt joined the meeting,

Mike Elliott, Industrial Communications, visited with the Commissioners about a maintenance plan for the 911 radio and dispatch equipment.  He also reviewed some possibilities to upgrade the Valley County Courthouse phone system that would utilize some of the dispatch equipment that is already in place.

Glen Meier, Valley County Sheriff, joined the meeting for a short while.

Mr. Elliott left the office.

Colleen Pankratz, Valley County Transit Supervisor, joined the meeting.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to sign the Valley County Coordination Plan and Grant Application for FY 2014.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

Mrs. Pankratz left the office.

Wayne Waarvik, Jr., Valley County Road Supervisor, and Toy Hofele, Department of Transportation, joined the meeting.

Mr. Hofele submitted the Valley County Bridge Reports for the Commissioners to review.  He said that Valley County's Road Department is good to work with and they do a good job maintaining the bridges in Valley County.  Discussion followed.

Mr. Hofele and Mr. Waarvik left the office.

Glen Meier, Valley County Sheriff, joined the meeting. 

A motion was made by Commissioner Reinhardt authorizing the Chairman to sign five Praecipes for Jo Beth Johnston Tayposatum who did not pick up her Notices That a Tax Deed May Be Issued from the Post Office.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.  The Sheriff's Office will serve Mrs. Tayposatum with the Notices to meet MCA requirements.

Sheriff Meier left the office.

The Board received two proposals for the Health Insurance bids.  The two companies submitting proposals was MACo and Southwestern Montana Financial Center, Inc.

Larry Roberton stopped in and paid his grazing lease fees for 2013.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.

ATTEST:                                                                     ATTEST:                                                        

               Lynne Nyquist, Clerk                                                             David L. Pippin, Chairman

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session in the office of the Commissioners with Chairman David L. Pippin, members Bruce H. Peterson and David Reinhardt and Recording Secretary Joanne Strommen present.

Chairman Pippin left the office to attend a meeting regarding the 911 maintenance services.

Sherri Turner, Sheriff's Administrative Assistant, Leanne Fontaine, Weed/Extension, Ella Tweten, Valley County Health Department, Stone Tihista, Weed/Mosquito, and Brenda Anderson, Valley County Treasurer's Office joined the meeting to attend the Employee meeting.

Commissioner Reinhardt and Commissioner Peterson conducted the Employee meeting in the office from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m.

Jenny Reinhardt, Valley County Treasurer, stopped in and requested that the Commissioners consider increasing the fee that is charged for checks that are returned to the County for Non-sufficient Funds (NSF).  She said that currently the fee is $15 and she would like them to consider changing it to $30.

Chairman Pippin began Discussion and Decision at 10:30 a.m.

There was no public comment submitted.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Termination for Hanan Odell McClure as a Detention Officer for the Sheriff’s Office effective February 10, 2013.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Termination for Myron Blanchard as a Weed Operator for the Weed District effective February 1, 2013.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Employment for Jim Uphaus as a temporary, full-time Mower for the Road Department beginning February 11, 2013, at $16.84 per hour.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Employment for Dewayne Ozark as a permanent, full-time Detention Officer for the Sheriff's Office beginning February 11, 2013, at $16.84 per hour, changing his status from part-time to full-time.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Employment for Evelyn Gregory as a permanent, part-time Driver/Dispatcher for Valley County Transit beginning February 12, 2013, at $11.58 per hour.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was the Highway 2 Association membership dues.

Commissioner Peterson questioned what the Highway 2 Association funds were used for and what the goal of the association was in what time frame. 

Commissioner Reinhardt said that he felt any money put into this association was a bad investment.

There was no action taken on this issue and it died for a lack of a motion.

The County Treasurer's Report for January was the next agenda item.

A motion was made by Commissioner Reinhardt, seconded by Commissioner Peterson and passed unanimously to sign the Valley County Treasurer's Report for the month ending January 31, 2013.

A motion was made by Commissioner Reinhardt to increase the fee for all NSF checks that are returned to Valley County to $30.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Peterson and it carried.  A memo will be sent out to all departments informing them of this change. 

Gene Hartsock visited with the Commissioners about the loud speaker system in the Valley County Courtroom and he said he had difficulty hearing the procedures when he was in the courtroom this morning.

Chairman Pippin said he would visit with Judge McKeon about it because the State put in the sound system there.

Mr. Hartsock left the office.

Pat Gunderson, Field Manager of Glasgow BLM, Karly DeMars,  Fire Mitigation & Education Specialist from the Lewistown BLM joined the meeting.

Chairman Pippin said that he had wanted to produce a fire training video using the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Grant funds and now they are looking at doing the training video on chain saw safety and fire mitigation procedures.  

Mrs. DeMars said she knew of someone who would help with the chain saw training video.  Discussion followed.

Mrs. DeMars said that she had thought of three things that the grant money could be used for.  She said Valley County's Community Wildfire Protection Plan had not been updated for a few years and maybe the County would like to use some of the funds for that purpose.  She said the funds could be used for any fire mitigation education and the thing really being pushed right now is getting the fire mitigation work done on the ground.  She said Valley County's wood chipper has been used for on the ground fire mitigation by the Corps of Engineers and BLM at Fort Peck.  She said if Valley County opted to get out of the grant now, the wood chipper would have to be moved to another area. 

Commissioner Reinhardt said that now that the cabin owners actually own their property, maybe they would be more inclined to do some fire mitigation work to make their property and cabins more safe.  Discussion followed.

Mrs. DeMars said that earlier they had considered scheduling a Fire Wise Day at Fort Peck that would provide fire mitigation education for the cabin owners around Fort Peck Lake.  She said she had thought that would be an ideal way to use the grant funds and provide the education. 

Chairman Pippin said he thought it would be important to keep the BLM and DNRC involved with the training activity.  Discussion followed.

Mr. Gunderson said the BLM would help in any way they could.  

The group discussed the cost and possibilities of producing a training video. 

Mrs. DeMars asked if Chairman Pippin would get an estimate of the cost to produce the video for her to consider the amount.

Commissioner Reinhardt said he would contact the Cabin Owner's Association to see about setting up the fire mitigation training.  He will also contact some business owners to see if they have any safety material for the chain saw safety training. 

The group discussed getting this educational material to the property owners in the new subdivisions in the Valley County.  

Chairman Pippin suggested mailing the training video to all property owners in hopes they would do some fire mitigation around their property. 

Mrs. DeMars said there is also education material available on fire safe landscaping for fire mitigation.  Discussion followed.

Mrs. DeMars said that a couple years ago she and Bob Hanson, Long Run Fire Department Chief, had a booth at the Fair and suggested that they do that again.  Discussion followed.

Mr. Gunderson said that this summer the BLM was going repair the TC Dam and also do some maintenance work on the January Dam.  He said they are also planning on putting some gravel down on the roads in that area.  Discussion followed.

Chairman Pippin asked if they would consider doing a weed inspection in the area they are working so as not to spread noxious weeds during the construction project. 

Mr. Gunderson said the RMP would be coming out March 22 and then there will be 90 days thereafter for public comments.  He said there will be a public meeting at the Cottonwood Inn on May 6th for this purpose. 

Chairman Pippin said he would like to have all County Roads noted in the RMP.

Mr. Gunderson said that the Transportation Plan would have all the roads mapped in that document which will be developed once the RMP is completed.  He asked if the County had a way to easily look up the history of the Valley County Roads. 

Commissioner Reinhardt said that this was an issue that the County needs to develop and they need the funds and an employee designated to organize all the road documentation which will be a time consuming process.  Discussion followed.

Mr. Gunderson said that perhaps there would be funds available through the BLM to assist Valley County in getting all the documentation for the Valley County Roads recorded.  Discussion followed.

The group agreed to keep in contact regarding the development of the training video and to schedule and organize a Fire Wise Day to educate the public on fire mitigation procedures and Mrs. DeMars and Mr. Gunderson left the office.

Commissioner Peterson left the office for the day.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

ATTEST:                                                                     ATTEST:                                                        

               Lynne Nyquist, Clerk                                                             David L. Pippin, Chairman

FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office today.

Jim Bowman visited with Chairman Pippin asking if the current Valley County Deputies can move out of Hinsdale now and asked if the requirement has changed which said they had to live in Hinsdale. 

Chairman Pippin said he would visit with Glen Meier, Valley County Sheriff, about this.

Mr. Bowman left the office.

FEBRUARY 22, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office today.

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session in the office of the Commissioners with Chairman David L. Pippin, members Bruce H. Peterson and David Reinhardt and Recording Secretary Joanne Strommen present.

Dave Wilkowski joined the meeting.

Commissioner Reinhardt joined the meeting.

Mr. Wilkowski said that he can build an 80' x 100' hangar at an estimated cost of about $400,000.  This proposal only has the plumbing for the floor's radiant heat system.  He gave the Commissioners a sample of his contracts and proposals and then reviewed it with them.

Chairman Pippin said that if Valley County decides to build another hangar, it will have to done through the bidding process.  Discussion followed.

Chairman Pippin said he spoke with Peccia and Associates, who are the Engineer service that takes care of all the Valley County Airport funding projects, and asked them to look into grant funding to put an emergency generator at the airport to provide power in an emergency situation.

Commissioner Peterson asked if they have discussed this project with STAT Air personnel and Commissioner Reinhardt said he has been conversing with Clay Berger the STAT Director.  This proposed building will hold the three STAT airplanes.  Discussion followed.

The Commissioners told Mr. Wilkowski they will visit with the Airport Board and keep him apprised of what is going on and he left the office.

Commissioner Reinhardt left the office.

Mayor Dan Carney visited with Chairman Pippin about a variety of things.

Commissioner Reinhardt returned to the office.

Mayor Carney left the office.

Chairman Pippin began Discussion and Decision at 10:30 a.m.

There was no public comment submitted.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Termination for Sara Storkson permanent, full-time Detention Officer for the Sheriff’s Office effective February 15, 2013.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Termination for Kari E. Wirth permanent, full-time Detention Officer for the Sheriff’s Office effective February 19, 2013.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Employment for Sara Storkson as a permanent, part-time Dispatcher for the Sheriff’s Office beginning February 15, 2013, at $11.25 per hour.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Commissioner Peterson authorizing the Chairman to execute a Notice of Employment for Drew Hancock as a permanent, part-time Detention Officer for the Sheriff’s Office beginning February 15, 2013, at $11.00 per hour.   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Reinhardt and passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was to open the Health Insurance Proposals.  The proposals were submitted as follows:

The Board reviewed and compared the insurance plans.

Maurie Graham visited with Commissioner Reinhardt about the City-County Library.  He said that he thought the lots north of the Library should be purchased for Library expansion.  Mr. Graham left the office.

The next item on the agenda was to decide on the Health Insurance Finalists' interviews.   

After some discussion it was agreed to set up interviews with the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Representative Julie Blockey, Southwestern Montana Financial Center, Inc., Belgrade, Montana at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 and with MACo Health Care Trust Representative Pam Walling at 1:30 p.m. on the same day.

The Commissioners will then agenda a meeting for 3:00 on Wednesday, February 27, 2013, to make the decision on the health insurance for 2013-2014.

Wayne Waarvik, Jr., Valley County Road Supervisor, Rick Seiler, Valley County DES Coordinator, Keevin Stanhope, TCA, Inc, and Karl Yakawich and Dan Karlin from Great West Engineering, Inc. joined the meeting.

Mr. Yakawich reviewed his agenda for the meeting.

Chairman Pippin asked where Mr. Stanhope was planning on storing his equipment during the construction project and asked if he was going to have to access any public land for storage. 

Mr. Stanhope said no, they would be splitting the equipment up on both sides of the river on the construction site and he felt like there would be enough room on County access to accommodate their needs.

It was noted that the Valley County Road Department was responsible for the disposal of the existing bridge components that are removed by the contractor.

Mr. Stanhope said if the weather stayed nice, they may start bringing in equipment next week.  He said they need to get the riprap in and grouted first before the water gets high.

Mr. Yakawich asked if the July 1 completion date going to fit into his schedule and Mr. Stanhope said he did not see any problems with completing it by July 1, 2013, as long as the weather did not cause a severe problem.  He asked Mr. Stanhope to send a copy of his schedule once it is completed. 

Chairman Pippin said he wanted to make sure everyone is aware of some telephone utility lines that will be in the construction site area to deal with.

The group discussed the travel route for Mr. Stanhope to bring in his equipment.

Mr. Stanhope said he would be setting up a temporary bridge on the South side and Mr. Waarvik voiced a warning that they will need to make sure they close off the bridge at night so the public will stay off it.  Discussion followed.

The group left the office.

Commissioner Peterson left the office for the day.

A motion was made by Commissioner Reinhardt authorizing the Chairman to sign the Zoning Compliance Form for Fossum Ready Mix Inc, for a gravel pit located in Section 27 and 34, Township 31 North and Range 37 East.  The motion was seconded by Chairman Pippin and carried.

Valley County Road Department is currently having their FEMA documentation audited by the State DES Office.   

The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.

ATTEST:                                                                     ATTEST:                                                        

               Lynne Nyquist, Clerk                                                             David L. Pippin, Chairman

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session in the office of the Commissioners with Chairman David L. Pippin, member David Reinhardt and Recording Secretary Joanne Strommen present.

Commissioner Peterson will be out of the office today and tomorrow.

Chairman Pippin signed Contract Change Order No. 5 for the Wokal/Field Glasgow International Airport, Project No. 3-30-0033-015-2011, Riverside Sand & Gravel, Inc., Contractor.

Vicky Wetz, Council on Aging (COA) Supervisor, Lori Brengle, Action for Eastern Montana out of Glendive and Jenny Chalmers, Action for Eastern Montana in Glasgow joined the meeting to discuss the COA's budget.

Mrs. Brengle handed out some budget forms and reviewed them with the Commissioners.  She said the reason she wanted to review these budgets is because Valley County has accumulated $44,764 in cash carry over in the past years and it looks like there will be more left over this year to add to this total and those funds need to be used up.  She said these extra funds are broken down as follows; $15,815.81 is from client donations, $12,12.38 is from fund raisers and $16,835.81 is from County funds.  She said the revenue from donations have come in higher than estimated which has accrued these amounts and are not being spent.  She said that these funds are federal funds that must be used for their designated expenditures and more importantly, these funds have to be budgeted so they can be spent.  Discussion followed. 

Chairman Pippin asked what the funds can be used for and Mrs. Brengle was very adamant that according to federal guidelines, "the client donations must be used to expend services that it was derived from".  Discussion followed.

Mrs. Brengle said that they only have a preliminary contract with Valley County and they still do not know what their federal funding will be for this year so they have not been able to do the annual contract modification documents with any of the counties indicating the actual federal funding. 

Mrs. Brengle pointed out that the current COA budget is over spent in some accounts but she has some leniency in the budget and can move some of the funds around to compensate for some of the funds that are over budget, but there are some federal funds that she cannot transfer around.  She said there are certain funds that have to be spent for designated activities and those funds cannot be used for any other expenditure or budget line. Discussion followed.

Mrs. Brengle said that she wants everyone to be aware that that the $44,764 is not all County money, it is federal funds. 

Chairman Pippin voiced his concern that the auditors would not allow the County to carry over federal funds and he would want to visit with the auditors about this issue.  He said the County does not "bank" other entities money.  He said he would like to see a more detailed breakdown of the carry over money indicating who's money it is.  Discussion followed.

The Commissioners agreed that they would keep a closer watch on the COA budget each month. 

Commissioner Reinhardt suggested Mrs. Wetz figure out how much money she has to spend in a year by the month, and spend it on that monthly basis and monitor it that way. 

After much discussion, Mrs. Brengle said she would see what funds she could transfer around and work on a partial fix to assist with those funds that are over spent right now and the group left the office. 

Pam Walling, MACo Health Care Trust, stopped in and visited with the Commissioners.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.

ATTEST:                                                                     ATTEST:                                                        

               Lynne Nyquist, Clerk                                                             David L. Pippin, Chairman

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session in the office of the Commissioners with Chairman David L. Pippin, member and David Reinhardt and Recording Secretary Joanne Strommen present.

Commissioner Peterson will not be in the office today.

Bill Gaffney visited with Chairman Pippin about a variety of computer issues. 

Commissioner Reinhardt joined the meeting.

Clay Berger, Director of Emergency Medical Services, joined the meeting to discuss the wants and needs for a storage hangar for Northeast Montana STAT Air Ambulance Cooperative. 

Commissioner Reinhardt asked Mr. Berger what STAT would want for a hangar.

Mr. Berger said they have discussed having a 100' x 120' building with an 80' door. He said STAT would like the County to consider leasing the present Valley County commercial hangar to just them and STAT would insulate and build some offices off that building.  That would mean there would not be any other planes in that hangar and it would be totally accessed by STAT.  He said that they would want a contract with the County that states this and that if STAT ever leaves or quits leasing the Hangar all the renovations would automatically go back to the County.  Valley County could then build a new hangar that would be for public use and for Silver Airlines to use. He said the revenue is in having space to house the large planes that come in because where a pilot hangars their plane is where they fuel up, in addition to spending money in the community when they stay overnight.  Discussion followed.

Mr. Berger said he had spoken with Dallas O'Connor, Manager of the Poplar Airport, who had just built and hangar for some direction.  One thing Mr. O'Connor said was to go big the first time you build because it is cheaper than having to add on later.  Discussion followed.

Mr. Berger said that the hangar that Gary Martin wants to sell has a fuel permit that goes along with it because it had a fuel tank under it.  This may be a good option for the County to buy and have the fuel option if they ever wanted to use it.  Discussion followed.

Chairman Pippin asked if STAT would consider paying their lease up front to accumulate some funds to build another hangar or purchase Mr. Martins' hangar and Mr. Berger said that would probably be an option, he would have to discuss it with their Board.  Discussion followed.

Commissioner Reinhardt said that they have discussed constructing a building that was 80' x 100' for about $400,000.  He said that they would like to work something out with STAT that would make the payments on the loan if they built a new hangar.  He estimated the payments would be around $40,000 per year.   

Mr. Berger said that presently STAT pays $300 per month for commercial hangar and $1,200 per year for the smaller hangar. He said his Board is meeting within a couple weeks and he would have a better idea as to what is acceptable for a lease payment. Discussion followed.

Chairman Pippin said that the Airport Commission has to be in on all these decisions too. 

The group discussed some different size options and what is needed for a hangar to meet the needs of the airport.

Darrel Morehouse joined the meeting.

Mr. Berger phoned Mr. O'Connor from Poplar to visit about the hangar that he had just constructed.

Mr. O'Connor suggested they build 140' x 140' building with a 100' door  that opens to 28' which would be ideal for the airplanes that will be coming in.  He said it doesn't cost much more money to add the additional footage once you are in the process of building. Mr. O'Connor said that RM Steel brought in his building and someone else actually put up the building.  Discussion followed.

Dan Carney joined the meeting.

Mr. O'Connor said that his building, 100' x 100' cost about $194,000.  That is a red iron building that came out of Minot ND, with interior and exterior sheeting. He said this company is very good to work with.  He said this big of a building requires either a bi-fold or a rolling door with a height of 35'.  He put a lot of money into the insulation which cost $70,000 for just the product and he also bought the machine to install it.  He put 8" in the ceiling and 6" in the walls.  There is no electrical or plumbing included in the package so that is all added into the cost.  He figured he had about $70,000 in concrete and he would guess it cost him about $500,000 for the building and the plumbing for the heated floor, but that does not count the expense for the offices that were put in.  He said he would estimate about $960,000 for the entire building with extra garage doors on the side and he added a lot of windows near the top of the building for natural lighting.   Discussion followed. 

The phone call with Mr. O'Connor was ended.

Commissioner Reinhardt said it would be very difficult to find a contractor who would just put up the building because they make their money on selling the building, not the labor to put it up.  He said maybe the company that sells the building would know of a contractor that would come in and do the construction.

Chairman Pippin said that he wanted Mr. Morehouse to know that the Commissioners are not keeping the Airport Commission out of this, they were just getting information.  He said he thought the best option would be to build it big enough to house the large planes when they come in.

Mr.  Morehouse said that the Airport Building Committee had voted to bid a 100' x 100' building. 

Commissioner Reinhardt said a bigger building would probably cost over $40,000 a year for the loan payments.  Discussion followed.

Mr. Berger said he would like the County to put together a contract that they could review for the lease and he left the office.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield Representative Julie Blockey, Southwestern Montana Financial Center, Inc., Belgrade, Montana, joined the meeting and participated in their insurance interview.

Pam Walling, and Traci Thatcher from the MACo Health Care Trust, Helena, Montana, joined the meeting and participated in their health insurance interview.

Mrs. Walling said she would like to suggest that possibly the County wanted to get rid of the CM1000 plan because it is in the last steps of being phased out.

Chairman Pippin asked how many Valley County employees were on the CM1000 plan.   

After some discussion it was figured out that Valley County has 16 employees on the CM1000 plan, 19 on the RM1500, 30 on the BP2000,  8 on the High Deductible and 1 on the Catastrophic plan. 

Chairman Pippin said that the County needs to take more time educating all their employees on the various insurance plans.

Mrs. Walling reviewed some changes in their policy that will be made due to the health reform changes and said that there will need to be some training done for that.

After reviewing those changes Mrs. Walling and Mrs. Thatcher left the office.

Chairman Pippin began Discussion and Decision at 3:00 p.m.

The only agenda item was the decision on Health Insurance Proposals.

A motion was made by Commissioner Reinhardt to continue Valley County's health insurance coverage with the MACo Health Care Trust.  The motion was seconded by Chairman Pippin and the motion carried.

A letter will be sent to both insurance carriers thanking them for all their work they did putting together their bids and for participating in the interviews.

Claim Fund claims for the month of February were approved as follows;

                   Vendor                               Claim #       Amount

 -----------------------------------------------------  -------     ----------

   2853 ALL SEASON HOME CENTER                           58878        27,865.43

   4549 ALTIMUS DISTRIBUTING INC                         58879            18.39

    184 AMERICAN WELDING & GAS INC                       58880           340.03

    558 ARCH'S TIRE & SERVICE                            58881           770.00

   3218 BAKERS JEWELRY                                   58882            36.00

   2554 BALCO UNIFORM CO INC                             58883           166.11

   1766 BEN'S RADIATOR REPAIR                            58884            60.00

     75 BIG VALLEY WATER                                 58886            27.00

    504 BOB BARKER CO INC                                58885           299.98

   2838 BRUCE PETERSON                                   58981           239.66

   4427 BS CENTRAL INC                                   58887            50.00

   4459 BULLBERRY SYSTEMS INC                            58848         6,450.00

   3360 CENTURY LINK                                     58982         1,148.58

   4403 CHOICE AVIATION LLC                              58888         5,589.00

    677 CITY OF GLASGOW                                  59011         2,625.13

   2426 CLIFF'S UPHOLSTERY                               58889            75.00

   1095 COCA-COLA BOTTLING CO                            58890             7.00

    548 COLLEEN M PANKRATZ                               58988            11.29

     36 COTTONWOOD INN                                   58891            40.00

   3482 CRESTLINE SPECIALTIES, INC                       58892           208.58

     39 DALE PLUMBING & HEATING INC                      58893           929.15

   2740 DARLA SHIPMAN                                    58894           112.00

    212 DATA IMAGING SYSTEMS                             58989           114.97

    884 DAVID L REINHARDT                                58983           566.38

    637 DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES           58895           241.50

   4533 EK BUS SALES                                     58990            29.52

    812 EZZIE'S WHOLESALE INC                            58849        16,528.06

                                                         58896         5,109.56

   2757 FARM EQUIPMENT SALES                             58897           616.50

    773 FARMERS ELEVATOR-HARVEST STATES                  58898           135.00

    226 FEWER PUMPING SERVICE                            58899           125.00

    130 FIRST COMMUNITY BANK                             58900            70.12

   3076 FLICKS                                           58901           119.24

     54 FOOD SERVICES OF AMERICA                         58850         4,904.50

                                                         58903         1,360.41

    825 FORT PECK TRIBES                                 58902         2,446.25

     57 FOSSUM READY MIX INC                             58904           763.50

     59 FRANCES MAHON DEACONESS HOSPITAL                 58851        35,996.07

                                                         58985           238.04

    206 FRANCES MAHON DEACONESS HOSPITAL                 58984         2,182.92

   4455 FREEMAN AND GAFFNEY ASSOCIATES                   58986         6,440.00

    454 G & D ELECTRIC                                   58991            79.50

    311 GAFFANEYS INC                                    58905         9,346.55

    247 GALL'S INC                                       58992         2,350.32

     69 GLASGOW CLINIC INC                               58906           243.00

     71 GLASGOW COURIER INC                              58907           651.68

    762 GLAXOSMITHKLINE PHARMACEUTICALS                  58908         1,270.72

   4299 GLOBALSTAR USA                                   58909           202.49

   4264 GREAT WEST ENGINEERING                           58852         4,686.00

    121 HAVRE LAUNDRY                                    58910           637.08

   3772 HEALTH E WEB                                     58911            69.00

    392 HI LINE FORD INC                                 58853        35,800.00

    703 HI LINE SECURITY INC                             58993           817.00

   1604 HI MILE TIRE COMPANY                             58912         3,054.40

     80 HILINE COLLISION REPAIR                          58994           125.00

   3301 HOME CARE SERVICES                               58913            33.86

   3896 INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATIONS & ELECTRONICS          58914         1,778.65

   3576 J & M DISTRIBUTING                               58915           318.50

   4545 JACOB KNAFF                                      58854            58.00

   2741 JEAN REA                                         58995            36.00

    430 JENNIFER REINHARDT                               58916            52.00

   4546 KARL WIRTH                                       58856           204.00

   4217 KATHY GRANGER                                    58996           112.50

    368 KLTZ/KLAN INC                                    58917            45.00

    322 KNAFF BROTHERS MARK & STEVE                      58844         1,123.20

                                                         58997           286.84

     95 KREISERS INC                                     58918            35.89

   3029 LANE & ASSOCIATES                                59000           183.60

     99 LAWSON PRODUCTS INC                              58919            42.92

    246 LEANNE FONTAINE                                  58855            19.56

                                                         58920            24.99

   4550 LOU'S GLOVES INC                                 58921            85.00

    848 LYNNE NYQUIST                                    58922            69.00

   3133 MAPPING & PLANNING SPECIALISTS, INC              58998         7,151.25

    101 MARKLE'S INC                                     58923         1,880.52

   2475 MATTFELDT ELECTRIC                               58924           418.20

    413 MERCK SHARP & DOHME CORP.                        58925         1,841.02

    144 MIDWEST CANCER SCREENING                         58926            64.60

   4417 MIDWEST LABORATORIES INC                         58927           253.00

   3557 MILLER OIL CO                                    58928           633.00

    540 MONTANA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES/MACO             58857            10.23

    969 MONTANA COUNTY ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION             58999           783.00

    113 MONTANA DAKOTA UTILITIES                         58929         4,805.81

   3276 MONTANA DEPT OF AGRICULTURE                      58938            50.00

    893 MONTANA DEPT OF LABOR & INDUST.                  58858           140.00

                                                         58930           869.00

    874 MONTANA FOOD BANK NETWORK INC                    58931           354.51

   1708 MONTANA LTAP                                     58859           405.00

   1749 MONTANA SHERIFF'S & PEACE OFFICERS ASSOC         59009           430.00

   3583 MONTANA TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS                      58932           438.75

   2522 MSU DEPT ANIMAL & RANGE SCIENCES                 58933           712.50

    239 MSU EXTENSION SERVICE                            58934         4,297.90

    297 MYRON GARTNER PLUMBING & HEATING                 59001         1,500.00

   4552 MYRSTOL METALS                                   59002           350.00

   3848 NACE                                             58860           150.00

   2822 NATIONAL TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION                 58935           500.00

    183 NEMONT TELEPHONE COOPERATIVE, INC                58861         4,039.68

    165 NEWTON MOTORS INC                                58936            97.03

    470 NORMONT EQUIPMENT CO                             58937            44.85

    115 NORTHWESTERN ENERGY                              58862         1,061.30

                                                         58939         9,373.61

    120 NORVAL ELECTRIC CO-OP INC                        58940         1,859.79

   3638 OK AUTOMOTIVE                                    58941            69.76

   3287 OLSON LAND SURVEYING                             58942           660.00

    126 PACIFIC STEEL & RECYCLING                        58943         1,179.17

   4248 PARK GROVE BAR & CAFE                            58877           952.00

   3087 PAT NEULIEB                                      58873         1,215.50

   2499 PAUL TWETEN                                      58863            58.00

   4548 PDR DISTRIBUTION LLC                             58944            59.95

    129 PETTY CASH                                       58987           244.05

   4551 PFIZER INC                                       58945         5,126.48

    131 PITNEY BOWES INC                                 58946           478.98

   2633 PRIMUS                                           59010           647.60

   2768 PRIORITY COMMUNICATIONS                          58947         1,697.50

   2620 RDO EQUIPMENT TRUST #80-5800                     58948         1,018.29

     76 REYNOLDS                                         58949           725.79

   4488 RICHLAND COUNTY TITLE LLC                        58950           225.00

   4296 RIVERSIDE SAND & GRAVEL INC                      58845        92,206.35

                                                         59012       105,298.63

    934 ROBERT PECCIA & ASSOCIATES INC                   58846        64,796.19

                                                         59013        22,822.50

    219 SANOFI PASTEUR INC                               58951         1,659.08

   3804 SHELLEY MILLS                                    58864           216.20

                   Vendor                               Claim #       Amount

 -----------------------------------------------------  -------     ----------

   4404 SMITH MEDICAL PARTNERS                           58952           746.92

   3625 STANARD & ASSCOCIATES INC                        58953           165.00

   4420 STANLEY CONVERTENT SECURITY SOLUTIONS            58865           143.00

    472 STATE OF MONTANA                                 58954           333.23

   2744 STATE OF MONTANA DEPT OF REVENUE                 58847           931.38

                                                         59014         1,063.62

   3589 STERICYCLE, INC                                  58955           284.04

   3693 STOUGHIE'S BAR AND GRILL                         58874           704.00

    162 SYSCO MONTANA INC                                58875           358.46

    163 T & R TRUCKING INC                               59003         9,552.99

      6 TAYLOR STORAGE                                   58956           600.00

    788 TERRY LIGHTHIZER                                 58957           307.52

    291 THE CHEMNET CONSORTIUM                           59004           557.05

   1535 THE MARKET PLACE & GALLERY GIFTS                 59005            24.00

   3902 THE OUTPOST                                      58876         1,042.50

   4372 THE PRINT SHOP                                   59006           258.40

   2996 THOMPSON & SONS                                  58958           375.00

     41 TIRE-RAMA SERVICE CENTER                         58959         1,338.85

   1074 TOWER DISTRIBUTION COMPANY                       58960           345.83

    170 TOWN & RANCH SERVICENTER                         59007         1,180.00

    680 TOWN OF OPHEIM                                   58866            50.00

    171 TRACTOR & EQUIPMENT CO                           58961         3,400.71

    172 TRI STATE TRUCK-EQUIP INC                        58962         1,948.90

   2645 U.S. POSTAL SERVICE                              58963            54.00

    787 U.S. POSTAL SERVICE/PITNEY BOWES                 58964         2,930.49

   3565 ULINE                                            58965            53.06

   3578 ULTIMATE SAFETY SOLUTIONS                        58966           628.79

    627 UNCLE MILT'S BODY SHOP                           59008           167.50

     77 VALLEY BUILDERS SUPPLY                           58967         4,048.58

   1357 VALLEY CO CLERK & RECORDER                       58972           198.00

    614 VALLEY CO TRANSIT                                58968           566.50

    182 VALLEY MOTOR SUPPLY INC                          58969         2,276.63

    674 VALLEY VIEW HOME                                 58970           112.00

   3424 VERMEER ROCKY MOUNTAIN INC                       58971           155.14

    949 VERNON BUERKLE                                   58973            29.00

   1087 VISA                                             58974           138.00

   3023 VISA                                             58975         1,841.27

   3559 VISA                                             58868         1,443.02

   4061 VISA                                             58869         1,467.18

   4050 VISA 7495                                        58870         2,225.28

   4547 VISA 7644                                        58871           330.17

   1152 WAYNE WAARVIK JR                                 58867            58.00

    876 WEST PAYMENT CENTER                              58976           202.00

    188 WESTERN DRUG INC                                 58977           116.81

    190 WILLS OFFICE WORLD/RADIO SHACK                   58978           241.52

     32 WRIGHT EXPRESS FSC                               58872           110.42

    192 ZEE MEDICAL                                      58979            75.20

    193 ZERBE BROS INC                                   58980           375.96

                                                           Total:    580,325.61

Payroll for the month of February was approved in the amount of  $347,226.52.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.

ATTEST:                                                                     ATTEST:                                                        

               Lynne Nyquist, Clerk                                                             David L. Pippin, Chairman

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

Chairman Pippin was in the office today.

Tom DePuydt visited with Chairman Pippin and said he was looking for some old, pre 1913, tax books for some research he was doing.  Chairman Pippin took Mr. DePuydt to visit with Jenny Reinhardt, Valley County Treasurer, about these documents and then took him to the basement where some old documents were being stored.

Kent Hentges stopped in and paid his grazing lease fees for 2013.