September 27th , 2024
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 by Commissioner Turley Commissioner Goffena and Commissioner Turley were present. Minutes were done by Garilynn Rapp.
Pledge of Allegiance.
Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to approve the agenda as amended. Commissioner Turley seconded. Motion carried.
Commissioner Goffena made the motion to approve the Minutes from September 20th, 2024. Commissioner Goffena seconded. Motion carried.
No Public Comment on the Business items below:
Business:
- Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to Discuss Increase of Commercial Refuse Fees. Commissioner Goffena 2nd the motion, motion carried. The Commission made the initial discussion on the increase of Commercial and Residential Refuse fees of $150 per year, per resident.
- Commissioner Goffena made the motion to Review and Sign a 2-year Lease Renewal Agreement between Musselshell County and Musselshell County Council on Aging for use of the Commons building. Commissioner Pancratz 2nd the motion, motion carried.
- Commissioner Pancratz made the motion to Review and Sign Resolution 2024-30. Final Budget Amendment for 2023-2024. Commissioner Goffena 2nd the motion, motion carried.
- Commissioner Goffena made the motion to Discuss the Letter from Mayor Jones regarding the City’s request to Musselshell County to assist with funding the Roundup pool. Commissioner Pancratz seconded the motion, motion carried. The Commission will be responding with a Letter to request a meeting with the city of Roundup.
Sheriff Lesnik gave his weekly report to the Commissioners. Payment from the Department of Corrections to Musselshell County was discussed. The scam/fraud meeting will be held Tuesday Oct.1st at the Commons, with the 6:00 PM meeting being broadcasted on the Roundup radio station.
DES Director Justin Russell gave the DES update to the Commissioners. Fire Restriction meeting was held on Monday Sept. 23rd, 2024. Burning is now open. The new East Repeater is up and running. The old tower will be removed over the next 2 weeks. The Dept’s EMPG Grant was approved for FY2025. The department assigned 2 new addresses this week. Hawk Creek Volunteer Fire Dept. has gained a new firefighter. Last week’s rain averaged 3.5 inches for Musselshell County.
Treasurer Hetrick presented the Commissioners with the Melstone Elementary and High School budgets for signature.
CFO Kirk met with the Commissioners.
All Commissioners attended the Musselshell County Department Head Meeting. Department Head meeting minutes September 27, 2024
DES Director/Fire Warden Russell gave an update regarding what has been going on in his department. The new plotter is now working and they have started making wall maps for the county and for the public to purchase. They will also be working on making map books. They have ordered 200 road signs and more post. They have been awarded the Emergency Management Grant which goes towards wages. The East Repeater is up and running, which provides better communications between emergency responders. The East Repeater was purchased through the Homeland Security Grant. This year the fire season was successful the largest fire was 53 acres with the average fire being contained to about 5 acres.
Road Department updates were submitted by Supervisor Stockert and read out loud by Commissioner Turley. The Goffena Bridge beams will not arrive until November. The Road Department has completed Goffena Road to the Fattig Creek intersection and will complete the intersection when the bridge is complete. The Road Department has been working on all the permits to remove the Railroad Bridge structure. The Hawk Creek Road project tentative start date is October 21, 2024. The Road Department has purchased a roller for the project, and the roller will be used for many more projects in the future. Most of the water line problems that the Road Department has been working on coming into town have been resolved and they are moving forward with the 2nd phase. The Road Department should be able to finish the Eagle Rock Road project before starting the Hawk Creek Road project. The new employee the County hired for the Road Department has been doing well and has a lot of experience. The County leased a tractor and hopes to get two mowers out to finish all the mowing before starting Hawk Creek. Delphia Bridge repair will be done this fall, and the road will be closed for two days during the repairs.
Clerk & Recorder Tomassi gave an update regarding what has been going on in her department. They have been busy working on getting the General Election ballots ready to be mailed out on October 11. As of today, there are currently 3100 active voters in Musselshell County and 2001 of them are absentee voters. The new full time payroll clerk has been hired and started working on Tuesday. The prior payroll clerk has transferred over to the Claims Department.
Ambulance Director Solberg gave his update regarding what has been going on in his department. The Ambulance Department has lost employees either by moving out of town or retiring. There is a new EMT class starting soon, but not a lot of people have showed interest in it. They had three ambulances down at the same time for maintenance, but now have them all back. Mr. Solberg discussed the internet and phone issues that the county has been having, and explained that Morrison & Maierle are aware of the issue. There might be a need to rewire the entire Courthouse in order for the phones to work properly. Mr. Solberg also discussed spam emails and what to look out for. He explained that everyone needs to keep more attention to the emails that they receive.
CFO Kirk discussed what she has been working on in her department. The budget has been completed, scanned and ready to be sent to the State. Ms. Kirk put a request in to use the auditor report instead of the AFR and it has been extended until June 2025.
Treasurer Hetrick gave an update regarding what has been going on in her department. Ms. Hetrick discussed budgets going over to the DOR and the need for spreadsheets to show all the accounts properly. There will be a part time position opening up in the Treasurer’s office at the end of December. The Treasurer’s office is getting ready to start preparing tax bills which will be mailed out soon. This year there will be a payment plan that tax payers can apply for by September 30th. The payment plan will allow a tax payer to pay their taxes in 7 equal payments over a 7-month time frame.
Clerk of District Court Halverson discussed that they have been busy working on cleaning up court cases prior to Judge Spaulding retiring at the end of December.
Sheriff Lesnik discussed that his department is doing well they are currently fully staffed with deputies and communications. Mr. Lesnik has received good responses from parents and school staff regarding the SRO that is currently located in the schools. Sheriff Lesnik discussed the scam alert seminar that they will be having for the public on October 1st.
Commissioner Goffena thanked everyone for their hard work and dedication to the county.
Commissioner Pancratz discussed the Work Comp back to work program that the County is working on. There are Grab-N-Go packages located at the Clerk & Recorders office for when an employee is injured on the job, they need to receive one of the Grab-N-Go packages as soon as possible.
Department Head meeting was adjourned at 1:15 p.m.
With no Further Business to discuss, Commissioner Pancratz made the Motion to adjourn, Commissioner Goffena seconded the motion, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 3:26 PM.
Last modified: October 4, 2024