Minutes:August 02, 2021
The Board of Carter County Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, August 2, 2021 in the Carter County Commission Board Meeting Room of the Carter County Courthouse at 214 Park Street in Ekalaka, Montana. Steve Rosencranz, Chairman; Rod Tauck, Vice Chairman; and Mike Watkins, member were present. Also present was Corbit Harrington, Carter County Attorney. Guests present included Melody Loken, Carter County Resident.
Board Chairman, Steve Rosencranz called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM.
Trisha Lovec, Senior Citizen Coordinator met with the board to present the application of John Breding as a driver for the Senior Transit Program. Commissioner Watkins moved to hire John, Commissioner Tauck seconded the motion. No public comment, all voted in favor. Trisha Lovec left the meeting.
Cecile’ Kuehn presented the commission with a payroll warrant. An employee’s vacation, sick and holiday pay was erroneously omitted from the 2021 July payroll. Commissioner Watkins moved to sign the corrected warrant, Commissioner Tauck seconded the motion, no public comment, all voted in favor.
The commission reviewed the Loken Gravel Pit Agreement.
The Pilgrim Creek Gravel Contract with Walker Livestock was signed by the Commission.
Carl Knapp, Carter County Road/Bridge Supervisor joined the meeting. Knapp presented his selection for two trucks as presented at the Bid Opening on July 30, 2021. Truck #1 selected is the W 900 2022 Kenworth Lowboy, $153,910. Offered with this truck is 5year/200,000 miles Warranty and was presented to the Board from Black Hills Truck Center in Rapid City, SD. Truck #2 selected is the Western Star 4700 SB 2022. Offered with the truck is 6 year/200,000 miles at $126,923 and was presented by Westlie Truck Center at Dickenson, ND. Commissioner Mike Watkins moved to purchase the trucks as presented, Commissioner Rod Tauck seconded the motion, no public comment was made and the motion passed. The agreements for purchase were signed by the commission with Black Hills Truck and Westlie Truck Center.
The Board discussed gravel pits in the Tie Creek area. Carl Knapp left the meeting.
The OAC Meeting #44 was called to order at 10:00 AM. Present were Commissioners Steve Rosencranz, Road Tauck and Mike Watkins; County Attorney Corbit Harrington; Scott Cromwell, Slate; John Neisner, Cody Taggart and Chet with Scull; Ryan Tooke, Dahl Memorial; Georgia Burski and Troy Fruit, Dahl Memorial Board members; Pam Castleberry, Carter County Clerk and Recorder and Melody Loken, Dahl Board Member and guest.
Commission Chair, Steve Rosencranz called the meeting to order. The building has been locked down. Owner Action Items included the Landscape seeding: The hydroseed was not called for in the original bid. Commissioner Watkins moved for the hydroseed all sod seed mix #1 on the plans, Commissioner Tauck seconded the motion, no public comment was made the motion passed. Contractor Action Items included the Decon Floor – Scott approved an alternative product. Bill the flooring buy will grind the floor and apply the product within the next 2 weeks.
The Certificate of Occupancy failed, Contractor must fill all the penetrations with regard to fire and smoke in the walls. Chet is working on that. The Snow guards will be delivered in 2 to 4 weeks. The installer will be here in September/October with the agreed upon amount. The Owner/Architect will be signing off on the CAR #08. All direct reimbursable receipts have been sent over to the owners. They are reviewing the costs. Scull will send in a revised CAR #08 including the approved hydro seed at all sod mix areas. The CO #08 will reflect the contingency reduction in the contract amount. Owner Clarifications and Issues were addressed: The door seal at the ER wing has it been fixed? Chet said the door sweep has been installed. No leaks have been reported recently, a leak test was performed on drains and scuppers. All leaks with the rooftop mechanical equipment have been plugged. The commission is concerned about the cost of electricity on the building that is not yet occupied. There has also been an increase in the propane usage and it is thought that there is a leak somewhere. John Neisner indicated that there may be an issue with the sequence and set point of the boiler. The RTU’s and boiler might be working against each other. The plumbing contractor was replacing a module in the boiler unit today. Scott Cromwell will have the mechanical engineer look into the set points for the boiler and the sequencing schedule of the boiler. ERV has been replaced and a few fans still need to be replaced. The next meeting will be scheduled for Monday, August 16, 2021.
The commission adjourned for lunch at 11:30 AM.
The commission reconvened at 1:00 PM. Pam Castleberry, Carter County Clerk and Recorder delivered the 2021 Certified Taxable Valuation Information for the 21-22 Fiscal Year Budget. County Wide Taxable Value is up $15,191,081 over last year’s value. Castleberry will put together the mills and budget and have it ready for public view throughout the month of August. The budget hearing is set for August 30, 2021.
Troy Fruit, Ekalaka Airport board chair met with the board. Attorney Corbit Harrington joined the session. The Airport Board had discussed having Jen Hall paint a mural at the Airport Pilot’s Lounge, the commission is not in favor of the mural. The board discussed the proposed Town of Ekalaka deer hunt, Troy called Craig Canfield regarding the airport and was told to contact the Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The Airport Board is planning for a fly in at the airport in September, 2021. The Board will host a BBQ, music and drawings along with games. Fruit reported that Bill Kalstrom is doing a great job as Airport caretaker. He has corrected the fuel service and price of fuel for the pilots. He’s not putting in a lot of hours but is very effective with his time management and getting a lot of things done. There was some discussion about the project at the airport where Jesperson has moved a lot of dirt to divert the water drainage. Sacrison Paving is to be here on Wednesday. Commissioner Rosencranz thinks a culvert needs to be put in, Fruit will take a look at it. Jesperson may not have time to put it in before the paving job is to start.
The Board discussed putting a fence around the propane tank farm at the new Healthcare Facility Site. The ditch that landscapers put in between the new facility and the courthouse is still holding water from ten days ago. The board discussed a culvert on the northwest street corner across Park Street.
Judy Wright, Deputy Clerk and Recorder discussed reimbursing Dahl Memorial for the cost of electricity at the new facility as it is not currently occupied. Membership for the new facility was applied for by Dahl Memorial, but because they have not yet occupied the facility, it should be Carter County’s expense. Carter County will reimburse Dahl for the electrical charges assessed to Dahl from May when Scull quit paying the bill through June and part of July.
Steve Rosencranz will call Mark Bruski for a quote for a fence around the propane tank farm at the new facility.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:25 PM.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
CARTER COUNTY, MONTANA
Attest:/s Steve Rosencranz Attest:/s Pamela Castleberry
Steve Rosencranz, Chairman Clerk of the Board