Wood Chastises Commissioners for Treatment During Family Transfer Review
 | Author:
Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
MT43 News Correspondent |
Linda Kent
MT 43 News Staff Reporter
During the open public comment period of the Wednesday, March 13 Broadwater County Commissioners Meeting, Mark Wood read a letter asking that the commission publicly apologize to him and to two other property owners who appeared at the March 10 meeting to request approval of family property transfers.
“In the hearing, my integrity was called into question,” Wood, a long-time Broadwater County Sheriff’s Deputy said. “I was treated as a defendant on trial.”
Wood said he was surprised to be required to speak to the board under oath about the circumstances preceding his family transfer application.
The family transfer process allows a property owner to make a one-time gift of a parcel of property to a spouse or immediate family member. Unlike a typical subdivision of private property, the transfer is not required to undergo review by the county planning board, leaving the county no way to evaluate impacts to a host of potential problem areas – from water and soil to schools and surrounding property owners.
During the March 10 meeting, Commission Chair Darrel Folkvord repeatedly stated his dissatisfaction with the statute, the opportunities for it to be used in ways not originally intended by the legislation, and the idea that statute allowed for a simple work-around to the county’s governance of the subdivision process in its borders.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” Wood told the commissioners. “I never had the intent to circumvent the subdivision process.”
Commissioners did not respond to Wood’s request during the March 13 meeting. No response was received to a request for comment on this story.
Also in the March 13 Meeting:
● Vic Sample, Broadwater County’s representative for Southwest Montana, the non-profit destination management organization aligned with the Montana Department of Tourism’s 9-county tourism region, brought a potential tourism and recreation grant opportunity to the commission. He asked for Broadwater County Planning Director Nicole Brown’s participation on the project’s steering committee if the grant is received.
He explained that the department’s Pilot Community Tourism Grant Program has 13, approximately $2.7 million grants available for shovel-ready projects throughout the state. The grants would not require a match from local governments.
“This is a huge grant program for rural communities,” Sample said, noting that larger communities like Helena or Great Falls are not eligible to apply.
Southwest Montana identified completing Phases 4 and 5 of the Silos Recreation Area Master Plan as a likely candidate for the grant, Sample said. While other communities in the region also have projects they are looking into applying for, Sample said the Silos project, which includes the development of day-use facilities near Seaman’s Bay, just north of Broadwater Bay on Canyon Ferry Lake, has a number of advantages.
In addition to having completed initial planning work, the Silos area shows strong potential for regional participation. Southwest Montana would like to see participation from Visit Helena MT and the Helena Chamber of Commerce, should the application be successful. Interest in placing fire and search and rescue resources in the area as well as the highway department’s plan to continue widening US HWY 287 to a four-lane road show “that area is being considered a key area by a lot of different entities,” Sample said. He added that area residents are also in favor of providing better facilities for day-use.
Commissioners approved Brown’s participation on the steering committee, should the grant application be successful.
● The board approved the interlocal agreement with Townsend K-12 Schools District #1 for the operation of Broadwater School-Community Library. Superintendent Susie Hedalen said the revised agreement includes language indicating that the library board can not operate separately from the school board. State law does not allow the library board to have the authority to adopt policies that contradict school board policy, she added. While commissioners had some questions about how the library budget was reported to the county and distributed between the school and county, as well as how the county can legally meet its obligation to levy funding as described in the agreement, they approved the interlocal agreement following counsel from Deputy County Attorney Kay Minor. Minor told commissioners that since the interlocal agreement was a broad working understanding between the school and county, the details of budgetary reporting and distribution could be addressed outside of approving the agreement itself.
● Commissioners passed a resolution formalizing the county’s non-household solid waste fee schedule. County Public Works Director T.J. Graveley said the fee schedule is nearly the same as in previous years. However, now that a scale is available at the Indian Creek station, it will be used to determine the weights of materials deposited at the station. The fees represent about $70,000 of the of the Public Works enterprise fund, which Graveley said is essential to his being able to manage that fund as a business. Solid waste fees will be posted at the dump site and available on the county’s website.
● Ruby Taylor, county public health director, asked for commission approval of a letter of application for Montana Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) funding. Taylor said the approximately $41,000 request would come for state COVID funds that must be used and may be used for non-COVID-related projects. Representing a significant increase in health department funding, the money would allow Taylor to utilize department staff for several initiatives instead of relying on a contract worker. Commissioners approved the funding request application.
● Great West Engineering of Helena received approval to assist the county in its application for a Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Groundwater Investigation Project (GWIP) for southern Broadwater County. Commissioner Lindsey Richtmyer explained that, if approved, the project would constitute “a very in-depth study” of the groundwater and related geology. The data, she said, would help the commission better understand the potential impacts of residential, commercial, and agricultural land use in the study area.
● The commission approved the City of Townsend’s requests to waive a six-month notification period for ending an interlocal agreement to operate Townsend Airport and to transfer the city’s interest in land at the airport to the county. “The city has decided they do not want to participate in the airport anymore,” Folkvord stated, Commissioners approved both the waiver and the transfer, officially ending the long-standing joint management of Townsend Airport.
● Commissioners signed a contract with Canyon Enterprises to operate the Silos Recreation Area boat docks. Commissioner Debi Randolph said the contract was virtually identical to that between Canyon Enterprises and the county for previous years’ management. She added that 2024 will be the final year of the county’s direct oversight of operations there, with the area to be turned over to the US Bureau of Reclamation. Randolph also highlighted that the contract is not related to the Silos KOA.
● Lacey Forrey, co-chair of the County Parks and Recreation Board, notified commissioners that Jennifer Dalrymple had been selected as Parks and Recreation Board Chair. Dirk Gard and Phil Duede have been added as board members. Forrey also informed the commission that the vault toilet to be installed at Connors Field has been completed and can be installed once the site is ready. Connors Field President Mike Delger explained that the toilet would be installed east and south of the concession stand, with concrete walkways to allow for wheelchair access to the facilities. Forrey noted she had received significant volunteer interest in completing the work to install the toilet. Delger asked if the county Public Works Department would be able to prepare the site once the outlines were marked. Both Forrey and Delger’s questions will need follow-up on the part of the county before a date for ground work and installation is set.
● Broadwater County Noxious Weed and Mosquito Coordinator Jessica Bushnell presented the commission with the weed board’s updated bylaws. She noted that the format was updated to be consistent with the by-laws of other county boards, with no other significant changes. Commissioners accepted the updated bylaws.
● Todd Kitto, Gord Pearse, and Weston Munns were approved as members of Broadwater County’s Noxious Weed Board. Their terms expire in December of 2026, 2025, and 2024.
● Hangar space at Canyon Ferry Airport will become more costly, under a fee increase approved by the commission. Rates will increase by 4.34 percent to 12 cents per square foot. Folkvord said this brings the lease rate in line with the rates at Townsend Airport.
Article Images
Click on Image Thumbnail(s) to view fullsize image
PhotoCredit: Silos Master Plan
Image 1 Caption: Slide 41 of the 2021 Silos Recreation Area Master Plan details the five phases of improvements planned for the Silos Recreation Area north of Townsend. If successful, Southwest Montana’s application for the Department of Commerce’s Pilot Community Tourism Grant would provide approximately $3 million to fund development outlined in Phases 4 and 5 of the master plan. Source: broadwatercountymt.com
