Townsend Renews Grading For Water Agreement With County
 | Author:
Linda Kent, MT43News Correspondent
MT43 News Correspondent |
Townsend Renews Grading for Water Agreement with County
Linda Kent
MT43News Correspondent
Townsend’s city council approved the continuation of an agreement with Broadwater County to grade South Harrison St. and Railroad Ave. twice a year in exchange for water for the county’s public works department’s use.
County Public Works Director TJ Graveley said the county’s water use for last year’s June - December agreement came in well under his estimate of 3.4-3.9 million gallons at 1.2 million gallons. While the new agreement would add two months of water use, he told the council that it was unlikely that total use for 2025 would approach the initial estimate.
Graveley and City Public Works Director Eric Crusch proposed the trade in June 2024 because the city does not have grading equipment and the cost of hiring a grader for those two roads would be near the amount the city would charge any water user for the 3-4 million gallons per year Graveley estimated.
Responding to Graveley’s question to the council about public feedback on the county’s grading work, Mayor Vicki Rauser said she had heard no comments. Crusch said he had heard a request for grading a stub road near Townsend Seeds, but was unclear whether that road fell under city or county jurisdiction.
Graveley explained that the agreement would need to be amended if the stub road were included. The council voted unanimously to continue the existing agreement, with the potential to modify it at a later date.
