Broadwater County Commissioners Meeting March 3
Author: Eliza McLaughlin, MT43 News Correspondent
Broadwater County Commissioners Meeting March 3 Eliza McLaughlin, MT43 News Correspondent Twelve storage buildings proposed at Silos
The Broadwater County Commissioners hosted a discussion on two applications proposing the construction of twelve storage buildings on Silos Road during their March 3 meeting.
The proposed storage facilities were submitted in two separate applications: the Lakeview Mini-Storage Building for Lease or Rent and Silos #6 Lot 71 Storage Units.
The storage facilities are not associated with each other and have separate owners.
The Lakeview Mini-Storage Building for Lease or Rent proposal includes 139 units on a 3.7-acre lot. The six buildings will vary in size from 5,400 to 8,280 square feet.
Commissioner Darrell Folkvord raised concerns that the lot could produce extra water run-off that would impact surrounding homes. Nichole Brown, Broadwater County Community Development and Planning Director, pointed out that the application included run-off mitigation plans such as drainage ditches.
Commission Chair Debi Randolph also questioned whether the storage facility would feature a locked gate and how emergency responders would access the site in case of fire or medical emergencies. The application, according to Brown, does not include a locked gate; however, she planned to seek information from the applicant.
Silos #6 Lot 71 Storage Units — later to be known as Kingdom Storage — will have 176 storage units, if approved by commissioners.
Buildings at this facility will range in size from 6,400 to 7,299 square feet. There will also be an outdoor parking area on site.
Applicant and landowner for Kingdom Storage, Jeremy Scott, told commissioners that this facility would feature a locked gate; however, a “knox box” — an electronic keypad — would allow emergency responders to use a designated code to access the storage units.
With the potential addition of 315 storage units on Silos Road, both Folkvord and Randolph expressed unease about the need for additional road maintenance. The new units, using an assumed number of trips per user according to Folkvord, would add approximately 492 trips down Silos Road per month. This equates to 5,904 trips a year. Randolph added that Silos Road already receives significant use during the summer months.
Both storage unit applications will be reconsidered at the commissioners’ March 15 meeting.
Further delays for the Minor Subdivision
The County Commissioners also considered the application for Quiet Lot 8 Subsequent Minor Subdivision and were informed that two lots would share a drive as access to their properties.
During a discussion on the application, Deputy County Attorney Jania Hatfield advised the commissioners to ensure the landowners received an easement agreement for the use of a shared driveway — which is permitted. Hatfield added that this could be added to the conditions of the application and approved at the meeting; however, she also pointed out that the county needed to review the “new information” statute and determine whether it applied to this case.
If the information was found to be “new”, the application would need to go through another round of public hearings.
Bernadette Swenson of Schauber Surveying commented that she and the applicant only included this information as a way to “alleviate” the commissioners’ previous concerns regarding shared driveway maintenance, adding that they didn’t see it as new information.
Brown told commissioners that due to scheduling, public hearings for the application wouldn’t take place until later towards the end of April.
“I hate to slow this down,” Randolph said, going on to explain that easements are an important detail to have ironed out.
Folkvord motioned to return the application to the planning board, which Commissioner Lindsey Richtmyer seconded. The motion was approved with a unanimous vote.
Broadwater County's internet — not broad enough
Broadwater County Commissioners approved the formation of a committee to research the development of broadband internet in the county, during their March 3 meeting.
“This will definitely be a working committee,” Randolph said. “This will not be ‘sit around and complain about how bad our internet is’ because we could all do that. We really need some people to do research, dig in, we just haven’t had the time.”
Those interested in serving on the committee should submit letters of interest to the commissioners. Terms are expected to be two years long, according to Hatfield, and the committee will follow all of the county’s meeting laws.
