911 / DES Board Meeting of Fallon, Carter, and Wibaux Counties – April 9th 2025

911
Fallon, Carter and Wibaux Counties

April 9, 2025
Members Present: Desiree Thielen; Kevin Braun; Dale Butori; Pam Castleberry;
Georgia Bruski; Trenton Harbaugh; Nic Eisele; Justin LaCroix; Al Knight; Brian
Nelson; Brenda Hoeger; Lisa Dulin; Christina Silverthorn; and Eric Steele

Commissioner Braun called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. in the Fallon County
EOC at the Fallon County Courthouse in Baker, Montana

Members in attendance are listed above and there is an attached sign-in sheet.

Approval of the Minutes: Pam made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Trent seconded the
motion. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Desiree passed out the Jan-March expenditures to the members present. Pam
made a motion to approve the Jan-March Treasurer’s Report. Trent seconded the motion. Motion
Carried.

Old Business: Georgia asked if the 911 Policy and Procedures on the protocol for addressing should
be brought up and revisited by the 911 Board. In the past Dale had worked with Corbit Harrington,
Carter County Attorney, on a draft of the suggested policy and procedure. Dale said they had
obtained a copy from Kalispell and were using it as a template. Georgia said she would visit with
Corbit on the proposed policy. It was suggested, Desiree, Brian and Georgia review it and make any
changes prior to sending it out to the other 911 board members.

New Business:

• Trent gave a Legislative update: There will be a 911 Council Meeting on April
  24, 2025 starting at 9:00 a.m. Trent will forward the information to Desiree so she can possibly
  join via zoom.
• Eric Steel—Tab Electronic Report:
  o Eric was approached by Tom Bruha, Baker Fire Dept., on concerns regarding the current texting
  system alerting the firefighters to fires. The current system (texting) goes through I Am
  Responding and it is not timely nor consistent in the delivery to the fire members. IAR is
  moving away from the texting and strictly supporting the app. The
  individuals utilizing IAR app are well pleased with the service. However, the phone companies are
  clamping down on the spam texting causing some of the issues. Eric has developed a more direct
  method of delivering a text message which is currently being tested by the Baker Fire Department.
  Eric and Christina gave a demonstration to the group. It was discussed that the 3 counties have
  the option to move to this method for sending out test messages. Costs were discussed and where
  the equipment would be placed. Desiree will research the options and a decision will be made at
  the June meeting.
  o Desiree is going to contact IAR to review the contract and discuss the savings by removing the
  texting.
  o Tower Updates: Eric gave an update on the towers. Alzada needs to have a new rack for the
  equipment. The light on Markuson needs to be repaired. The Quan tar updates will come at a later
  date.
• Dispatch Report: Brenda said they are trying to utilize the ‘Head-Sets”. The
  volume control is a challenge.

The next quarterly meeting was set for 10:00 am on June 11, 2025.

There being no further business to be brought to the board, Trent moved to adjourn, Justin seconded
the motion. Motion Carried.

Respectfully submitted
Georgia Bruski, Carter County DES Coordinator