911 / DES Board Meeting of Fallon, Carter, and Wibaux Counties – June 11th 2025
Fallon,Carter and Wibaux Counties
June 11,2025
Members Present: Desiree Thielen; Kevin Braun; Mandi Varner; Roy Rost; Pam Castleberry; Georgia
Bruski; Trenton Harbaugh; Justin LaCroix; Brian Nelson; Brenda Hoeger; Lisa Dulin; Brittany
Veal; and Eric Steele
WELCOME: Commissioner Braun called the meeting to order at 10:00 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 APRIL 9, 2025 MINUTES: Trent made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Pam
seconded the motion. Motion carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Desiree passed out the April-May Detailed Budget Report to the members
present.
Old Business:
IAR AND TAB ALERT UPDATES AND DECISION: Desiree gave an update on the text to page alerts through IAR (I Am Responding) and Tab Alerts. The IAR continues to experience delays, however, the
contract was signed and will continue for the next 3 years. Desiree is going to contact IAR to see
if fewer entities use the service if that will reduce the cost. Carter County is having success
with the Tab Alerts with the fire Fighters and EMS. However, EMS would like to continue to
utilize IAR for the additional features it offers. Wibaux County is experiencing some issues with
the Tab Texting. There are 4 fire fighters who are not receiving the pages. Eric will work with Brian to try and correct the issues. Eric was in attendance and gave details on how the systems work and the changes to expect from Verizon and AT&T. Plevna and Baker Fire Departments are satisfied with the Tab Alerts. Baker Fire does utilize some of the other features offered through IAR..
Desiree led the discussion on who, counties or 911, is going to pay for the
computers and necessary hardware for Tab Alerts. The decision was made to have the counties
purchase the hardware and to pay the monthly fee of
$15.00.
REVIEW THE QUOTE FOR QUANTARS AND UPDATES FOR TOWERS: A handout from Tab Electronics was passed out to the 911 board members to review the costs of the Base/Repeaters replacement. The
priority of the upgrade is the placement of the base stations with the GRT8000 Repeaters closely
following. It was decided after close review of the budget to purchase the all the upgrades in the
next fiscal year (2025-2026).
REVIEW OF THE BY-LAWS: Desiree made the suggestion to change the
scheduled meeting (page 6; Article 7; Section 2) to read “The FCDGC will meet quarterly
designated by the Chairperson”. Pam made a motion to approve the By-Laws with the change to
the meeting schedule. Mandi seconded the motion. Motion failed. Brian made a motion to
approve the By-Laws with the following changes: to have quarterly meetings and on other dates
designated by the Chairperson; and the Chairperson for the 911
Committee to be a Fallon County Commissioner Chairperson. Jason
seconded the motion. Motion carried.
PRAIRIE COUNTY: Kevin asked Fallon County Dispatch if the overflow of calls from Prairie County
was continuing to be frequent or just sporadic. Brenda and Lisa indicated the calls were not
frequent and were not an issue.
New Business:
FY25-26 BUDGET DISCUSSION: The focus of the discussion was on the purchase of the
Base/Repeater Replacements. Eric was able to answer questions from the committee. It was decided
to budget $400,000 to purchase the equipment and have it installed during the new fiscal year. The
budget will be sent out to all the members of the committee to review and vote on.
DISPATCH UPDATES AND TRAINING: Brenda had quotes from three companies that would
provide training to the dispatch staff. The top two companies offered a variety of training
sessions, but Motivation offered training session along with Quality Assurance. This is the
company that ranked the highest. Brenda will meet with the Fallon County Commissioners for
further discussion and approval. Motivation is based out of Littleton, Colorado.
The next Tri-County 911Meeting will be September 10, 2025 starting at 10:00 a.m.
in the Fallon County EOC.
There being no further business to be brought to the board, Trent moved to
adjourn, Mandi seconded the motion. Motion Carried.
s\ Georgia Bruski, Carter County DES Coordinator
