Commission Minutes – October 31-November 4, 2022
9:00 AM CONVENE
PRESENT: Roy Rost, Chairman; Steve Baldwin and Kevin Braun, Members; Brenda Wood, Clerk and Recorder
FALLON COUNTY COURTHOUSE
9:05 AM AGENDA/NON-AGENDA ITEMS – PUBLIC COMMENT
Gary Thielen, Member of the Public met to discuss minutes from a meeting held on October 4th, 2022 at 9:30 AM regarding Thielen Access. Gary stated some of the statements made by Bobby Thielen were false. Gary stated Bobby’s father did not build the low water crossing as stated in the minutes. The low water crossing was built by Jesse Schell and Emil Petersohn. The original road was built through Thielen’s yard, which is why Thielen Access was built around Thielen’s yard. Gary also stated the reason the road does not follow the original petition is because it would have crossed the creek three (3) times. Gary wanted to come to set the record straight.
9:11 AM Gary Left the meeting.
The Pledge of Allegiance was held in the Commissioner’s Office to start off the week.
9:05 AM DES/911 UPDATES/Dale Butori, DES/911 Coordinator
UPDATES-Dale will be gone until Thursday evening for incident command training. On his way to training Dale plans to meet with Mike Feldman, DOJ to review the draft MOU for the dispatch consoles. Dale may bring a copy home with him for review. In speaking to Brenda Hoeger, Emergency Communication Dispatch Supervisor it sounds like one of the consoles in dispatch seems to be slowing down but may switch that console with the one from her office.
MOU-Dale discussed the proposal between Fallon and Richland to be backup call service for each other. The Commission will review the draft. Dale stated the MOU was previously reviewed by the County Attorney and she found no issues with it. The MOU covers roll over calls only.
ARPA LATCF Funds-Dale asked if those funds could be used to help upgrade the 911 center so the 911 funds can be used for other necessities. The Commission asked if any of the other Counties would contribute some of their funds toward the upgrades. Dale will discuss this with the other two (2) counties and let the Commission know.
9:30 AM SEISMIC PERMIT FOR DENBURY ONSHORE, LLC/Royce Hammer, Denbury Agent
Royce had been in contact with the entities in charge of the upper dam operations and they are fine with the seismic work planned near the dam. They just asked that they be contacted when the project begins.
Commissioner Braun made the motion to approve the seismic permit for Paragon Geophysical Services, Inc. to perform Seismic work in Fallon County. Commissioner Baldwin seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed and signed, in approval, the Geophysical Operations Agreement between Cougar Land Services, LLC (on behalf of Denbury Onshore, LLC) and Fallon County to conduct geophysical operations on county land. The agreement is on record in the Clerk and Recorder’s office.
9:37 AM Royce left the meeting.
10:00 AM ROAD/SHOP UPDATES/Mark Sieler, Road Foreman; Mitch Overn and Carl Overland, Shop Mechanics
Shop Updates-The golf course irrigation pump has been removed from the lagoon. The Commission will contact Direct Electric so they can finish the electrical work, for the new building, at the lagoon. The container site containers were dumped on Thursday. Discussed getting other road crew members trained to do this also. Carl reported the hook truck works well. Mitch stated some scoria was hauled to the Landfill as well. Discussed purchasing some containers with lids and changing out the container at the Road Department with a county container. Carl will contact the gentleman that sold the hook truck, to the county, for quotes on containers with lids. The Sheriff’s vehicle has been repaired; had to put a fuel pump on the Fire Warden vehicle.
Road Updates-They are continuing to work on the Ollie Road. Commissioner Braun discussed a portion of Beaver Slide Road that needs some gravel, since the road crew is currently working in that area.
10:12 AM Mark, Mitch and Carl left the meeting.
10:25 AM Richard Menger, Sanitarian joined.
Rich reported the Upper Lake is empty. Lakeview Drive Storm Sewer project-Rich felt it would be a good idea to add some pea gravel to fill the voids, between the large rocks, for filtration purposes.
10:38 AM PROJECT UPDATES/Shannon Hewson, Brosz Engineering
UPDATES-Lakeview Drive Storm Sewer Project-Discussed Rich’s thoughts regarding adding pea gravel as filtration to fill the void in the large rock. Shannon felt it would be fine as long as they only loaded a small bucket to fill the void. The county road crew can do this work.
Commissioner Baldwin made the motion to pay contractor Pay App #2 for the Lakeview Drive Storm Sewer Project, in the amount of $26,310.49, with 1% Gross Receipt Tax to be paid to the State of Montana in the amount of $265.76. Commissioner Braun seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Braun made the motion to accept Change Order #1 for the 2022 Bridge Replacement Projects in the amount of $16,000 to bore and replace existing service lines. Commissioner Baldwin seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
The Contractor is hoping to finish the erosion control for the Bonnievale Box Culvert this week.
Commissioner Baldwin made the motion to pay contractor Pay App #3 for the 2022 Bridge Replacement Projects, in the amount of $355,656.66, with 1% Gross Receipt Tax to be paid to the State of Montana in the amount of $3,592.49. Commissioner Braun seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
Discussed getting the as-builts completed and going through the remaining items for the Pay App for the Ismay Box Culvert. The survey for Bergstrom Hill Road was completed and will try to get a copy of the plans to the Commission before next week. Shannon will be gone next week and possibly the following Monday.
Commissioner Rost asked about an old request from several years ago to complete a reconstruct for Johny Creek Trail. Shannon felt the decision was not to move forward due to the overall cost. Shannon also felt they would have to replace the new fiber line that had been placed, due to the lack of barrow. There have been complaints regarding the road being too narrow in places. Commissioner Braun discussed possible ways to widen the road, over time. Commissioner Rost asked about placing a counter on the road to get usage information.
The Commission discussed making decisions on how to proceed with necessary road work. Shannon suggested they could start by addressing roads with safety concerns.
11:00 AM Shannon left the meeting.
11:00 AM IT UPDATES/Josh Lewis, System Administrator
UPDATES-Josh contacted Proficient Technology regarding costs to receive extra Office 365 licenses. The cost is $150.00, per user/per year and is prorated if we add more employees after renewal. We currently have 50 licenses, with only one available. Does Josh need to ask permission when it is time to renew the licenses. The Commission stated he would not as that is part of the day-to-day upgrades. Josh has been researching users and was disabling those that have left employment, etc.; it is also a piece of the cyber security measures. Josh is contacted whenever there is a new employee or whenever an employee leaves the County. Josh confirmed keeping a user that is still working on the mapping project. Thursday the Tyler Technology server crashed and rebooted unexpectedly. Clint Townsend and Josh will review logs to decide a reason. Feels it may be the battery backup, (for the rack), that may need to be upgraded. Josh feels the cost to replace is approximately $500 to $800. Will let the Commission know the cause and if/when they have to purchase. Josh has been trying to find out if Tyler Technology offers a cloud-based service as an option rather than replacement of a server, at the cost of approximately $2,000 to $3,000. Josh has a webinar with CISA Security this afternoon; they offer the self-assessment tool. This is completed in the off year; Josh plans to run it next year. The cost to repair the HP Printer would be more than the machine is worth. The machine can be replaced with another copier that is already available. The Commission gave permission to take the HP to the Landfill; Josh will work with Outside Maintenance to get that moved. The Commission also granted permission for Josh to get the replacement copier up and running for the Shooting Range; permission was granted to take the Shooting Range copier, that no longer works, to the Landfill. Commissioner Rost mentioned to check for inventory tags to be turned in to the Clerk and Recorder’s office. Josh is working on his inventory and will be preparing many very old items for disposal.
11:17 AM Josh left the meeting.
11:30 AM COMMISSIONER MINUTES APPROVAL FOR OCTOBER 24-28, 2022.
Commissioner Baldwin made the motion to approve the October 24-28 Commissioner Minutes with corrections. Commissioner Braun seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
11:45 AM PERMISSION TO HIRE MAGGIE BAINTER TO TRAIN ON 4H FINANCIALS/PERMISSION TO RECRUIT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/Amanda Williams, Extension Agent.
Amanda stated they had asked Maggie to train the Administrative Assistant on the 4H financial audits but now that the Administrative Assistant is no longer with Fallon County, Amanda and Kodie need to be trained. The Commission granted permission but recommended paying a stipend rather than an hourly rate.
Recruitment will be put on hold for now.
11:54 AM Amanda left the meeting.
12:00 PM Commissioner Baldwin made the motion to recess. Commissioner Braun seconded the motion.
Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
NOON RECESS
1:15 PM RECONVENE
PRESENT: Roy Rost, Chairman; Steve Baldwin and Kevin Braun Members; Brenda Wood, Clerk and Recorder
FALLON COUNTY COURTHOUSE
PUBLIC COMMENT – AGENDA/NON-AGENDA ITEMS
No one appeared for Public Comment
1:30 PM COMMISSION WORK SESSION
The Commission reviewed revenues received, reports, emails and other correspondence, board minutes and agendas.
Task Order Amendment #1 for Covid Immunization Services
Commissioner Baldwin made the motion to approve for signage Task Order Amendment #1 for Covid Immunization Services. Commissioner Braun seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
Sign FY2023 MSU Extension Service Agreement
Commissioner Braun made the motion to approve for signage the FY2023 MSU Extension Service Agreement. Commissioner Baldwin seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
The agreement will be recorded in the Clerk and Recorder’s office.
Discuss/Decision Cemetery Vaults
The Commission made the decision Fallon County is not going to require cemetery vaults. The Cemeteries in Fallon County are not Fallon County property; therefore, they do not feel they can make that a requirement. This would be up to the Board of each respective cemetery.
Weed Board Appointment
Commissioner Braun made the motion to appoint David Kirschten to the Fallon County Weed Board for a 3-year term. Commissioner Baldwin seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
Review/Discuss Draft RFQ for Architectural, Engineering and Land Surveying Services
The Commission will review the draft RFQ and will advertise at a later date.
Discuss/Decision where and if to store various items for county auction
Decision was made not to store items that were on the list. The Commission asked that they be taken to the Landfill if they are not able to be repaired or used by another Department.
2:05 PM Commissioner Braun made the motion to adjourn. Commissioner Baldwin seconded the motion. Commissioner Rost asked for any other discussion; being none. 3 Ayes. 0 Nays. The motion carried unanimously.
ADJOURN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2022
11:00 AM – 6:00 PM DEPUTY CLERK OF COURT INTERVIEWS
s/Roy Rost, Chairman
ATTEST:
s/Brenda J. Wood, Clerk and Recorder
