VC Commissioners Meet In Regular Session:

The Valley County Commissioners met in regular session on Aug. 16, inside the Board of County Commissioners located inside of the Valley County Courthouse. First on the agenda was approving employment/termination notices, of which there were none, and taxpayer comment relative to budget requirements and increases for fiscal year 2024 per the public notice that was printed in the July 5 and 12 issues of The Glasgow Courier. Though there was no public comment, Commissioner Mary Armstrong stated, “Those budgets are all available in the Clerk and Recorder’s Office.”

Next on the agenda was the approval of purchasing four new motor graders for the Road Department for $400 to $450 thousand each, which includes a five-year, 5,000 hour warranty. The cooperative purchasing process will be utilized to purchase these motor graders, using a combination of PILT, LATCF and road capital funds.

Commissioner Paul Tweten made the motion stating, “We purchase four 772 GP [John Deere] through the cooperative purchasing venture. The money, 1.732 million, if they come to that $433 thousand a piece. In my motion, I would like to say we pay $1.6 million out of it from the LATCF fund and the remainder out of PILT.” Commissioner John Fahlgren seconded the motion made by Commissioner Tweten. Commissioner Fahlgren also added, “We did meet with both the John Deere and tractor equipment CAT representatives and there’s a number of issues with CAT. The critical thing is their deliveries are out 10 months and John Deere is about six months. Our leases on the machines we are trying to replace are going to be beyond their lease term, probably be pushing it at the six months but definitely beyond a bit for 10 months.” The motion passed unanimously.

The Commissioners moved forward with purchasing these four new motor graders after the cost of leasing doubled in cost. There are currently four motor graders being utilized by the Road Department and the County is planning on buying back the lease machines as they age out of the lease with a cost of $288,000 each. Once the leased machines are bought out from the lease, there will be a three-year additional warranty on each machine.

The Commissioners also approved the following people to the Board of Adjustment, Kristi Brabeck, Joe Reyling, Russell Leader, Darrell Morehouse and Jayson Nelson. All of these members are existing Airport Board members and their expiration dates on the Board of Adjustment are the same expiration date of their service on the Airport Board.

The next item on the agenda was the signing of the Compensation Agreement between Valley County and Glasgow Public Schools for regular pick-up and delivery of students to and from school. The agreement includes Glasgow Schools reimbursing Transit at the rate of $1 per passenger per day that are within a distance of two miles of the city limits and $5 per passenger per day that are outside this range. “We had a contract for this last year because the district is short on drivers....Now that we’re back to fully staffed, at least temporarily in Transit, we’re able to provide this service,” explained Commissioner Armstrong. After a motion was made by Commissioner Fahlgren and seconded by Commissioner Tweten, the motion was passed unanimously.

During the Glasgow School Board meeting a few days after, Superintendent Sundby stated the School District will utilize Transit services for these students until plans have been finalized for a driver to utilize the school’s Expedition that has been purchased.

If you have a child that will be taking the Valley County Transit bus to or from school, they must be scheduled. Parents can call the Transit office at 228-TRIP (8747) to make the reservation. All weekday rides must be pre-scheduled as no one may board the bus without scheduling with the dispatcher. The dispatcher will need the pickup address, destination and whether the child needs to be to school for breakfast.

At the time of the meeting, three items were added to the agenda, as they were, according to Commissioner Armstrong, administrative. The first addition was the approval of the TransADE Memorandum of Agreement between the State of Montana, Department of Transportation, and Valley County Transit for transportation assistance for senior citizens and persons of disability for fiscal year 2023 up to the amount of $71,472. “That’s how far behind the State Department of Transportation is. We’ve already received these funds, this was last year, but they still require us have a contract,” explained Commissioner Armstrong regarding the delay.

The Commissioners approved the agreement in addition to approved the Application for Cancellation of Taxes for a mobile home that was destroyed on March 4, 2021, and therefore should not have any TV and Refuse fees per the Department of Revenue. They also approved the appointment of Connie Mogan to the Hinsdale Cemetery District to fill the unexpired term of Wade Riden, expiring June 30, 2024.

The Valley County Commissioners meet in regular session on Wednesday, at 10:30 a.m., inside the Board of County Commissioners. When available, agendas are posted on our Facebook page, http://www.glasgowcourier.com.