CARTER COUNTY COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS

12-30-2022

The Board of Carter County Commissioners met in regular session on Friday, December 30, 2022, in the Carter County Commission Board Meeting Room of the Carter County Courthouse at 214 Park Street in Ekalaka, Montana. Steve Rosencranz, Chairman; Rod Tauck, Vice Chairman; and Mike Watkins, member was present.

The meeting was called to order at 9 a.m. There was no public comment.

Bob Jacobs joined the meeting for an update on Old Hospital boiler room water shut off. There was a space heater in place during the cold temperatures, the pipes did not freeze but the meter did. Bob has been in contact with the Town to repair the meter. Bob also checked the Stenseth house to make sure the heat and water are functioning. Bob left the meeting.

The commissioners reviewed and approved Claims in the amount of $186,250.47 and payroll in the amount of $252,125.97.

Scott Cromwell of Slate Architecture called into the meeting to review the Carter County Health Facility Critical Access Hospital and Clinic Emergency Power upgrade feasibility Study. The Commissioners referred to the need for the x-ray and the CT scan to be on-line to fulfill the designation of Critical care access Hospital. The kitchen had been set to be on-line by using the generator from the old hospital; this was taken out of the plans for cost savings.

Scott stated that there are 3 transfer switches that will show the loads used during the last 3 outages and load shedding is already part of the electrical system. He will work to set up load testing and move forward with a need’s assessment. Procuring a new generator to add to the system is a minimum of 6-8 months out.

Commissioner Watkins made the motion to accept the resignation for Brian Ballou effective December 24, 2022 at 5 p.m. Commissioner Tauck seconded the motion. There was no public comment and the motion carried.

Commissioner Watkins made the motion to sign the letter of support for the KU Engineering Miles City Flood Plain Proposal. Commissioner Tauck seconded the motion. There was no public comment and the motion carried.

Commissioner Tauck made the motion to approve the meeting minutes for December 19th and 27th, 2022. Commissioner Watkins seconded the motion. There was no public comment and the motion carried.

The Oath of Office was read by Chairman Steve Rosencranz to officially swear-in for Treasurer Jesi Pearson, Kathy Rosencranz, Justice of The Peace, Pamela Castleberry, Commissioner, Corbit Harrington, Attorney, Neil Kittelmann, Sheriff, and Judy Wright as Clerk and Recorder.

Commissioner Rosencranz turned in keys lOAA, llAA, and 13 as well as an iPad and Personnel Policy manual.

The meeting adjourned for lunch at 12 p.m. and reconvened at 1 p.m.

The Commission conducted a Public Hearing for Amendments to 2022 Budget appropriations. Amendments include fund 2281 Senior Transportation $705.46 to be adjusted PERS entries per the auditor. In addition, the Budget for Public Safety Severity Fund 2301 was over spent by $52,963.98 which resulted when the Auditor valued three pickups and water tender per blue book figures as opposed to the actual acquisition charged to the County for freight as an outlay expenditure.

Commissioner Tauck made the motion to amend the budget as per the hearing and the 2022 Audit report. Commissioner Watkins seconded the motion. There was no public comment and the motion carried.

Road and Bridge Supervisor Carl Knapp joined the meeting with an equipment update, including The Cat Grader that got on fire during the severe cold snap. The mechanic from Butler Cat has been on site to make some of the needed repairs.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2 p.m.

Board of County Commissioners

Carter County, Montana

/s/ Rod Tauck, Chairman

Attest:/s/ Judy Wright, Clerk of the Board

01-03-2023

The Board of Carter County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday January 03, 2023, in the Carter County Commission Board Meeting Room of the Carter County Courthouse at 214 Park Street in Ekalaka, Montana. Rod Tauck, Chairman; Mike Watkins, Vice Chairman; and Pamela Castleberry, member was present.

The meeting was called to order at 9 a.m. at which time commissioners recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Clerk and Recorder Judy Wright stepped into the meeting to request the Commissioners approval to replace the lights on the pre-lite Christmas tree or replace the tree. The Commission agreed to replace the tree.

Judy also presented an invoice from Slate Architecture in the amount of $4,842.00 which is 90% of the invoice for the hospital generator feasibility study.

Commissioner Castleberry made the motion to unanimously set Rod Tauck as the Board Chair and Mike Watkins as the Vice Chair. Commissioner Watkins seconded the motion. There was no public comment and the motion carried.

Resolution 01032023-01 to set the Commissioner meeting dates as the 1st three Mondays, The 2nd and 4th Thursdays and the last working day of the month. The meeting hours where set for 9 a.m. to whenever all agenda items have been for the day have been addressed. This Resolution sets the public notice for meetings as well as office hours. Commissioner Watkins made the motion to approve Resolution 01032023-01. Commissioner Castleberry seconded the motion. There was no public comment and the motion carried.

Resolution 01032023-02 Travel reimbursement for 2023 for the actual cost of lodging and meals reimbursed at $13.00 for the morning meal, $14.00 for the midday meal and $23.00 for the evening meal. All expenses for meals and lodging must be documented by an appropriate receipt. Commissioner Watkins made the motion to approve Resolution 01032023-02. Commissioner Castleberry seconded the motion. There was no public comment and the motion carried.

Attorney Harrington and Clerk and Recorder Judy Wright joined the meeting.

Commissioner Castleberry made the motion to approve the appointment of Dana Eshelman as Deputy Clerk and Recorder, with the requirement that she continue with 6 months’ probation. There was some discussion that Dana completes the 6 months’ probation as a Clerk before being appointed as Deputy Clerk and Recorder. Commissioner Watkins seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Judy left the meeting.

Commissioner Tauck asked if Commissioner Castleberry would be willing to recuse herself from discussion on contracts between Dahl Memorial Healthcare and Carter County Commission as her husband is on the DMHC Board and her daughter works for DMHC. Commissioner Castleberry has no intention of recusing herself from discussions of contracts for DMHC. There was a brief discussion pertaining to laws regarding nepotism.

Commissioner Castleberry gave a brief report from the December 13, Weed Board meeting, that she attended as the Human Resources representative for Carter County.

Dahl Memorial employees CEO Ryan Tooke, Jalynn Dyke, Carla Dowdy and DMHA Board member Georgia Bruski joined the meeting. The group presented reports on electrical use of the facility based on information from Southeast Electric and the generator reports from the last year. They do not see a discernible difference in the number of kilowatts used on days when the CT was used frequently and days when it had not been used. The average number of CT scans per month in the last year was 17.

The Commissioners and Dahl Memorial agreed that they would like to have the capability to run the whole facility on auxiliary power. There will be a generator test forthcoming from Scott Cromwell of slate architecture.

CEO Ryan Tooke also gave an update on the heating situation in the new facility. John Neisner of Skull Construction was at the facility last week where they proceeded to take out the vents in the ceiling so that the heat could be distributed more evenly. This seems to have help to correct the problem of the residents’ room being too cold.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12 p.m.

Board of County Commissioners

Carter County, Montana

/s/ Rod Tauck, Chairman

Attest:/s/ Judy Wright, Clerk of the Board