The Ekalaka Eagle - Your Community Builder

04-19-2022

The Board of Carter County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in the Carter County Commission Board Meeting Room of the Carter County Courthouse at 214 Park Street in Ekalaka, Montana. Present were Steve Rosencranz, Chairman; and Mike Watkins, Member. Rod Tauck, Vice Chair was absent.

OAC meeting: Dahl Memorial CEO Ryan Tooke, Clerk and Recorder Pam Castleberry and Deputy Clerk and Recorder Judy Wright and County attorney Corbit Harrington.

Calling in to the meeting included Cody Taggart and John Neisner of Scull Construction. Scott Cromwell of Slate Architecture. Contractors from Allied Plumbing, Norpac, Star Plumbing, Big Horn testing and Captive Air Company.

The purpose of the meeting was to review the list of items that have been an issue at the new hospital facility.

There will need to be more research done to solve the issue with the make up air flow and the kitchen hood. Scull Construction has been in contact with Captive Air Company who will be on site next week to assist with the resolution of the air flow problem.

There is a long wait for hot water flow to the faucets. The recirculation pump is working correctly and the water heater is reaching the correct temperature. This leaves the contractors with concerns about the length of hot waterlines from the recirculation pump. They may replace the low flow aerators and / or increase the time the automatic faucets run.

The group is in the process of trouble shooting the roof top unit noise in an adjacent office. There is also a problem with the HVAC modules 6 and 7. They are looking at replacing all of the units or just 6 and 7 at this time.

Early last week Cody and Scott insulated the column where the metal building and the main level connect to prevent the water line from freezing. They also replaced patient room thermostats and adjusted door sliders.

Ryan Tooke requested any information on the automatic doors especially the ER doors. Scott Cromwell suggested possibly changing to a push button system in place of the automatic doors. He will speak to TC Glass.

There was discussion regarding the generator for the hospital building. The options currently are to replace the generator that they have now with a larger one that will run the whole facility. The second option would be to add an additional generator that would run the kitchen, CT and X-ray.

The results of the window inspection by the manufacturer concluded that the install was correct and the window thermo test at a .6, which is appropriate for this area. Ryan Tooke, Dahl CEO Has been very unhappy with the windows form the beginning. He is extremely concerned about the cold air that radiates several feet into the rooms around the windows. This makes it impossible for the rooms to be warm and comfortable in the winter. Ryan insists that the companies involved provide in writing, that they will honor the warranty for the windows until the problems have been resolved.

Scott Cromwell, and John Neisner stated that they are committed to the project until the problems are resolved. Dallas of TC Glass agreed to work as part of the team and on the window issues until they are resolved. The OAC meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.

The commissioners were joined by Irma Nansel and Beth Klempel of BLM. Rusty Shaw and Bill Atchison of Denbury Resources and Clerk and Recorder Pam Castleberry. The group joined for the review of the proposed Snowy River Co2 sequestration Project. The project area will cover 90% BLM land, with the rest being state and private ground.

The project is located in the central portion of Carter County. It will be comprised of 15 well pads, access roads, powerlines and substation, main bulk line and flowlines and co2 pump station. The BLM considerations include maintaining existing land uses as well as priority habitat management for sage grouse and other wildlife.

The Environmental Protection agency will be involved in process through the BLM for water safety and endangered species protection. The project will conduct baseline surveys and tribal consultation. Followed by meeting with Carter County, EPA and the State. This is set to be a 20-year project that will development one well at a time and roads as needed.

The meeting broke for lunch 12:00 and reconvened at 1:00.

Clerk and Recorder Pam Castleberry joined the meeting to give the commission an overview of the account process of setting up the new capital improvement funds. Commissioner Watkins made the motion to approve Resolution 04192022-01 to create capital improvement funds 4001-4007. Commissioner Rosencranz seconded the motion. There was no public comment and the motion carried.

Sheriff Neil Kittelmann joined the meeting to discuss the Deputy Coroner salary. There was a review of the laws pertaining to public safety department salary structures and the hours worked. Deputy Coroner Salary is currently not figured in to the Deputy Sheriffs salary and by Montana code may be figured separately. Neil see no issues with the way the salaries are currently figured. The commissioners agreed to make no changes.

The commission was joined by the Museum Board regarding the lighting project. The board includes Marlene Waterland, Brice Lambert, Jerry Cline and Llane Carroll.

Phase I of the project will start in the Lambert, taxidermy and UV room at total cost of $112,259.00. The commission approved the bid advertisement for contractor to install phase I of the lighting project. The bid will run in the Ekalaka Eagle and statewide newspapers for two weeks. The museum Board left the meeting.

Road and Bridge Supervisor joined the meeting where he provided an update on the snow removal from the weekend storm.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:35 p.m.

Board of County Commissioners

Carter County, Montana

/s/ Steve Rosencranz, Chairman

Attest:/s/ Pamela J Castleberry, Clerk of the Board