Gallatin County approves $19.28 million Spanish Peaks rural improvement district bonds to fund Big Sky fire station

Gallatin County commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution to issue $19,283,000 in bonds for a new fire station serving the Spanish Peaks resort area, financing the project through a multicounty rural improvement district.

The resolution authorizes Gallatin County to act as the bond issuer for the Spanish Peaks Rural Improvement District, which was formed jointly with Madison County. Under the financing plan, assessments levied on properties inside the district will repay the bonds; Gallatin County taxpayers outside the RID will not be responsible for the debt.

The resolution matters because the new station is intended to improve emergency response in a wildland area that participants described as entirely “in the wild lands,” where wildfire risk is high and development has increased. County staff explained the financing structure to the commission, listing segregated project and debt-service accounts that will be used to ensure construction and debt payments come only from district assessments.

In a presentation to the commission, the county’s bond counsel explained that the district was formed after two resolutions of intention and a public hearing that produced no written protests. She said R&R Taylor Construction was selected as the construction contractor and Lone Mountain Land Company has agreed to contribute $1,250,000 toward total project costs estimated at roughly $19 million.

Bridal Eckstrom, representing DA Davidson as underwriter, told the commission the bonds were successfully sold May 29 to a mix of individual and institutional investors. She said purchasing bond insurance raised the issue’s credit to a double-A rating and lowered interest costs, reducing the assessment per parcel by “a little over $200 a year” compared with earlier projections. Eckstrom said 690.5 parcels are in the district and that the insurance and a $200,000 reserve will provide additional protection against delinquencies.

County staff noted US Bank Trust Company will act as paying agent and trustee, receiving assessment receipts from the counties and paying bondholders. The resolution includes provisions permitting early redemption by property owners who wish to remove the special assessment from their parcels by paying the outstanding principal pro rata.

Commissioners asked whether Madison County needed to repeat the same bond process; staff explained state law requires the county where the physical improvement is located to issue the bonds and that Madison County’s obligations are set out in the interlocal agreement and its own resolutions. Commissioners also asked whether recent state law changes affecting certain service districts altered RID logistics; counsel replied they did not.

After no public comment, a commissioner moved adoption of Resolution 2025-043; the motion passed by voice vote. Commissioners and presenters emphasized that annual maintenance of the facility will be the responsibility of the Big Sky Fire District “provided that their budget authority is available,” language the county included in the bond documents. Closing and execution activities, staff said, are scheduled with an anticipated closing on June 18.

The commission’s action sets the financing and legal structure in place so the joint RID board can proceed with construction and contract closing steps. Implementation depends on the scheduled closing, assessment collection, and the Big Sky Fire District’s future maintenance funding authority.