Silver Bow commissioners place $20 million EPA grant on file, schedule hearings and bid openings

The Silver Bow County Council of Commissioners (Committee of the Whole) voted unanimously Wednesday to place on file a communication to amend the 2024–25 budget to accept $20,000,000 in unanticipated revenue from an Environmental Protection Agency grant and set public hearings and bid openings on several infrastructure and program items.

Freddie Frost, of 2000 Roberts Avenue, asked how the county could record $20,000,000 in unanticipated revenue. "How does that happen? That's wild," Frost said during the meeting's public comment period.

The communication (No. 202561) requests authorization to schedule a public hearing on Feb. 19, 2025, to consider amending the 2024–25 fiscal year budget to allow increased expenditures tied to the EPA award. Commissioner Shay moved to place the communication on file; the motion passed by voice vote, 9–0.

Commissioners also placed on file several other communications and set dates for presentations, hearings and bid openings. The council scheduled a final-draft presentation of a long-range master plan for the Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department for March 19, 2025 (communication No. 202580). The council set a March 5, 2025, presentation request from Kelly Moody, Senior Companion Program Director, to seek continued financial support for the Rocky's Roster grandparent and senior companion programs (communication No. 202581).

The council recorded a communication (No. 202582) to schedule a public hearing on Feb. 19, 2025, for public comment on a notice of intent to relocate the existing prerelease center to 55 Basin Creek Road; the transcript notes that the county previously held that public hearing the prior week. The council also scheduled public hearings on a proposed zone change and the Butte-Silver Bow zoning district map modification (communication No. 202596) for Feb. 19, 2025; the record shows that hearing was held the prior week as well.

Public works items placed on file included bid openings for the 2025 Road Division mill-fill project and phase 3 of the Excelsior Avenue reconstruction, both scheduled for March 12, 2025, and a bid opening for the Howard Avenue total reconstruction scheduled for March 19, 2025 (communications Nos. 202588–202590). Mark Neary, Public Works Director, was identified as the contact for the mill-fill and reconstruction items in the communications read into the record.

All motions to place the listed communications on file or to schedule the hearings were adopted by unanimous voice vote, recorded as nine yeas and zero nays. No formal amendments to the communications were made at the meeting, and no votes were taken on the underlying budget amendment itself; the Feb. 19 hearing is the next scheduled step for the proposed budget change.

The meeting concluded after a call for any other public comment; none was offered and the Committee of the Whole adjourned.