Great Falls commission holds executive session, instructs manager to sign proposed easement settlement

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The City Commission of Great Falls held a special work session July 29 and moved into executive session under Montana Code Annotated 2-3-2034(a) to discuss litigation strategy in a property easement case against Harlan.

The meeting opened with an invitation for public comment; none was offered. The chair said the purpose of the session was a litigation strategy update presented by the city attorney, David Dennis.

"We went into executive session to discuss a litigation case that the city is involved in," David Dennis said. He identified the case as City of Great Falls v. Harlan and described it as "an easement dispute," adding that the commission had considered whether to enter a settlement agreement.

The chair moved to enter executive session to discuss litigation strategy; the motion was seconded. The chair called for a voice vote, commissioners responded "Aye," and the chair declared the motion carried. After the closed session, Dennis reported that "the commission gave instruction to the city manager to sign the proposed settlement documents." The meeting then adjourned.

The commission did not disclose terms of any settlement during the public meeting. No formal vote tally or names of commissioners recorded in the public minutes were supplied in the session summary. The city manager's expected action to sign the proposed documents was reported as the commission's direction; the transcript does not identify a subsequent execution date or the settlement terms.

The special work session lasted only for the litigation update and a brief adjournment; no other agenda items were discussed publicly.