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County approves sale of Dwyer School property to housing company amid preservation objections
Summary
After hearing strong public objections that the Dwyer School is structurally sound and concerns about the chosen contractor’s rating, the Anaconda Deer Lodge County Commission voted unanimously to award the Dwyer School property bid to a housing company (THC).
Anaconda Deer Lodge County commissioners voted to award the bid for the Dwyer School property to a housing company (identified in the meeting as THC) after hearing an engineering report outlining extensive deficiencies and several members of the public urging a different approach.
CEO Everett summarized the county's engineering evaluation and told the commission that demolition and hazardous‑materials work (including asbestos removal) are the responsibility and expense of the property owner in coordination with the Department of Environmental Quality. Everett said the engineering team found multiple deficiencies that informed the county’s disposition options.
Several residents testified against the award at the public podium. Cameron Moylan of Butte said the building is “structurally perfect” and argued repairs would be far less costly than demolition and new construction, urging the commission to “vote no to this proposal.” Marilyn Hagen Smith said the contractor the county was considering had a low rating and warned that any asbestos removal should be handled by a more highly rated firm: “I don’t have much confidence…with a 2.8.” Another commenter stressed the building’s historical and community value and urged conversion rather than demolition.
Commission discussion noted the engineering findings, the presence of asbestos, and that the county’s role is limited regarding hazardous‑materials remediation, which the speaker identified as the owner’s responsibility in coordination with state regulators. After public comment the commission moved to award the bid to the housing company and approved the motion unanimously.
The commission did not adopt conditions on reuse or require an alternative preservation plan as part of the award during the meeting. The county indicated the demolition cost for hazardous materials would fall to the property owner and DEQ oversight.
The award is final as of the meeting vote; the record includes public concern about contractor qualifications and calls for greater local advertising and alternatives such as renovation or adaptive reuse for senior or other housing.
