Park County Commission approves leases, grant applications and an appointment; tables Mako decision

Park County commissioners on Tuesday approved a package of routine leases, grant applications and an appointment, and tabled a decision about updated Mako insurance-administration options pending further research.

Key votes at a glance: Commissioners voted to (1) sign a month-to-month lease allowing Community Closet to use two county parking spaces at $25 per space per month; (2) apply for an Institute of Museum and Library Services Museums for America grant — described in the meeting as an approximately $285,000 three-year request to fund a registrar position at the Yellowstone Gateway Museum; (3) sign an updated lease with the Gardner Water and Sewer District at $600 per month; (4) apply for a community engagement grant from the Montana Public Health Institute (staff estimated about $1,000 to cover several months of lunches for a 'resource access day' program); (5) prioritize two Montana DES resiliency grant applications (Main Boulder Bridge replacement as first priority, a generator as second); (6) approve a $0.50 hourly probationary increase for clerk and recorder deputy Nikki Vasco; and (7) appoint John Lowell to the Yellowstone Gateway Museum Board. The commission voted to table action on updated Mako agreements for two weeks.

Details and context: Community Closet executive director Ashley Smith told the commission the two parking spaces are “crucial for our daily operation and our productivity” because staff load trucks there daily. Museum staff explained the IMLS Museums for America request would fund a registrar to catalog and manage county museum collections and that the grant match would be met through collaborative staff hours and an earlier state storage grant; Melissa (museum staff) said “there is no county match.” The Gardner Water and Sewer District agreed to the updated $600 monthly rate and to assume utilities that the county had been covering. Public-health staff said the community-engagement grant would fund lunches and outreach for a monthly resource access day that had about 50 attendees in February and would be expanded to other communities in Park County.

Mako bylaws discussion and tabled decision: Staff outlined a recent Mako bylaw amendment that gives counties the option to assign an employee to enter information into the Mako site instead of hiring an outside agent; staff noted the county previously paid about $62,000 to an insurance agent. Commissioners asked for additional research on the pros and cons, including training, administrative burden and what would remain contracted (for example, cyber coverage through a separate provider), and voted to table the decision for two weeks.

Next steps: Staff will follow up on Mako research and return with more information; grant applications will proceed per the commission’s approvals. The meeting record does not indicate any recorded roll-call tallies for the voice votes.