Daniels County pushes for changes to Billings MOU before accepting decommissioned radio tower

Daniels County commissioners reviewed a memorandum of understanding and contractor quote from the City of Billings for decommissioning and transferring a communications tower, and flagged clauses that would make the county responsible for damage occurring during removal.

"There's 1 section C on the 1st page, that will absolutely stop us from agreeing to this," the chair said when reviewing the MOU's liability language. Commissioners said the county cannot accept wording that obligates Daniels County to pay for damage to city equipment during decommissioning. A county representative recommended asking the contractor to incorporate specific line-item costs into the invoice and to remove or reword county liability in the MOU.

A contractor representative (Brian of Redtail/Red Veil Communications) told the commission he had a local crane company bid and tentatively booked a crane for the first week of December to beat winter weather; he also recommended a not-to-exceed figure be placed on the contractor invoice. Commissioners discussed a county contribution to deconstruction priced in discussion at about $15,596 and pressed for clearer allocation of which expenses Billings would cover and which Daniels County would pay.

Next steps agreed by the group: the county will email the city contact (Priscilla) with requested MOU edits, ask Redtail to amend its invoice to show not-to-exceed and itemized responsibilities, and coordinate a follow-up conference call to finalize language before signing any interlocal agreement.