OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Meeting - November 12, 2025

Council of Commissioners & Committees — Thursday, November 13, 2025
BodyButte Silver Bow, Montana
SessionCouncil of Commissioners & Committees
DateThursday, November 13, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:55:25

Transcript — Verbatim
1:49

I'll bring the But Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Committee of the Whole meeting to order for Wednesday, November twelfth, twenty twenty five.

1:56

Can we please have a roll call?

2:01

One presiding eight present, three absent.

2:04

Thank you.

2:04

Please let the record reflect Commissioner Fisher, Anderson, and Fisher are gone for tonight's meeting.

2:15

Commissioner Walker, would you please lead us in the prayer and the pledge?

2:33

So that we clean you.

2:57

Next item on tonight's agenda is any public comment on any items that are on tonight's agenda.

3:03

This is the opportunity for a member of the public to get up and speak on any items that's on tonight's agenda.

3:09

If you'd like to, please come up to the podium and just state your name and address for the record and which communication you're talking about.

3:18

Oh sorry, Dan, on the bottom there's a button.

3:22

Right there.

3:22

You're good.

3:23

Can you hear me?

3:23

Oh, there we go.

3:25

Um, my name's Dan O'Neill, two zero eight five Beacon Road.

3:29

Um, here on the business development center item.

3:33

Um just for clarification.

3:36

I'm not related to Josh O'Neill.

3:39

And I think I can say I don't know who anybody on this board is.

3:44

So um, as a tenant of the business development center, I want to get some questions answered.

3:50

Although I can't speak for other tenants.

3:52

I can say there's been almost no communication from Beat Silverbow regarding the sale or disposal.

4:04

And I was expecting further information to be made available.

4:08

As a tenant, I was not given any written information regarding the sale, or any information regarding an opportunity to purchase through a bid or auction process, excuse me.

4:19

Have appeared before this body before regarding the public notification system for when bids are added to the county RFP page.

5:00

I'm partly calling on some awareness and asking for information that may be relevant and legal legally required to be disclosed as part of a real property sale in Montana.

5:12

And that information is two to three years ago.

5:16

An architecture and engineering company was hired to perform an assessment on the BDC building.

5:22

If I'm not mistaken, it was to look at the cost of upgrading the windows in the building and to provide soil stabilization for part of the building that is subsiding.

5:31

I believe the results were going to be using a grant application for structural improvements and window replacement.

5:38

So my question is were the results of that architectural and engineering analysis published or presented to the commissioners, or more importantly, in this case were they disclosed as part of the RFP.

5:50

I have to apologize because I was earning a Master of Architecture from Arizona State University during that time.

5:57

So I was gone for two to three two to three weeks at a time during the school year and may have missed that report, or it was returned when Sherry or after Sherry had retired.

6:08

Then my concern with the process was the RFP provided no information about a bid submission or auction format, nor does it provide any guidance or matrix on how the proposal will be scored for determination on the award of the proposal.

6:25

Due to that, I could not seriously consider investing the time and preparing a proposal when I do not know if the award will be based on merit, intent, or means to invest.

6:37

And I would only ask that the county attorney look at two codes annotated 784201 number three and 72756.

6:51

Um when these proposal is presented to you and make sure that it meets the legal requirements, the state has set forth regarding county selling property.

7:02

Thank you.

7:03

Thank you, Mr.

7:04

O'Neill.

7:05

Any other member of the public that would like to speak on any item that's on tonight's agenda.

7:11

Okay.

7:12

Please come up to the podium and state your name and address for the record, and which communication you want to talk about.

7:18

Hello, my name is Lewis Pizanti.

7:21

My address is 116-105 Fleesa Road.

7:25

Um, I would like to discuss the new proposal for the data center uh proposed to be built out in the rural area of the TIFFIT.

7:37

Is that correct?

7:39

Montana Connections.

7:41

So I don't know if I could pass this out to you guys.

7:44

Mr.

7:45

Prasani, just so you know, this is just for public comments, so the council can't go back and forth on answering questions.

7:51

It's just for you to get up and and speak on what you want.

7:54

But if you do want to pass those around, you can give them to Barb and she will she will get it to the commissioners.

8:05

So one thing that was brought to my attention, the people of Buxton do not feel that they've been adequate adequately notified about what is going on with the build of this building, the footprint of it, where it's going to be located.

8:22

Um it was brought to my attention.

8:24

Someone said, Well, read the paper.

8:26

Well, a lot of us do not get the paper anymore, but all of us get the mail.

8:32

So that was one of our concerns and all my neighbors' concerns is that we were not at accurately notified of what the building was going to be, how big it's going to be.

8:43

There are several things that we are concerned about with this building.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Data Center Development████████████████████████████████████████40%
Procedural████████████████████20%
Economic Development████████████12%
Historic Preservation████████8%
Community Engagement██████6%
Public Engagement█████5%
Water And Wastewater Management███3%
Environmental Protection██2%
Technology and Innovation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Meeting - November 12, 2025

The Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners held a Committee of the Whole meeting on November 12, 2025, focusing on property sales, data center proposals, and various budget amendments. The session included public testimony regarding the sale of the Business Development Center, concerns over the proposed SABI data center expansion, and updates on land sales and public works projects. While no final vote was taken on the data center site acquisition, the Council received extensive public comments and staff responses regarding environmental impacts, tax implications, and procedural speed.

Consent Calendar

  • No motions to approve or deny the consent calendar were made or recorded in the transcript text provided.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Dan O'Neill (Tenant, Business Development Center): Expressed concern regarding the lack of communication and legal disclosure regarding the sale of the Business Development Center. He argued that the RFP lacked clarity on bidding formats and scoring matrices, stating he could not seriously consider investing time preparing a proposal without this information. Mr. O'Neill referenced specific Montana codes (7-2-4201(3) and 7-2-7-56) and urged the County Attorney to verify legal compliance.
  • Lewis Pizanti (Resident, Buxton/Montana Connections area): Stated that residents were inadequately notified about the proposed data center build. He expressed strong opposition to the lack of transparency regarding the building's footprint and location, citing concerns about property devaluation, noise, light pollution, and the absence of environmental or noise assessments.
  • Evan Barrett (Resident, Butte): Expressed caution and skepticism regarding the data center project. While not explicitly stating total opposition to the concept, he argued that the process was rushed and that the claim of "tax benefits" was misleading, stating clearly that the net tax for the county and schools would be zero for at least 15 years due to the TIFIT (Tax Increment Financial Improvement Tool) district status. He raised specific concerns about water usage inconsistencies (3 million gallons/day), power line impacts on utility bills, and the low tax structure.
  • Joel Wirth (Carpenters Union Representative): Expressed support for the data center project, stating that such facilities are built by union labor and would provide "life-changing wages" for workers in the region.
  • Rudy Frost (Homeowner, Butte): Expressed support for the project's potential to bring jobs, specifically noting the benefits to local trade unions. He offered a counter-proposal suggestion to use the "Pit" for water treatment and suggested the developer fund a power plant, expressing optimism for a win-win outcome through better negotiation.
  • Edward Banderob (Greeley Neighborhood Community Development Corp): Advocated for the creation of a mandated official channel for neighborhood community improvement councils and public oversight within the county charter, urging commissioners to attend a upcoming study commission meeting.

Discussion Items

  • Butte Business Development Center (BDC) Sale (Comm 2025-518):
    • Commissioner Summary: Community Development Director Karen Burns reviewed two proposals received in response to the RFP, both offered at the $450,000 purchase price. She noted a review committee matrix was used to score them.
    • Proposal 1 (Mountain Heart Media): Michaela and Nathan Hack proposed purchasing the BDC to establish a shared community workspace/co-working space for small businesses and creatives. They pledged to maintain current tenants and invest $100,000 in cash on hand for immediate maintenance. They expressed a position of commitment to community networking and gradual rate adjustments to cover operating costs.
    • Proposal 2 (Urban Miners Collective): Jeff Riggs and Keith Waring (owners of 120,000 sq ft of downtown property) proposed a "buy and hold" strategy, emphasizing their experience renovating historic buildings. They pledged to honor all existing leases, implement a triple-net structure for maintenance pass-throughs, and utilize their staff for immediate repairs. They indicated they have significant cash reserves to cover operating losses for an extended period.
    • Council Action: The Council moved to refer both proposals back to the Community Development Department for a recommendation, pending further review.
  • SABE Data Center Proposal (Comm 2025-546):
    • Public Questions: Sarah Bordoon presented 17 questions collected from a community forum regarding the proposed SABI data center at Montana Connections. Key topics included noise/light pollution, water usage, wastewater handling, and the speed of the approval process.
    • Staff Response: County staff provided written responses clarifying that:
      • A 606.5-acre purchase and sale agreement with Horizon LLC (SABI) was entered into, extending the due diligence period to February 11, 2026.
      • Land price is set at $2,000 per acre.
      • No decision has been made to finalize the sale; a final resolution is required if the option is exercised.
      • Noise is regulated by the RM2 zoning ordinance (60 dB limit), though a public commenter questioned the sufficiency of these ordinances for 24/7 industrial data centers.
      • Water costs will be recovered from the user, and the Silver Lake Water System is separate from potable supplies.
      • Tax revenue from the project will be captured in the TIFD for 15-30 years, meaning no immediate tax increment for schools or general county funds.
      • The Public Service Commission (PSC) regulates power rates, and staff cited studies indicating increased load can put downward pressure on state-wide electricity prices.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion Passed (9-0): Referral of BDC proposals (Mountain Heart Media and Urban Miners Collective) back to the Community Development Department for a formal recommendation to the Council.
  • Motion Passed (9-0): Placement of Communication 2025-518 (request for BDC presentation) on file.
  • Motion Passed (7-2): Communication 2025-542 (request by Will O'Connor to deny Steve Maloney's land purchase) held in abeyance.
  • Motion Passed (9-0): Communication 2025-494 (Fire Department budget amendment) placed on file.
  • Motion Passed (9-0): Communication 2025-503 (Sole sourcing of Sulzer parts) placed on file.
  • Motion Passed (9-0): Communication 2025-504 (Tree planting revenue comments) placed on file.
  • Held in Abeyance: Several communications regarding land sales (2025-249, 2025-460, 2025-520), bid openings (2025-536, 2025-537, 2025-538), and public hearings for utilities/parks were continued to future meetings or pending committee reports. Communication 2025-546 (Data Center Questions) was also held in abeyance for a later time.

Meeting Transcript

I'll bring the But Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Committee of the Whole meeting to order for Wednesday, November twelfth, twenty twenty five. Can we please have a roll call? One presiding eight present, three absent. Thank you. Please let the record reflect Commissioner Fisher, Anderson, and Fisher are gone for tonight's meeting. Commissioner Walker, would you please lead us in the prayer and the pledge? So that we clean you. Next item on tonight's agenda is any public comment on any items that are on tonight's agenda. This is the opportunity for a member of the public to get up and speak on any items that's on tonight's agenda. If you'd like to, please come up to the podium and just state your name and address for the record and which communication you're talking about. Oh sorry, Dan, on the bottom there's a button. Right there. You're good. Can you hear me? Oh, there we go. Um, my name's Dan O'Neill, two zero eight five Beacon Road. Um, here on the business development center item. Um just for clarification. I'm not related to Josh O'Neill. And I think I can say I don't know who anybody on this board is. So um, as a tenant of the business development center, I want to get some questions answered. Although I can't speak for other tenants. I can say there's been almost no communication from Beat Silverbow regarding the sale or disposal. And I was expecting further information to be made available. As a tenant, I was not given any written information regarding the sale, or any information regarding an opportunity to purchase through a bid or auction process, excuse me. Have appeared before this body before regarding the public notification system for when bids are added to the county RFP page. I'm partly calling on some awareness and asking for information that may be relevant and legal legally required to be disclosed as part of a real property sale in Montana. And that information is two to three years ago. An architecture and engineering company was hired to perform an assessment on the BDC building. If I'm not mistaken, it was to look at the cost of upgrading the windows in the building and to provide soil stabilization for part of the building that is subsiding. I believe the results were going to be using a grant application for structural improvements and window replacement. So my question is were the results of that architectural and engineering analysis published or presented to the commissioners, or more importantly, in this case were they disclosed as part of the RFP. I have to apologize because I was earning a Master of Architecture from Arizona State University during that time. So I was gone for two to three two to three weeks at a time during the school year and may have missed that report, or it was returned when Sherry or after Sherry had retired. Then my concern with the process was the RFP provided no information about a bid submission or auction format, nor does it provide any guidance or matrix on how the proposal will be scored for determination on the award of the proposal. Due to that, I could not seriously consider investing the time and preparing a proposal when I do not know if the award will be based on merit, intent, or means to invest. And I would only ask that the county attorney look at two codes annotated 784201 number three and 72756. Um when these proposal is presented to you and make sure that it meets the legal requirements, the state has set forth regarding county selling property. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. O'Neill. Any other member of the public that would like to speak on any item that's on tonight's agenda. Okay. Please come up to the podium and state your name and address for the record, and which communication you want to talk about. Hello, my name is Lewis Pizanti. My address is 116-105 Fleesa Road. Um, I would like to discuss the new proposal for the data center uh proposed to be built out in the rural area of the TIFFIT. Is that correct? Montana Connections. So I don't know if I could pass this out to you guys.

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