OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Meeting - November 25, 2025

Council of Commissioners & Committees — Wednesday, November 26, 2025
BodyButte Silver Bow, Montana
SessionCouncil of Commissioners & Committees
DateWednesday, November 26, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:22:06

Transcript — Verbatim
2:01

I'll bring the Butch Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Committee of the Whole Meeting to order for Tuesday, November twenty-fifth, twenty twenty-five.

2:09

Can I please have a roll call?

2:17

One presiding, eleven present, zero absent.

2:21

Okay, thank you.

2:22

Please let the record reflect we have everyone tonight.

2:26

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

3:10

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

3:16

Um Ms.

3:18

Bordoon, you you have a communication on the agenda.

3:21

So yes.

3:24

Yep.

3:24

But if there's any member of the public that would like to speak on any items that are on tonight's agenda, now would be your opportunity.

3:32

Welcome.

3:33

Please uh come up to the podium and state your name and address for the record in which communication you're going to talk about.

3:44

Hello, I'm Ben Carr.

3:46

I live at eight twenty-one West Silver Street, America.

3:50

And so I'm speaking about selling, so I'm coming here as a taxpayer, and I'm coming here also as a tenant of the building that's for sale, the business development building.

4:03

And so I guess I'm kind of confused on the nature of it because it sounds like we're making a lot of concessions without getting a lot of security.

4:12

So I'm a mental health therapist, and so we live in one of the suicide capitals of the nation.

4:17

And this building has a lot of therapists that are helping kind of put the finger in the dam, so to speak.

4:24

And so what I'm curious about is like what's gonna happen if we guarantee that they're gonna honor my lease, and that lease is up in six months, and then we're gonna have a big exodus of therapists.

4:38

So as somebody who has hired a lot of therapists over the years, I know it's hard to keep people in the community, especially in the mental health field.

4:46

And I feel like that this might put a little bit more pressure on it.

4:50

And I'm sure that you guys are like me where it's like you you want to make a difference in the world, right?

4:55

We're not about necessarily dollars and cents.

4:57

We gotta balance the checkbook, so to speak, but we want the world to be a better place.

5:01

If we sell something at half the value to somebody who's just gonna benefit from it and push all of us out who are trying to make a difference, I'm not sure that makes sense.

5:10

Um I'm totally okay.

5:13

I think it's totally reasonable to raise the rent, right, to make it a workable business or workable system for the county.

5:21

But I think as a whole, it's just very short-sighted.

5:24

We're getting like half-ends and not a whole deal one way or the other.

5:28

So I guess that's what I have to say.

5:31

Okay, okay.

5:33

Thank you.

5:34

Is there any other member of the public that would like to speak on any item that's on tonight's agenda?

5:41

Okay.

5:41

Seeing none, uh, report of the chair.

5:44

I don't have anything to really report on.

5:47

I just want to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving as we move into that.

5:51

And thank you for tonight's meeting on a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday.

5:55

Sometimes it's it's hard to retrain yourself to come on a different day.

6:00

So uh moving on to Section One, bid openings, public hearings and/or presentations, uh, presentations.

6:07

We do have one of them.

6:08

Number one, communication 2025-562.

6:12

Dave Aguirre, community enrichment director requesting council commissioners' authorization to schedule the presentation on November 25th, 2025 to provide an update for the municipal parking services, century link parking system.

6:27

Mr.

6:28

Ageary.

6:29

Uh Mr.

6:30

Chairman, members of council.

6:32

For the record, Dave Gary, um, Butte Silverbo community enrichment director.

6:37

Um first, I'd like to thank you for taking the time putting me on your agenda for tonight so I can provide this update for you on our new parking system.

6:46

Dave, can you just speak closer to the microphone, please?

6:49

Yep, you might have to tell me that again.

6:51

It's okay.

6:53

Um, I started my current job for Butte Silverbow on January 27th of this year, and it wasn't on the 27th.

7:02

Um, but it was it was shortly after the 27th that Chief Executive Galar came to me and let me know how uh it was a high priority to get this system up and running for Butte Silverbow.

7:14

Um since then, I've heard Commissioner um Callahan say a couple times that I that we owed this body an update on the parking system, which I wasn't aware of until I heard Commissioner Callahan say that.

7:28

So that's that's what I'm doing here, and I hope not to take up too much of your time.

7:34

I have about five slides, but I'll certainly stand for questions at the end to see if uh what I missed and if I can answer any of your questions.

7:45

So Butte Silver Bow entered into a contract with municipal parking systems in August of 24, and that contract was basically to provide parking services for Butte Silver Bow, which included system for the parking garage for um permitting people to park there and enforcing the parking within the parking garage, and it also included handhelds and safety sticks for areas outside of the parking garage.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████████████36%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████████████26%
Economic Development███████████████15%
Data Center Development███████████11%
Zoning And Land Use███████7%
Energy Policy█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Meeting - November 25, 2025

The Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners held a Committee of the Whole meeting on November 25, 2025, presided over by Chairman Morgan. The meeting featured a public comment regarding the sale of the Business Development Center, a detailed presentation on the new municipal parking services contract and revenue distribution, and a contentious debate regarding the sale of the 305 West Mercury Street property. While the Council approved the sale to bidders Jeff Riggs and Keith Waring despite significant opposition regarding future space needs and the adequacy of current conditions, several items regarding land sales were held in abeyance pending further reports or participant attendance.

Consent Calendar

  • Communication 2025-500 (Bid opening for Silver Lake Industrial Water System Improvements) was moved to place on file. Vote: 12 yay, 0 nay.
  • Communication 2025-519 (Amending fiscal 2026 budget for gas mask donations) was moved to place on file. Vote: 12 yay, 0 nay.
  • Communication 2025-535 (Hearing on unanticipated DNRC revenue) was moved to place on file. Vote: 12 yay, 0 nay.
  • Communication 2025-545 (Update on Parks and Recreation operations) was moved to place on file. Vote: 12 yay, 0 nay.
  • Communication 2025-562 (Update on municipal parking services) was moved to place on file. Vote: 12 yay, 0 nay.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ben Carr (Taxpayer and Tenant): Expressed strong opposition to the proposed sale of the Business Development Center (BDC) to a private developer without guaranteed lease protections for current tenants. Carr argued that selling the building at potentially half its value could cause an exodus of mental health therapists, putting pressure on a community he described as having "a lot of therapists that are helping kind of put the finger in the dam." He characterized the potential sale as "short-sighted" that would secure "half-ends" rather than a deal that benefits the community's mental health needs.

Discussion Items

  • Municipal Parking Services Update (Dave Gary, Community Enrichment Director): Provided an update on the new contract with Municipal Parking Systems (MPS) implemented in August 2024. Gary explained the 50-50 revenue split on ticket revenue, noting that Butte-Silver Bow's share increased above 50% once the parking garage and safety sticks went online in April due to higher ticket volumes. He clarified that the total revenue of $59,000 included the portion retained by the city from permits and the city's 50% cut of the ticket revenue, distinct from the amount paid by ticket holders.
  • Sale of 305 West Mercury Street (Communication 2025-570):
    • Commissioner O'Leary and Anderson: Expressed significant concerns regarding the sale, labeling it a "mistake" and "short-sighted." Commissioner Anderson warned of a future "19 some million in the hole" to replace the building if sold. O'Leary questioned the lack of specific renovation mandates or resale restrictions in the draft resolution, citing a precedent where a previous sale on West Park Street had no movement after three years. They argued the county should retain the property to avoid future space shortages.
    • Steve Maloney (Not present): Requested to purchase tax parcel 000-189240; item held in abeyance.
    • Jeff Riggs and Keith Waring (Applicants): Addressed concerns raised by the public and commissioners. Riggs agreed with the need for immediate security improvements (lighting, alarm systems) and argued that the $450,000 price point reflects an "investment" value rather than "rebuild value," which he estimated would be $10-20 million. He pledged to revitalize the neighborhood and accommodate the local mental health community, citing 15 current mental health counselors in his other properties. He expressed flexibility on closing dates.
    • Commissioner Thatcher: Questioned the validity of an RFP process if specific details on repairs (roof, boiler, windows) were not fully vetted before the vote. She noted that a constituent cited major repairs as a reason for not bidding.
    • County Attorney Enruth: Clarified that the vote tonight was only to authorize the Director to draft a resolution, not to finalize the sale. They discussed the complexity of adding "clawback" provisions and emphasized that without a sale, the county retains liability for the building's unsafe conditions.
    • Sarah Bordoon (Public Comment/Follow-up): Raised questions regarding data center taxation within the "Montana Connections" entity versus outside entities, and water usage discrepancies for SABE vs. Atlas data centers. She requested answers on tax rates and water contracts, leading to a decision to hold the related communication in abeyance until Chief Executive Gallagher could provide specific answers.

Key Outcomes

  • Communication 2025-570 (Sale of 305 West Mercury Street): The Council voted to concur with the communication and place it on file, effectively moving forward with the sale to Jeff Riggs and Keith Waring.
    • First Substitute Motion (Deny): Motion failed with a vote of 3 yay, 9 nay.
    • Original Motion (Concur): Passed with a vote of 9 yay, 3 nay.
    • Note: Commissioner Anderson and Commissioner O'Leary voted nay, citing concerns over future space needs, the building's condition, and lack of enforceable timelines for renovations.
  • Communication 2025-437 (Sale of Lot 16 & 17 to William Lahood estate): Noted as inadvertently added to the agenda; no action required as prior action had been taken.
  • Communication 2025-249 (Salmanson land purchase): Held in abeyance pending a report from the land sales committee.
  • Communication 2025-460 (Maloney land purchase): Held in abeyance until December 3, 2025, pending Mr. Maloney's attendance.
  • Communication 2025-542 (Maloney land purchase denial): Held in abeyance as it is in reference to the pending Communication 2025-460.
  • Communication 2025-520 (McGinnis land purchase): Held in abeyance pending a report from the land sales committee.
  • Data Center Questions (Communication 2025-546): Held in abeyance to allow Chief Executive Gallagher and staff to answer specific questions regarding data center taxation and water usage before the Council meets again.

Meeting Transcript

I'll bring the Butch Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Committee of the Whole Meeting to order for Tuesday, November twenty-fifth, twenty twenty-five. Can I please have a roll call? One presiding, eleven present, zero absent. Okay, thank you. Please let the record reflect we have everyone tonight. Um Commissioner Walker, would you please lead us in the prayer and the pledge? Next item on tonight's agenda is any public comment on any items that are on tonight's agenda. Um Ms. Bordoon, you you have a communication on the agenda. So yes. Yep. But if there's any member of the public that would like to speak on any items that are on tonight's agenda, now would be your opportunity. Welcome. Please uh come up to the podium and state your name and address for the record in which communication you're going to talk about. Hello, I'm Ben Carr. I live at eight twenty-one West Silver Street, America. And so I'm speaking about selling, so I'm coming here as a taxpayer, and I'm coming here also as a tenant of the building that's for sale, the business development building. And so I guess I'm kind of confused on the nature of it because it sounds like we're making a lot of concessions without getting a lot of security. So I'm a mental health therapist, and so we live in one of the suicide capitals of the nation. And this building has a lot of therapists that are helping kind of put the finger in the dam, so to speak. And so what I'm curious about is like what's gonna happen if we guarantee that they're gonna honor my lease, and that lease is up in six months, and then we're gonna have a big exodus of therapists. So as somebody who has hired a lot of therapists over the years, I know it's hard to keep people in the community, especially in the mental health field. And I feel like that this might put a little bit more pressure on it. And I'm sure that you guys are like me where it's like you you want to make a difference in the world, right? We're not about necessarily dollars and cents. We gotta balance the checkbook, so to speak, but we want the world to be a better place. If we sell something at half the value to somebody who's just gonna benefit from it and push all of us out who are trying to make a difference, I'm not sure that makes sense. Um I'm totally okay. I think it's totally reasonable to raise the rent, right, to make it a workable business or workable system for the county. But I think as a whole, it's just very short-sighted. We're getting like half-ends and not a whole deal one way or the other. So I guess that's what I have to say. Okay, okay. Thank you. Is there any other member of the public that would like to speak on any item that's on tonight's agenda? Okay. Seeing none, uh, report of the chair. I don't have anything to really report on. I just want to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving as we move into that. And thank you for tonight's meeting on a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday. Sometimes it's it's hard to retrain yourself to come on a different day. So uh moving on to Section One, bid openings, public hearings and/or presentations, uh, presentations. We do have one of them. Number one, communication 2025-562. Dave Aguirre, community enrichment director requesting council commissioners' authorization to schedule the presentation on November 25th, 2025 to provide an update for the municipal parking services, century link parking system. Mr. Ageary. Uh Mr. Chairman, members of council. For the record, Dave Gary, um, Butte Silverbo community enrichment director.

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