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Record of Proceedings

Butte Silver Bow Study Commission Meeting – September 14, 2026

Council of Commissioners & Committees — Monday, September 14, 2026

BodyButte Silver Bow, Montana

SessionCouncil of Commissioners & Committees

DateMonday, September 14, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:14:27

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

1:04

Okay, I'll call the Butte Silverbow Study Commission meeting to order.

1:09

And with Row Call, I have Lori Casey, Cindy Purdue Dolan, Matt Seppen, myself, Dan Denehee, Chad Silk, Cindy Shaw, and Mary McCormick.

1:20

If we can have our Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer.

2:24

Ms.

2:24

Shaw.

2:25

I would be uh most honored to approve the August 10th, 2026 minutes.

2:31

Second.

2:31

I have a motion from Shaw and a second from Dennehy.

2:35

All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.

2:37

Aye.

2:38

Any opposed?

2:40

Thank you.

2:41

Motion carries.

2:42

So our correspondence and our study commission update.

2:45

We have a lot of requests for public outreach to various um community groups.

2:51

And so if we can go through those, because they're all correspondence.

2:58

And thank you, Cindy and Lori, for taking that one on.

3:01

We have another Kawanis Club that's asking for us to come on Wednesday.

3:12

Yep.

3:12

This one is at noon.

3:15

Then the next um request is from the exchange club on September 22nd, and I'm happy to take that one if there's somebody else that would like to join me uh for exchange club.

3:28

I'm doing the sixth.

3:30

And then we have an October 2nd at noon, which is the library at the library for first Friday.

3:36

That one is also um is at noon, and then October 6th, uh Mr.

3:41

Denhee has taken uptown Kawanis at noon also if there's somebody else that would like to join him.

3:47

Um and then finally we have party line for Monday, September 21st, and then Monday, October 19th.

3:54

Um we had to switch to Mondays because they booked in some other Wednesdays for party line.

3:59

So um I will kind of put these back in a text message or an email to you for folks to reconsider when you have a chance to look at your your calendars.

4:07

Um but I'm very excited about how much uh outreach we have to do.

4:11

Ms.

4:11

Shaw.

4:12

Thank you, Madam Chair.

4:13

So I I'm a member of Exchange Club, and I think it set up I just got my list of coming up meetings and who's speaking, and we had October 6th with Dan Denehy at the Exchange Club.

4:24

Yes.

4:24

Okay, and and you had what was one you were linked to.

4:27

I think I have the double dates because we were looking at um two different dates.

4:32

So thank you for clarifying that.

4:33

Thank you.

4:34

So that is exchange club on October 6th.

4:42

6th, okay.

4:44

Thanks for clarifying that.

4:46

Ms.

4:46

McCormick.

4:49

This Wednesday.

4:50

Thank you.

5:00

No, what has worked is um I've just brought whatever information we had or materials that we had to leave with them.

5:08

And then it's kind of a dialogue.

5:11

Ms.

5:11

Shaw?

5:12

I was going to say just give a little recap on the on the study commission what it's all about.

5:18

And then basically, Lori and I, we had plenty of questions without having to have any kind of a script.

5:23

So Mr.

5:28

Denehee.

5:29

Madam Chair, would it be um okay if people volunteer now so they know who would be going to where?

5:38

Um so we can fill up those dates, or would you like some time to think about it?

5:44

I am open to people volunteering, but I also see folks looking at calendars and and wanting to consider things.

5:50

So uh you might have to rearrange things.

5:52

But if people are available right now and know, by all means, please let just pass it along.

6:01

Okay.

6:03

Okay, so we have the first one up is Wednesday at Perkins at noon, and Ms.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Voter Education████████████████████████████28%

Fire Services████████████████████20%

Procedural█████████████████17%

Government Structure██████████████14%

Superfund Management██████████10%

Procurement███████7%

Public Engagement███3%

Election Procedures█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Butte Silver Bow Study Commission Meeting – September 14, 2026

The Butte Silver Bow Study Commission met on September 14, 2026, to finalize voter education materials, discuss public outreach, and address procurement procedures for printing a voter information booklet. Commissioners approved the August 10, 2026 minutes and made significant progress on FAQs and the voter education guide.

Consent Calendar

Minutes Approval: The commission unanimously approved the August 10, 2026 study commission meeting minutes (motion by Shaw, second by Dennehy).

Discussion Items

Public Outreach Scheduling: Commissioners coordinated multiple speaking engagements: Wednesday at Perkins (noon) – McCormick and Dennehy; Party Line on September 21 (1:00 PM) – Seppen and Silk; Library First Friday on October 2 (noon) – Purdue Dolan; Exchange Club on October 6 – Dennehy and Shaw; Party Line on October 19 (1:00 PM) – Dennehy (tentative). Shaw noted the voter education packet will be mailed before ballots go out on October 9.
Voter Education Guide (Booklet): A 12-page full-color booklet costing $14,857.48 (from Park Street Printers) was reviewed. Commissioners debated procurement rules: the county attorney later clarified that quotes are required for purchases over $5,000. The guide was approved with amendments, including bolded language clarifying that remaining ballot questions take effect only if voters adopt the revised charter in Question 1.
Fire Services FAQ: Extensive revisions were made to align with ballot language: changed "paid" to "career" members; moved the status-quo option (maintain existing charter language) higher; added exceptions for Walkerville and Melrose; replaced "career" with "paid" per one commissioner’s concern about volunteer terminology; clarified that volunteers (not volunteer representatives) would select a liaison.
Neighborhood Councils FAQ: Approved as amended, with consistency changes from "community councils" to "neighborhood councils."
Reclamation and Environmental Services FAQ: Approved with amendments to clarify it is not a new department (answer: "No") and to strike the phrase "superfund."
Public Meeting / Streaming Event: Commissioners ultimately decided not to hold an additional streaming event, concluding that the mailed booklet, PSAs, and social media outreach (including FAQs) are sufficient. A potential full-page newspaper ad was discussed but not approved.

Key Outcomes

Voter Education Guide Approved: Motion by Shaw, second by Seppen; voice vote (majority in favor, one nay).
FAQ #4 (Costs) Approved: Option C (text version) adopted as presented; a motion to amend by bolding one paragraph lacked a second. Voice vote (one nay).
FAQ #5 (Neighborhood Councils) Approved: Motion by Shaw, second by Dolan; voice vote (unanimous).
FAQ #6 (Reclamation & Environmental Services) Approved: Motion by Shaw, second by Dennehy, with amendments (first question reworded to "Is this a new department?" with answer "No"). Voice vote (unanimous).
Fire Services FAQ Approved: Motion by Seppen, second by Shaw, with all listed amendments. Voice vote (one nay).
Procurement Direction: Motion by Dennehy, second by Soak, directing Shanna Adams to obtain quotes from Park Street Printers and Pitt Printers, with Park Street given the opportunity to re-quote. Shanna authorized to select the lowest quote meeting parameters (color printing, two-week turnaround, mailing). Voice vote (unanimous).
Future Meetings: Two additional meetings scheduled: October 5, 2026 (before ballots mail) and October 26, 2026 (before the election). The commission recessed until further notice.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, I'll call the Butte Silverbow Study Commission meeting to order. And with Row Call, I have Lori Casey, Cindy Purdue Dolan, Matt Seppen, myself, Dan Denehee, Chad Silk, Cindy Shaw, and Mary McCormick. If we can have our Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer. Ms. Shaw. I would be uh most honored to approve the August 10th, 2026 minutes. Second. I have a motion from Shaw and a second from Dennehy. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Motion carries. So our correspondence and our study commission update. We have a lot of requests for public outreach to various um community groups. And so if we can go through those, because they're all correspondence. And thank you, Cindy and Lori, for taking that one on. We have another Kawanis Club that's asking for us to come on Wednesday. Yep. This one is at noon. Then the next um request is from the exchange club on September 22nd, and I'm happy to take that one if there's somebody else that would like to join me uh for exchange club. I'm doing the sixth. And then we have an October 2nd at noon, which is the library at the library for first Friday. That one is also um is at noon, and then October 6th, uh Mr. Denhee has taken uptown Kawanis at noon also if there's somebody else that would like to join him. Um and then finally we have party line for Monday, September 21st, and then Monday, October 19th. Um we had to switch to Mondays because they booked in some other Wednesdays for party line. So um I will kind of put these back in a text message or an email to you for folks to reconsider when you have a chance to look at your your calendars. Um but I'm very excited about how much uh outreach we have to do. Ms. Shaw. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I I'm a member of Exchange Club, and I think it set up I just got my list of coming up meetings and who's speaking, and we had October 6th with Dan Denehy at the Exchange Club. Yes. Okay, and and you had what was one you were linked to. I think I have the double dates because we were looking at um two different dates. So thank you for clarifying that. Thank you. So that is exchange club on October 6th. 6th, okay. Thanks for clarifying that. Ms. McCormick. This Wednesday. Thank you. No, what has worked is um I've just brought whatever information we had or materials that we had to leave with them. And then it's kind of a dialogue. Ms. Shaw? I was going to say just give a little recap on the on the study commission what it's all about.

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