Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Butte Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Meeting – September 17, 2026

Council of Commissioners & Committees — Thursday, September 17, 2026

BodyButte Silver Bow, Montana

SessionCouncil of Commissioners & Committees

DateThursday, September 17, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:12:17

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

0:06

Can commissioners please check in.

1:13

I'd like to call the Butte Silver Bowl Council of Commissioners regular meeting for Wednesday, September 16, 2026 to order.

1:20

Clerk, could we please have roll call?

1:22

Nine present, three absent.

1:24

Nine present, three absent, please.

1:26

Uh no Commissioner Walker, Commissioner Healing, Commissioner Boyle are absent from tonight.

1:31

And so, Commissioner Thatcher, could we lead us in the prayer and the pledge?

1:39

Almighty God, we implore you.

1:42

Look upon us and guide us this night as we make decisions which so greatly affect our community of beauty of our bow.

1:48

Bless our thoughts, words, and deeds.

1:52

Somebody took my thing.

1:57

Amen.

1:58

Thank you.

2:02

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

2:07

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

2:19

You still did a yeoman's job.

2:23

All right.

2:24

Thank you.

2:25

All right.

2:28

Next we'll move on to public comment on any item on tonight's agenda.

2:33

And so I asked the public, we have a pretty robust agenda tonight, and I think we're gonna have a lot of public comment.

2:38

So I'm gonna ask everybody to be three minutes.

2:40

I will have a timer up here so you'll see the timer on there.

2:44

And so uh if you if you get to three minutes, I'm gonna cut you off and then we're gonna move forward, okay.

2:49

So if you'd like to come forward, please state your name, your address, and what the item that you'll speak about.

2:55

So if you'd like to come forward and uh on any uh on the agenda.

3:04

There you go.

3:05

Uh my name's Ed Fisher.

3:07

I live at 1918 South Jackson.

3:10

I'm the fire chief of the Boulevard Fire Department, and I'm here to speak on uh communication 455 uh presented by uh Commissioner uh Man Kins.

3:22

Uh Mr.

3:23

Chairman and Commissioners.

3:25

Uh I'm just here to speak a little bit about the ballot issue for the fire departments.

3:30

Um there's a lot of stuff in the ballot in option two that I don't think is right, and I don't think it would be legal.

3:41

Um our district trustees are elected by the people, the same as you people are here at the commissioners.

3:47

And it says in option two that if option two passes, they're just going to extinguish those commissioners or those trustees.

3:56

I don't know how that can be possible.

3:58

If that's possible, then we can extinguish anybody that's up here right now that's been elected.

4:04

So I think this this option has to be looked at.

4:07

Um there's a few other deals on there that um they also want to take uh all of our our rights away that we have under state law right now.

4:18

One of them is we get a measly 200 dollar pension if you spend 20 years in the volunteer fire service.

4:25

If we're no longer attached to state law, we're gonna lose that pension.

4:30

So there's a lot more to lose here than just uh uh the fire departments having a discussion uh over who's gonna be in charge and who ain't gonna be in charge.

4:41

So I have a question to ask of the the commissioners.

4:44

Has there been a lot of complaints about the volunteer fire department since two people have been on the commission?

4:52

I'll take that as a no.

4:54

So why are we trying to rewrite the rule book when we don't even have complaints about it just to satisfy a few people?

5:02

I think they should take a long look at this, the way this ballot is written and what they want to do to the volunteers because if you lose the volunteers, you lose 130 volunteer firemen that have been protecting this community for a hundred years.

5:17

You lose them, I get it, you're gonna have to hire more people to protect the community, and it's not gonna be cheap.

5:23

So with that said, I'll uh I'll let the rest of the people speak.

5:27

Thank you for your time.

5:29

Thank you, Mr.

5:30

Fisher.

5:38

Good evening.

5:39

My name's Mike Dodo.

5:41

I'm the chief of the Centerville Fire Department.

5:45

So I've been on the uh Centerville Fire Department for 53 years.

5:52

And I went through the consolidation when they consolidated, and this is one of the things that happened.

6:02

There was 34 paid firefighters that had a job.

6:07

And at that time, we the volunteers decided not to let them guys go.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Economic Development██████████████████████22%

Procedural████████████████16%

Fire Services████████████12%

Government Structure████████████12%

Parks and Recreation██████████10%

Community Engagement███████7%

Zoning And Land Use██████6%

Historic Preservation████4%

Engineering And Infrastructure███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Butte Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Regular Meeting – September 17, 2026

The Butte Silver Bow Council of Commissioners met in regular session on September 17, 2026. Nine commissioners were present; Commissioners Walker, Healing, and Boyle were absent. The transcript begins with a September 16, 2026 call-to-order, while the timestamp provided for the meeting is September 17, 2026. The agenda included a public hearing on vacating part of Alabama Street, an Uptown Business Improvement District presentation, fire-service ballot questions, multiple land-sale and contract approvals, and four resolutions on final reading.

Consent Calendar

Approved the minutes of the September 2, 2026 regular meeting 9-0.
Approved the remaining consent agenda 9-0 after segregating Communications 2026-455, 2026-457, 2026-468, 2026-472, 2026-473, 2026-474, 2026-475, and 2026-477 for separate discussion.
Suspended rules to add Communications 2026-478 and 2026-479 to the agenda, 7-2.

Public Comments & Testimony

Boulevard Fire Chief Ed Fisher opposed Option 2 on the fire-service ballot question, saying it would illegally remove elected fire district trustees, take away volunteer rights, and end a $200 pension for 20-year volunteers. He argued the county could lose 130 volunteer firefighters.
Centerville Fire Chief Mike Dodo, a 53-year veteran, said volunteers had saved paid firefighter jobs during past consolidation, criticized the Director of Fire Services, and warned that losing volunteers would raise ISO ratings and insurance costs.
Paul Quillsey, who identified himself as a fire chief, called the process sneaky and unacceptable.
Chad Silk, a study commission member speaking as a community member, welcomed a unified fire-service conversation but said not all listed benefits seemed logical or feasible; he urged fact-based decisions and noted health and safety investments for volunteers.
Roxanne Spohler asked the county to sell or transfer the Echo Drive property known as Mammoth Park back to her family, saying she would build one home and preserve the rest as green space in memory of her grandmother. Multiple neighbors supported her, and Ryan Underwood asked to buy the right-of-way under his driveway while also supporting Spohler.
Sasha Harris, granddaughter of Joanne Spohler, said the family donated the land for a park and asked for the right to buy it back and place a memorial on it.
Marilyn Patrick, Patrice Evans, Chuck Fisk, and Kelsey Wilson spoke in favor of preserving the property as a neighborhood green space or returning it to the family.
Evan Barrett commented on the REC Silicon sale, urging the commission to consider the full use of public land and to be cautious about AI-related development.

Discussion Items

Alabama Street vacation: Land Records Coordinator Will O'Connor said the request would close a portion of Alabama Street that was platted but never developed as a street. Two opponents spoke against the vacation, and no proponent testified; the council took no vote at the hearing.
Civic Center Manager: Chief Executive Gallagher announced Crystal Carlson as the new Civic Center Manager and said she earned the job through the application process. The council noted Communication 2026-459 and placed it on file 9-0.
Uptown Business Improvement District: Shanna Adams presented the annual work plan and budget. The district's assessment budget is about $238,000 with about $185,000 from other sources. The plan includes wayfinding signs, 20 new garbage cans, 10 bike racks, 20,000 maps, tree funding, alley improvements, and a facade grant program of up to $5,000 or 25% of project costs, capped at $50,000. A public hearing is scheduled for September 23, 2026, and the council will be asked to pass a resolution on October 7, 2026.
Fire-service legal explanation: Commissioner Mankins requested a clear legal explanation of Option 2 for the fire departments. County Attorney Ann Ruth said a full written memorandum would be ready by the first week of October. The council referred Communication 2026-455 to the county attorney's office for a written response, 9-0.
Mammoth Park sale: The council approved the sale of the county-owned Mammoth Park parcel to Roxanne Spohler for $69,590.98. The price came from a Department of Revenue value of about $107,000 with discounts for topography, utilities, and related factors. The substitute motion to approve passed 7-2.
SHPO preservation economics study: Kate Hampton of the Montana State Historic Preservation Office said the state would pass through $28,970.28 in surplus Historic Preservation Fund money for a statewide preservation economics study spotlighting Butte-Silver Bow, with no local funding required. The council approved the agreement 9-0.
REC Silicon sale: Council approved the sale of 627.802 acres to REC Silicon as a buffer-zone purchase. REC counsel James Bowen said the land could provide future operational flexibility but is intended for a buffer. The substitute motion to concur in place on file passed with one dissenting vote.
Town Pump / Montana Connections: Council approved the Town Pump agreement for rail-park property at $2,000 per acre, totaling $20,628. Town Pump's Dan Sampson said construction is ready to begin and the site will expand rail and fuel distribution. After debate about council rules and committee referral, the substitute motion to approve passed 7-2.
BLDC marketing agreement: Council approved the $16,000 agreement with Butte Local Development Corp for business recruitment and marketing for Montana Connections TED and South TED, 6-3.
BioSquee lease extension: Council approved the amended lease extension with BioSquee for a county-owned 10,000-square-foot building, including a rent increase and possible reimbursement of approved electrical upgrades, 6-3.
Custom Construction amendment: Council approved Amendment No. 3 to Contract 2024-600 as amended to correct the year to 2026, 9-0.
Late-added agreements: Council approved Communication 2026-478, accepting a Montana Department of Transportation grant for the DUI court, and Communication 2026-479, an agreement with CivicPlus for ADA dock access and agenda/meeting management. Each passed with one dissenting vote.

Key Outcomes

Referred the fire-service legal question to the county attorney for a written response by the first week of October (9-0).
Approved the sale of Mammoth Park to Roxanne Spohler for $69,590.98 (7-2).
Approved the REC Silicon purchase agreement on 627.802 acres.
Approved the Town Pump/Montana Connections agreement (7-2), BLDC marketing agreement (6-3), and BioSquee lease extension (6-3).
Approved the SHPO agreement and the corrected Custom Construction amendment (9-0 each).
Adopted Resolution 2026-55 (tourism BID assessment), Resolution 2026-56 (Prado Verde Estates minor subdivision), Resolution 2026-58 (SID lighting assessment), and Resolution 2026-59 (fire hydrant rental SIDs 401/402), each by 9-0.
Chief Executive Gallagher reported that work has begun in the Diggings East area and that a public meeting is planned for October.

Meeting Transcript

Can commissioners please check in. I'd like to call the Butte Silver Bowl Council of Commissioners regular meeting for Wednesday, September 16, 2026 to order. Clerk, could we please have roll call? Nine present, three absent. Nine present, three absent, please. Uh no Commissioner Walker, Commissioner Healing, Commissioner Boyle are absent from tonight. And so, Commissioner Thatcher, could we lead us in the prayer and the pledge? Almighty God, we implore you. Look upon us and guide us this night as we make decisions which so greatly affect our community of beauty of our bow. Bless our thoughts, words, and deeds. Somebody took my thing. Amen. Thank you. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. You still did a yeoman's job. All right. Thank you. All right. Next we'll move on to public comment on any item on tonight's agenda. And so I asked the public, we have a pretty robust agenda tonight, and I think we're gonna have a lot of public comment. So I'm gonna ask everybody to be three minutes. I will have a timer up here so you'll see the timer on there. And so uh if you if you get to three minutes, I'm gonna cut you off and then we're gonna move forward, okay. So if you'd like to come forward, please state your name, your address, and what the item that you'll speak about. So if you'd like to come forward and uh on any uh on the agenda. There you go. Uh my name's Ed Fisher. I live at 1918 South Jackson. I'm the fire chief of the Boulevard Fire Department, and I'm here to speak on uh communication 455 uh presented by uh Commissioner uh Man Kins. Uh Mr. Chairman and Commissioners. Uh I'm just here to speak a little bit about the ballot issue for the fire departments. Um there's a lot of stuff in the ballot in option two that I don't think is right, and I don't think it would be legal. Um our district trustees are elected by the people, the same as you people are here at the commissioners. And it says in option two that if option two passes, they're just going to extinguish those commissioners or those trustees. I don't know how that can be possible. If that's possible, then we can extinguish anybody that's up here right now that's been elected. So I think this this option has to be looked at. Um there's a few other deals on there that um they also want to take uh all of our our rights away that we have under state law right now. One of them is we get a measly 200 dollar pension if you spend 20 years in the volunteer fire service. If we're no longer attached to state law, we're gonna lose that pension. So there's a lot more to lose here than just uh uh the fire departments having a discussion uh over who's gonna be in charge and who ain't gonna be in charge. So I have a question to ask of the the commissioners. Has there been a lot of complaints about the volunteer fire department since two people have been on the commission? I'll take that as a no. So why are we trying to rewrite the rule book when we don't even have complaints about it just to satisfy a few people? I think they should take a long look at this, the way this ballot is written and what they want to do to the volunteers because if you lose the volunteers, you lose 130 volunteer firemen that have been protecting this community for a hundred years. You lose them, I get it, you're gonna have to hire more people to protect the community, and it's not gonna be cheap. So with that said, I'll uh I'll let the rest of the people speak.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com