Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners Committee of the Whole – October 29, 2026

The Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners met as a Committee of the Whole on October 29, 2026, with Chairman Morgan presiding. The transcript is timestamped 2026-10-29 01:25:36 UTC. Agenda and minutes were not provided, so this summary is based solely on the raw transcript. After roll call, prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance, the council took public testimony on a proposed data-center moratorium and jail food service, discussed Council Bill 2026-03, heard reports, and acted on multiple communications. The roll call was announced as one presiding, 11 present, zero absent, although recorded votes later appear as 12-0; the transcript contains that inconsistency.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Rick Edwards opposed Ordinance 2026-03, saying a moratorium would send an anti-economic-development message to businesses considering Butte.
• Denise Kelly, representing 406 People First, supported a moratorium and submitted eight recommendations: full transparency, multiple published public hearings, no use of public water or public water rights for data centers during the moratorium, no power use above five megawatts, no public land-sale brokering, no planned activities that harm human health, an independent study not conducted by county staff or prior study participants, and a preference for local union construction labor.
• Kat Hawley raised jail meal concerns: small portions, low quality, and lack of transparency. She asked about dietitian-approved calorie/protein/nutrient targets, publication of menu analysis, oversight, meal gaps, and retaliation-free complaint processes.
• Logan Warner discussed the Amherst/Sheridan intersection proposal, saying traffic lights and stop signs are not speeding fixes and recommending road narrowing, speed humps, and continuous crosswalks. He also supported jail-food transparency and later corrected his earlier claim about who paid for the SABE data-center trip.
• Kelly Sullivan, executive director of the Butte Local Development Corporation, opposed the moratorium, arguing it could harm existing and prospective businesses; she asked whether the message is "closed for business."
• Evan Barrett supported the moratorium, urged the council not to rush, noted a petition that gathered nearly 5,000 signatures, and suggested using Missoula's data-center study.
• Bob Morris, speaking personally, urged reconsideration of a countywide moratorium, warned of a "closed for business" message, cited Great Falls landing an $800 million manufacturing campus with more than 2,000 projected jobs, and said there are no currently pending hyperscale data-center applications.
• Karen Burns, community and economic development director, opposed the moratorium, said interim zoning should be reserved for true emergencies, warned that three companies had already expressed concern, and recommended zoning-code updates instead.
• Bill Keebe opposed the moratorium, said the Silver Lake system provides 20 million gallons per day and that 40,000 gallons per day is minimal by comparison, and argued the definitions were too broad.
• Carissa Story supported a moratorium, saying citizens should be able to vote on data centers.
• Jim Camitz opposed the moratorium, said the process could be handled through zoning, described operating Butte's first commercial data center in 2005, and said one megawatt creates five jobs per megawatt.
• Jesse Gonzalez supported the moratorium, opposed data centers "in any way, shape, or form," and also urged public investigation of jail meal complaints.
• Jessica Jones supported the moratorium and said officials were ignoring "Vox Populi."
• Melissa McIntyre raised lithium-ion battery fire risks, saying the council should consider fire and pollution hazards in any moratorium.
• Rose Griner described difficulty putting money on a detained family member's books, saying she was turned away four days in a row, and called toddler-sized portions unacceptable.
• Alison Anderson strongly supported the moratorium and raised concerns about speed-radar-sign budgeting and rising property taxes.
• Sarah Hellstrand supported the moratorium, saying data centers will always be needed later so there is no need to rush.

Report of the Chair

• Chairman Morgan welcomed Commissioner Boyle back.
• He stated that the commissioners who toured the SABE data-center site had their trip paid for by Butte-Silver Bow, not by SABE.
• He explained the procedural path for Council Bill 2026-03: it was introduced by Commissioner Shea, referred to the Judiciary Committee, and moved to the Committee of the Whole to allow more public participation. It must return to Judiciary before going to the full council.

Discussion Items: Data Center Moratorium

• Commissioner Shea, the sponsor, said public participation was easier in the larger setting. She raised the question of whether interim zoning is needed when a full zoning update is already underway and suggested a deliberate zoning section as an alternative.
• Commissioner O'Leary said he was generally in favor of a six-month moratorium as guardrails; he was pro-business and not anti-data-center but wanted intentional decisions.
• Commissioner Fisher said the public had spoken, cited concerns about contamination and vacant buildings, and supported studying appropriate regulations.
• Commissioner Thatcher asked detailed questions about scope and enforcement, including whether the moratorium applies only to massive data centers. Denise Kelly said her group is concerned only with massive data centers, though her earlier written request used the phrase "ironclad county-wide moratorium on all data centers."
• County Attorney Enruth said interim zoning is immediately effective, applies to Butte-Silver Bow as a consolidated city-county, and requires one public hearing and three readings. He clarified that earlier statements suggesting a single reading were inaccurate. He also said the council's draft was a "bare bones" starting point, not a final document.
• Chairman Morgan said commissioners should not answer questions by email exchange because it would implicate open-meeting law; answers should be given on the floor.
• Commissioner Callahan said the five-megawatt threshold could affect existing large users such as MRI and REC, whose power needs are around 50 and 60 megawatts, and cautioned against a threshold that discourages businesses. He also corrected an earlier speaker's claim that Silver Lake water rights are industrial-only, saying they include agricultural and stream augmentation.
• Commissioner Gerbrand suggested defining regulated data centers as those that receive third-party data, so in-house facilities would be excluded.
• Commissioner O'Neill asked who would pay for an independent study if one is required.
• Commissioner Healy stressed "of the people, by the people, for the people" and said county employees should not conduct the study because some have already opposed the moratorium.
• Commissioner Shea noted other jurisdictions use demolition bonds, community bargaining agreements, and similar tools, and mentioned Missoula and Fairfax, Virginia as examples.
• A motion to hold the ordinance in abeyance in the Committee of the Whole passed 12-0. The council noted the item will appear again in two weeks; public comment can be made at the next regular meeting, but there will be no back-and-forth dialogue on that topic until the next Committee of the Whole discussion.

Jail Food Service Report (Communication 2026-491)

• Sheriff Ed Lester responded to the jail-meal complaint. He said menus are reviewed by registered dietitian Katie Pippenich for CCCS, and the same food is served at the Connections center and pre-release, though those facilities have salad/soup bars not available in the main jail.
• He presented weight data for long-term inmates, with changes ranging from a 35-pound loss to an 85-pound gain, and said most long-term inmates gained weight.
• He said the dinner-to-breakfast gap had been corrected by serving dinner at about 5:15 p.m. and breakfast at 7:00 a.m., within the 14-hour jail standard.
• He said CCCS will not rebid the contract, so the county will seek a new food-service vendor; previous bidders included Summit and Trinity, which rely heavily on inmate labor. The county serves roughly 350-400 meals per day, and losing CCCS may affect local food suppliers.
• Commissioner Fisher moved to note and file the communication; the motion passed 12-0.

Communications & Routine Actions

• Communication 26384, Corey Bigger's request to purchase land next to his residence: held in abeyance pending a land sales committee report.
• Communication 26410, legal review of the Municipal Parking Services safety-stick contract: held; Commissioner O'Leary said he will introduce his suggested edits and the county attorney's response next week.
• Communication 26454, YMCA no-parking and 15 mph zone: Public Works Director Neary said the parking commission passed it unanimously for child safety; motion to place on file passed 12-0.
• Communication 26486, Mary Burg's vacant lot purchase to build a home: held in abeyance pending land sales committee report.
• Communication 26496, scheduling a public hearing on sole-sourcing Aqua Aerobic Systems for the Basin Creek water treatment plant: placed on file 12-0.
• Communication 26497, scheduling a bid opening for solar speed radar signs: placed on file 12-0, with commissioners praising the public safety benefit.
• Communication 26505, library solar panel project bid opening: held in abeyance pending the bid opening.
• Petition 2026-01 was cross-referenced with Communication 2026-515 and placed on file 12-0.
• Petition 2026-02 was cross-referenced with Communication 2026-516 and placed on file 12-0.

Public Comments on Non-Agenda Items

• During the non-agenda public comment period, numerous speakers opposed Chief Executive Gallagher's planned trip to Israel. They called the trip political despite his statement that it was not, cited ongoing harm to Palestinians, and urged him to decline.
• Daniel Hogan described Israel as an apartheid state and called the trip an endorsement of genocide.
• Lucas Henderson, a 13-year-old East Middle School student, said over 10% of Gaza's population has been killed or injured and compared more than 230,000 casualties to "seven Buttes."
• Chris Astori said the trip was inherently political, accused Gallagher of lacking integrity, and referenced family history in residential schools.
• Canyon Stevens said the people of Butte deserve concrete results and transparency about who organized and paid for the trip.
• Logan Warner said the trip would likely be an influence operation and expressed concern about foreign influence in Montana politics.
• Brian Bigelow said an official visit legitimizes the Israeli government's actions and that Gallagher must choose between ignorance and complicity.
• Shady Hart raised timing during a heated election, continuity of government, and the trip's connection to critical-minerals discussions.
• Connor Coe quoted Gallagher's statement and argued every part of the trip was political, including dialogues on economic development.
• A.J. Brown cited Montana Code Annotated 2-2-104, a $50 gift threshold, and said the all-expenses-paid trip exceeds it, urging the council to remember the trip when evaluating future proposals.
• Connie Thompson said the trip takes the top county official out of the country during the midterm election and that declining to take a stand on genocide is itself political.
• Other speakers, including Jessica Jones, Sarah Hellstrand, and Ready Frost, also urged Gallagher to stay home and reconsider.
• No formal council action was taken on the Israel trip; the meeting moved to adjournment after public comment.

Key Outcomes

• Council Bill 2026-03 was held in abeyance in the Committee of the Whole; it will return for further discussion in two weeks.
• Jail food communication 2026-491 was noted and filed after the sheriff's report.
• Routine communications and petitions were filed or held as noted above.
• All recorded votes in the transcript were 12-0; this conflicts with the earlier roll-call count of 11 present, a discrepancy noted for the record.
• No agenda or minutes were available for cross-checking, so this summary relies solely on the raw transcript.