Government Day: a theft, a toilet, roads and RIDS

Sheriff’s Report

With Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton away for the Western Sheriff's association conference, Lincoln resident deputy Corporal Robert Rivera delivered the Sheriff’s office update. Locally, he said he just finished the DARE program for the middle school kids. Rivera, who will be leaving Lincoln in May to take over as a DARE officer for the county, said he hopes to continue both the 5th grade and middle school programs here.

“It’s good for (the middle schoolers) to touch base with the stuff they learned in 5th grade because I learned in the last two years they all forget what they learned in fifth grade,” he said.

Rivera reported that the Call for service volume in February was about average, with just two cases for the month. One of those cases was a Feb. 14 theft at the Mountain View Co-op.

“Someone stole a jar of $200 for the girl’s basketball team,” Rivera said. “They caught them on camera though, so I know exactly who it is.” He said the school wants to prosecute and he is working with deputies in Helena to hunt down the individual. “They’re transient, sleeping on peoples couches and spending the $200. We’ll get them shortly.”

Rivera also introduced Lincoln’s new Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Jesse Short. Short said he covers an area from Ovando to the Cascade County Line and north to Augusta, he also covers Wolf Creek and responds to Helena as needed. His focus right now is on speed and impaired driving, both of which contribute to accidents in the area.

Vault toilet approved for Hooper Park

Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Andy Hunthausen announced that the commission approved funding for a vault toilet for Hooper Park during their meeting in Helena March. 3.

The county commission voted to install the vault toilet and approved an allocation of $25,000 for it near the beginning of February. The commissioners then had to go through a formal process to obligate the money to the project.

The funding for the toilet is a part of the American Rescue Plan Act, which provided money to county and city governments across the country.

A vault toilet – similar to the one at Lambkin Park – has been discussed as an option for Hooper Park for several years, most notably after 2016 when the contractor for the restroom and shower facility, jokingly dubbed the “Hooper Pooper,” failed to deliver.

That new restroom facility was finally delivered in 2018 from a different contractor and opened in 2019. While it features running water and showers, it’s only open during the summer season. Porta potties have been brought to the park since 2016, first to serve as facilities while the “Hooper Pooper” issue was sorted out, then to address extra needs.

The construction of the skate park, the return of youth sports and regular off-season use during hunting and snowmobiling seasons helped justify funding an all-season vault toilet.

County Finance Coordinator Misty Edwards had looked into the cost of a vault toilet in the past. At the time, they cost about $14,000-$15,000, but given the recent increases in building costs, the commissioners approved $25,000 for the project.

Hunthausen said Edwards is working on reaching out to potential contractors for the toilet.

Forest Service

Lincoln District Ranger Rob Gump said the district has its hiring is done and is transitioning to the upcoming field season.

Spring burning planned for last week was delayed until this week, due to the difficulty getting up Dalton Mountain Road to the slash piles slated for burning. He said they are also set up to do some spring burning in the Helmville face area once conditions are right.

Gump reported that the Hogum Wildfire ResilienceProject timber sale is nearly done and they will be putting that out for contract later this summer. Work in the Hogum area may not happen until next summer.

In response to a question for Lincoln resident Pat Hagen about opening gates to allow firewood cutting again this year, Gump said they would be doing that He also agreed with Hagen's assertion that opening areas for firewood helps the district deal with fuels for fires and helps keep roads used as snowmobile trails clear.

Public Works

County Public Works Director Eric Griffin, who is set to retire soon, handed off his update to Road and Bridge Manager Kevin Horne. Horne asked for help from the community on weight restriction on the streets and roads around town to help preserve them during the spring freeze thaw cycles.

“We’re getting our plan together getting some road mix hauled over, bridge ends are in pretty tough shape right now,” he said.

Horne reported that Dalton Mountain Bridge is still in MDTs hands, and all their surveys have been completed.

Hopefully it is going to last if we can keep those heavy loads off there,” he said. His biggest fear is that if the bridge starts to fail due to heavier loads, it’s a long way to go for emergency services.

“It’s all our due diligence to keep an eye on it and we’ll address what we need to address from the offenders and try to keep it together for another year until they can get that project kicked off,” Horne said.

Horne also talked a bit about paint for better vehicle/pedestrian segregation around Sleepy Hollow Lane north of Highway 200. “We’re going to maybe need some help on what that has to look like. “It’s only going to be paint to at least identify where the roadway is versus the parking lots on some of those. It might help with some of the issues we dealt with this winter with snowmobile trailers and things of that sort blocking the roadway.”

Protest period opened for Lincoln and Lambkins Rural Improvement Districts

Special District Coordinator Jessica Makus said the petitions needed to begin the process for a chip seal project on the streets in Lincoln this year were returned successfully. The county had the initial public hearing Feb. 24 to pass the resolutions of intention to create the districts.

“We did that meeting in Helena as a timing thing,” she said. Makus said she would have liked to pass that resolution in Lincoln but waiting until the Government Day meeting would have meant missing the deadline for getting the chip seal packages out for bid.

The resolution opened a 30-day protest period that closes March 31. Protests need to be into the Clerk and Recorder’s Office in writing by March 31.

Makus said if more than 50 percent of the properties in a district protest, the implantation of that RID will fail. If fewer than 50 percent protest, it will move forward. The protest hearing will be held in Lincoln during the April 1 Government Day meeting.

Another public hearing will be held to levy the extra assessment.

“Once that is passed, we can apply for the actual loan to get the work going,” Makus said.