11/11/2024
“Great Falls This Week” is reported and written by Matt Hudson. Send your news and tips to [email protected].
Solid waste increase lands in court
Former Cascade County budget officer Mary Embleton is seeking an expedited hearing in district court to void a recent resolution to raise solid waste fees for county residents.
Representing herself, Embleton filed the petition in court on Nov. 4 claiming that the county failed to provide proper notice of solid waste assessment increases, failed to hold necessary public hearings and approved increases past the deadline to submit special assessments to the Montana Department of Revenue.
She named Commissioners Jim Larson and Joe Briggs as defendants in addition to Cascade County. Embleton told Montana Free Press that she didn’t name Commissioner Rae Grulkowski as a defendant because she voted against the solid waste resolution.
Commissioners held multiple meetings about solid waste assessments, starting with two in July for which no meeting minutes or recordings are available on the county website. Commissioners met again on Sept. 19 and finally passed a resolution on Oct. 3 to increase solid waste assessments by 45% for most property types. The proposed resolution and list of rate increases weren’t available for public view until just before the meeting began.
While commissioners took public comments while deliberating motions, there was not a separate public hearing, a point that Embleton made during multiple solid waste meetings and in court documents.
Commissioners and county staff were working to reconcile three different solid waste fee schedules for some property types, as periodic updates were made over the years by county offices. The last uniform fee increase took place in 2012. Discussions of the solid waste program were wide-ranging, including contracting with Republic Services, the types of materials accepted at sites and the value of punch cards that are issued to property owners.
As of Friday morning, a hearing had not been set by the presiding judge, Elizabeth Best.
5 Things to Know in Great Falls
The Children’s Museum of Montana is suspending operations and moving out of its longtime home at 22 Railroad Square. Nov. 10 was the last day open at this location, and a search is ongoing for a new, permanent building. The board of directors will remain active during the search, and they have identified some potential locations, according to Laura Ewalt, interim executive director, who updated city commissioners Nov. 6. The location at Railroad Square opened in 1999. The building is owned by the city and was leased to the museum. Ewalt said the museum hopes to reopen in 2026. A full statement is here.
Col. Jeremy Russell, commander of the 341st Maintenance Group at Malmstrom, was relieved of command “due to a loss of trust and confidence in Russell’s ability to command,” according to a brief announcement on Nov. 6. The order came from Col. Daniel Voorhies, 341st Missile commander. The 341st Maintenance Group manages the readiness of launch facilities and control centers, among other duties. A spokesperson at Malmstrom declined to release any additional information.
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art has an interim director in Nicole Maria Evans, who is the curator of exhibitions and collections. The search is on for a full-time executive director after Sarah Justice announced she would move to Missoula to lead the Zootown Arts Community Center. A job listing is up on the museum’s website, and it hopes to fill the position in 2025. “I’m entrusted to continuing to work closely with the dedicated staff, the board and the broader community to sustain the institution and promote a strong welcoming environment for the permanent executive director so that they may succeed and continue to make the museum flourish,” Evans said in a statement.
Great Falls Public Schools Superintendent Heather Hoyer received an “administrator of the year” award from the Montana Association of Career and Technical Education during a Billings conference. Hoyer and district staff used a Montana Advanced Opportunities grant to expand access to technical programs, sought industry input for curriculum review and are planning an innovative learning center to serve K-8 students. “For me, the most important aspects of my work in Career Technical education have been ensuring inclusivity, experiential learning and long-term career readiness for all of my students in Great Falls and Montana,” Hoyer’s statement said.
Great Falls Park and Recreation Director Steve Herrig reported membership numbers for the Scheels Aim High Big Sky Aquatic and Recreation Center. There have been 7,850 daily walk-in visitors, 639 monthly members and 226 annual members thus far. The facility has hosted 88 birthday parties, which are booked nearly every weekend. Herrig said about 2,658 people have taken swim lessons. Crews are working to fix a recurring roof leak, and Herrig said contractors have been responsive to needs. Those repairs are covered at no additional cost, according to city staff. First-quarter expenses outpaced revenues by $13,000, and by the end of October, the fund was at a $36,000 cash deficit, according to city Finance Director Melissa Kinzler. Still in its infancy, the fund will require time to find its operational footing, Kinzler said.
Verbatim
“And then you chose to go to a finance meeting when you know that you’re not going to be a commissioner anymore. Why do you need to have schooling to be a finance person on our dime?”
—Jim Larson, Cascade County commissioner, speaking to Commissioner Rae Grulkowski during a Nov. 6 work session
Larson’s comments about “schooling” referred to a finance administrator training event Grulkowski attended in October, which was before Election Day and during a time when no one knew whether Grulkowski would retain her seat as county commissioner.
The conversation arose when Grulkowski asked why her travel reimbursement request was not approved, which requires the signatures of two commissioners. The comment seemed to indicate that the decision over approval was in part influenced by the expectation that Grulkowski would lose her write-in campaign — a detail that was not missed by Grulkowski’s supporters in the gallery.
Commissioner Joe Briggs said that the training event, organized by the Montana Association of Counties, was inappropriate for a commissioner. He noted that Grulkowski did not attend the MACo 2024 Annual Conference, which is geared toward elected officials.
Regular watchers of county commission meetings (or readers of this newsletter) have likely noticed the regular arguments among board members during public meetings. Grulkowski did lose in the general election as a write-in candidate, finishing third behind the two candidates on the ballot.
Republican Eric Hinebauch won the election and is set to replace Grulkowski next year.
Filling the Seat
Great Falls Fire Rescue has named a new assistant chief of operations following the retirement of Assistant Chief Robert Shupe, who finished 29 years of service. Jeremy Virts, previously deputy chief of EMS, will fill the role.
In other department news, Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention Michael McIntosh recently graduated from the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer training program. He finished the three-year program in October and is one of 16 Montanans to complete it, according to the city.
Dept. of Corrections
The Nov. 4 edition of Great Falls This Week described a city commission resolution to recoup $9,450 from cleanup work that was done to a nuisance property on Ninth Avenue South. It mentioned that the city could attempt to collect that amount through a special assessment on property taxes if the owner doesn’t voluntarily pay.
In fact, the special assessment is a lien against the property that is most often collected when the property is sold, according to comments from Finance Director Melissa Kinzler during a commission meeting on Nov. 6. It’s not part of property tax payments.
City commissioners approved a resolution ordering the property owner to pay. Absent payment, city staff is now authorized to place the special assessment on the property.
Might Be Fun
Game Warden Sgt. Trenten Farmer with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will give a wide-ranging talk on the fish and wildlife of central Montana, as well as the work of a game warden. Farmer will cover the range and population trends of animals in our area and how the Lewis and Clark expedition may have encountered them.
This free event will take place at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. An event page is here.
Photo Op
Aside from the Election Day results, most are likely to remember the massive registration line that meandered through the arena of the Montana ExpoPark. Prospective voters waited for hours to cast a vote, causing frustration and confusion throughout the day and into the night.
Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected].
Happy Veterans Day
Thank you to all the current and former service members in every branch of the U.S. armed forces.
Malmstrom Air Force Base is the top employer in Great Falls with more than 4,000 active-duty and civilian employees. Construction of the base began in 1942, and the Air Force recently marked 62 years of having Minuteman missiles continuously on alert at the base.
On the opposite side of town, the 120th Air Lift Wing of the Montana Air National Guard works on state and federal missions that include operation of the massive C-130 Hercules airplane.