Snowy Mountain Development Corporation

Board of Directors Meeting

Wednesday, August 17, 2005, 1 p.m.

SMDC Conference Room

In Attendance: Kathie Bailey, SMDC Executive Director; Mike Holmberg, Ed Arnott, Edgar Lewis, Ken Ronish, Richard Moe, Stephanie Downs, Gary Thomas, Kardy Eickhoff, Mike Grady; Bob Geise, SMDC Program Director; Carrie Mantooth, SMDC Administrative Assistant; and Monty Sealey, Central Montana RC&D Coordinator.

 Call to Order and Introductions: In the absence of Chairman Jeff Whitcraft, Vice Chairman Mike Holmberg called the meeting to order and introductions were made.

Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the June 16, 2005, meeting were mailed out in advance of the meeting and were unanimously approved following a motion by Edgar Lewis, seconded by Ken Ronish.

 Financial Report: Kathie reported a balance of $63,408.36 in the SMDC checking account. She said they switched to QuickBooks July 1. Ken made a motion, seconded by Edgar and unanimously approved to accept the financial report.

-                          Audit: The next audit will probably be in October and be scheduled with other area organizations to save travel expenses.

-                          Software Purchase: Kathie requested a purchase of Grants Management System software. The cost is about $4,500, which includes $3,300 for the software and $1,200 for the licensing, contract and technical support the first year. After that, the cost is $35 per month including technical support. Kathie said the software is recommended by organizations that do a lot of grant administration and handle revolving loan funds, and it will figure accruals, assess fees, balances and reports for multiple funding sources. Ken made a motion to approve purchasing the GMS software, seconded by Edgar and unanimously approved.

 Executive Director’s Report: Kathie distributed a report and highlighted the following:

-          Staff: Bob Giese is the new MAIC program director, and he introduced himself to the group and talked about his background. He has extensive experience in banking, finance, agriculture and construction and has lived in Lewistown the last 20 years. Kathie said Bob makes a great addition to SMDC and will offer much in technical assistance to businesses and with the revolving loan fund. Jennifer Pfau will also contract part-time with SMDC for community development projects. She has grant writing experience and was most recently the director of the Boys and Girls Club in Lewistown. Diane Pennell was also hired as the bookkeeper for SMDC and will work about 20 hours per month. Kathie said she is doing a great job and is very efficient.

-          Montana Non-Profit Association: Kathie joined this for the information, technical assistance and ability to access programs and participate collaboratively with other non-profit organizations. She is researching their Directors and Officers Errors and Omissions Insurance, Workman’s Compensation Insurance and Health Insurance Benefits. Dues were $50 per year. She said there are 6,600 non-profits in Montana , but only 2,000 make more than $25,000 per year and are registered with IRS. Regulations are getting stricter and Kathie stressed the importance of staying in tune with the changes.

-          Simms Relocation: This high-end fishing waders manufacturer has decided to relocate in Manhattan , Montana , which is close to the existing business in Bozeman . SMDC has been working with them for over a year.

-          Technical Assistance to Businesses: SMDC continues to provide technical assistance to a variety of businesses. Kathie said there’s been a lot of interest in the historic buildings on Main Street Lewistown, along with professional people inquiring about moving to Lewistown. She said the workshop on historic tax credits and housing tax credits has been helpful and she’s shared that information. She’s also done follow-up with NxLevel course participants.

-          Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity : Evan Barrett with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity will be in Lewistown Tues., Sept. 17 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Kathie asked any board members who were interested to keep the date open. She also asked Monty Sealey, Central Montana RC&D Coordinator, to attend and give an update on the Central Montana Regional Water Authority project.  

Public Input: There was no public input.

Old Business:

-          Budget Committee Report: Ken reported that the budget committee met July 6 to review wages, benefits and job descriptions. They found the job descriptions to be satisfactory and felt the change in wages for the new MAIC employee was warranted.

-          Stanford Housing: Kathie reported that the City of Stanford is in the Request for Proposals (RFP) process for a grant administrator for the CDBG funds and that SMDC/HRDC had responded to that RFP are awaiting a decision. The application is one of three. Kathie said she expected them to be farther along in this process and Mike Grady of Stanford agreed that things have been moving slowly.

-          CCCS Meth Treatment Center : SMDC helped prepare a joint CDBG grant application with CCCS, Fergus County and the City of Lewistown for a water/sewer infrastructure project. This would create the infrastructure for the CCCS and Lewistown Airport . If the center locates in Lewistown, it will provide at least 42 jobs. The project is contingent upon CCCS getting the contract with the Department of Corrections and that RFP process will be in October. If the CDBG funds are awarded, SMDC will get $15,000 to administer those funds.

-          Wind Farm: Richard and Alicia Moe and two others have submitted a USDA grant application for funds for their private wind farms. They have made it through the first go-around. Six applications were submitted and three made it through the Denver office and have moved forward. The three landowners have 20 towers up and will have 30 by the end of the year. They will provide power for the farms, including a Hutterite colony, and they’ll sell the left-over power. The USDA program is a matching grant. Richard also talked about the wind farm project in Wheatland County with Wind Park Solutions. He said the project will provide Impact Fees of $2.4 million per year over the next three years, which is a big windfall for Wheatland County . Discussion followed about the tourism opportunities presented by the wind farm. Mike Grady suggested that a brochure be printed about the wind farm.

-          Other: Mike Grady asked about BLM’s purchase of a chipper, as previously discussed. Kathie said SMDC is still working on the biomass project with CMMC, and if it proceeds they will continue discussing the purchase of a portable chipper for lease to a supplier. A portable chipper could also be rented to landowners for cleaning out understory growth, etc. CMMC received a $400,000 Forest Service grant for the biomass project and is looking for other funds. They are looking at a performance financing option.

 New Business:

-          Rose Longan Resignation: Kathie read a resignation letter from board member from Musselshell County , Rose Emily Longan. She has resigned because of other commitments. Ken suggested sending her a certificate of appreciation. Kathie noted that the Musselshell County Commissioners need to accept her resignation and appoint a replacement. Kathie will send the commissioners a letter. Ken made a motion, seconded by Edgar and unanimously approved to accept the resignation.

-          Board Membership: Kathie said Petroleum County made their reappointments to SMDC July 1. Stephanie Downs, Petroleum County Manager, was reappointed; Carol Ann Schaeffer was reappointed as member at large; and Kardy Eickhoff was appointed to replace Linda Augier as the local government representative. Kathie asked for appointment letters from both the city and county entities. Golden Valley County is represented by Edgar Lewis, county rep; Mark Solonsky and Sid Boe, local government. Kathie also distributed a sheet asking each board member to list their affiliations and occupations. Discussion followed about the minority representation requirement by EDA. Gloria Hungate is the minority representative and the board hopes she will continue to serve, although her work schedule prohibits regular attendance. Kathie explained that EDA wants a minority representative, but if no one can be found they will make an exception if the attempt is at least made.

-          Brownfields and Role of SMDC: At the June meeting of Central Montana RC&D an engineer from a Billings environmental engineering firm talked to the board about funds for Brownsfields. Kathie said that since then Harlowton officials have said there may be several sites for Brownsfields revitalization efforts. Discussion followed about eligibility, responsibility and possible sites in the area. SMDC and RC&D staff will stay in touch about possible projects, although Monty said no one has stepped forward since the RC&D meeting.

-          BLM Fire Plan for Wheatland and Golden Valley Counties : Fergus, Judith Basin and Musselshell Counties all have fire plans in place, but Wheatland and Golden Valley do not. Kathie said these counties fall in the Miles City district BLM area, and BLM has stepped forward to provide funds to get those plans done. Bob McNary will meet with those county commissioners and fire districts and a contractor will be hired to write the fire plans for those counties. Kathie also noted that Bob is working on organizing a resource assessment by Montana Economic Developers Association in September and then another for Golden Valley County .

-          Other:

o       Kathie distributed information on House Bill 667, Small Business Health Care Affordability Act. Discussion followed on eligibility requirements for small business. The Act provides for employer refundable annual tax credits and premium assistance and incentive payments and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications will be available in September. Farmers and ranchers qualify. It was suggested that this information be submitted to local chambers for their newsletters.

o       The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy was written in 2002 and is a five-year document. Kathie said SMDC must report annually to EDA. Kathie and Carrie have been collecting information for the 2007 CEDS and are looking for input.

o       Gary Thomas of Roundup and Kardy Eickhoff of Winnett were welcomed to the SMDC Board of Directors. Gary is a long-time resident of Roundup and the former public works director. Kardy grew up in Roundup and moved to Winnett in 1999. She serves on the town council, volunteer fire department and library board. Kathie reminded the board that SMDC will reimburse travel for those who aren’t reimbursed from another source.

 Next Meeting: The next meeting of SMDC will be Wednesday, October 19 at 1 p.m. in the SMDC conference room in Lewistown. With no other business, the meeting was adjourned.  

Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by

Carrie Mantooth, SMDC Administrative Assistant

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Snowy Mountain Development Corporation

Board of Directors Meeting

Thursday, June 16, 2005, 1 p.m.

SMDC Conference Room  

In Attendance: Kathie Bailey, SMDC Executive Director; Jeff Whitcraft, Mike Holmberg, Ed Arnott, Edgar Lewis, Ken Ronish, John Peccia, Carol Ann Schaeffer; Carrie Mantooth, SMDC Administrative Assistant; Monty Sealey, Central Montana RC&D Coordinator; and Jim Dullenty, Lewistown News-Argus.

Call to Order and Introductions: Vice Chairman Jeff Whitcraft called the meeting to order and introductions were made.

Approval of Minutes & Financial Report: The minutes of the April 20, 2005, meeting were unanimously approved as distributed following a motion by Ken Ronish, seconded by Ed Arnott. Kathie reported a balance of $68,774.22 in the SMDC checking account. The accounts receivable includes $11,077.32 in deposits from MSU for Montana Ag Innovations Center funding and $1,000 from the Montana Department of Commerce with another $1,000 coming in reimbursements for the NxLevel training. With the end of the fiscal year, SMDC will be switching accounting to QuickBooks. Ken made a motion, seconded by Edgar and unanimously approved to accept the financial report.

Executive Director’s Report:

-          Staff: Nicole Descheemaeker, the MAIC program director, is moving to Switzerland with the 4-H Ambassador program, so Kathie reported she is searching for her replacement. SMDC Program Manager Robert McNary has moved to Harlowton and is working part-time for the Chamber of Commerce there, but will continue to serve the lower tier counties. Both he and Program Manager Carl Schulz are providing technical assistance to businesses, etc. Kathie reported that she has hired a part-time bookkeeper to work about 20 hours per month to start July 1.

-          CEDS: A letter has finally been received that SMDC has received its designation as an Economic Development District by Economic Development Administration. That will open up several funding options for SMDC.

-          Other: Kathie told the group she has been assisting individuals and groups on several projects. She said she reviewed a USDA Rural Development grant for Richard and Alicia Moe for assistance in wind energy development on their place. She also met with the Utica Rod and Gun Club on funding ideas for a building and the Utica Museum and Historical Society about improvements. She also has a July meeting set with the Lewistown Housing group concerning obtaining rehab funds from CDBG, and gave a presentation to the Rotary Club in Lewistown on the proposed Community Counseling Correctional Services (CCCS). Kathie also reported to the board that she passed the last round of National Development Council (NDC) training, which focused on housing rehab, tax credits and historical tax credits. She said she has already put that knowledge to use on two projects. The next training is in October. Kathie was also one of 30 Montanans invited to attend the Leadership for Montana ’s Future training. She said she will pay the $2,500 tuition and said it will be valuable for networking. It is a two-day per month training for a year.

Public Input: None.

Old Business

-          MAIC: Kathie reported that Nicole had been working with the Great Northern Growers Association on high protein oat and bio-fuel oils, high in Omega 3s. She had also worked with an organic producer and Big Sage Beef in Winifred. The NxLevel training is completed with June 28 set for graduation for the 10 businesses represented. Five of them completed business plans and Kathie said there was very good participation and attendance. Jeff asked about the purpose of the training and Kathie explained that the course walks participants through development of a business plan, marketing, management, etc.

-          Project Updates: The Community Health Center grant was not funded, but a critique will help revise the application to submit again at the national level in December. There were three applications from Montana and none were funded. The Stanford Housing Project is proceeding, and Kathie said their group was to meet Monday. SMDC has stepped back unless they ask for grant administration. The CCCS/DOC Treatment Facility and Lewistown and Fergus County are submitting a joint CDBG application in July for the water/sewer infrastructure for the facility and airport. The grant will be sent in July. Kathie discussed the Bull Mountain Coal Mine outside of Roundup, proposed power plant and proposed tax increment financing industry district (TIFID) in Musselshell County . The mine is employing 60-70 workers. The power plant is still being held up by the lawsuits filed by environmental groups concerning the issuing of air quality permits. Discussion followed on transmission for both the wind farm and the power plant.

New Business:

- Coal Impact Grants: Kathie told the group that she would like to send a letter to the Montana Coal Board as it considers changing the criteria for coal impact grants. Currently, any entity within a 100 air mile radius can apply for a grant, but both that and the selection process may change and most of the SMDC area would no longer be eligible for these grants. Kathie is also concerned that the proposal says the applicant must demonstrate a direct coal impact, or the application is thrown out, without giving it a chance to compete and with target rates based on median household income levels. Comments will be accepted until June 20. Ken made a motion, seconded by Carol and unanimously approved to send a letter on behalf of SMDC expressing concerns on the proposed changes.  

            - BLM Planning Grants: BLM is interested in funding the purchase of a chipper to lease with an option to sell to a biomass supplier. Kathie said there are two interested suppliers for the CMMC biomass project and hopefully others. A grant has been submitted to the National Forest Foundation for the CMMC project. Kathie said BLM also is providing funds for three county GIS data of local files. She explained that with volunteer fire departments, it’s difficult to capture data. BLM is willing to pay for recording that data, and SMDC will partner, for Fergus, Petroleum and Judith Basin Counties . Ed made a motion, seconded by Ken and unanimously approved to proceed with the chipper and GIS data planning grants.

            - Budget Committee Report: The committee looked at Kathie’s draft budget, which included no increase in wages or benefits. Audit expense will increase as SMDC has grown, and Kathie increased the travel budget to include Carl and Robert. The committee of Ken, Mike and Kevin (who was not present) met and supported the budget as prepared. Edgar made a motion, seconded by Ken to accept the budget. Jeff said he would like to see the wages and benefits revisited. Currently, a full-time employee gets sick leave and vacation, and after three years they receive $3,000 per year for health insurance. Ken made a motion, seconded by Mike to amend the motion and have the committee take another look at wages and benefits. The motion passed unanimously.

            -Nominating Committee Report: The nominating committee of Stephanie Downs and Chris King presented nominations for Jeff Whitcraft, chairman; Mike Holmberg, vice chairman; Carol Schaeffer, secretary; and Stephanie Downs, treasurer. Ken made a motion to close nominations and accept the committee recommendations, seconded by Ed and unanimously approved.

            - Other: Kathie thanked the board for its work and presented each board member with an appreciation coffee mug with the SMDC logo.

Next Meeting Date: The next meeting is set for Wed., August 17 2005 at 1 p.m.

With no other business, the meeting was adjourned.  

Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by

Carrie Mantooth, SMDC Administrative Assistant

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