Hill County announces $1M in COVID expense funding

Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean announced that the county has received over $1,000,000 in funding from the state to reimburse COVID-19 related expenses at this month’s country officials’ meeting.

McLean said the process of applying for these funds was exceedingly tedious and has been worked on since September 2020, but the county has received $1,123,000 which is unencumbered by CARES Act restrictions.

She said the commission discussed how to use the funds and determined that they should be put in a fund devoted specifically to addressing infrastructure needs in the Hill County Courthouse, the Hill County Detention Center, and the Hill County Sheriff’s Office.

She said there are on going needs in these buildings like roofing and flooring improvements along with computer upgrades and projects deemed important enough can be addressed with this fund.

Meeting attendees thanked McLean for her work.

She also mentioned that the county has received complaints about more than one office not having voicemails set up, or not returning calls and she encouraged everyone who hasn’t already set up a voicemail to do so, and keep track of it.

She said the county will also be working on updating job descriptions, some of which are multiple decades old, as they post advertisements for county positions.

She also mentioned that Lorren Schlotfeldt has been appointed as the Hill County superintendent of schools, has taken the oath of office and she’s excited to have Schlotfeldt on board.

McLean thanked fellow Hill County Commissioners Mark Peterson and Jake Strissel for trusting her to be the new commission chair.

Hill County Building Manager Daryl Anez announced that work on the elevator in the courthouse, which has been out of service for the last few months, should be done by next week.

“If God’s listening we’ll have that running by the end of next week,” Anez said.

He said he’s also looking for camera positions for the courthouse’s new security system, and work on the Hill County Detention Center’s control panel project will see work start soon.

“Once all that’s done there won’t be anything to talk about any more ... unless the chiller doesn’t start,” he said jokingly.

Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Amanda Frickel, who was recently appointed to be county fire marshal, said the county is still in drought 1 conditions, which could be a significant problem given the recent lack of moisture in the area.

“We have a lot of farmers that are pretty concerned,” she said. “We’re looking at a pretty dangerous and intense fire season if we don’t get some moisture.”

Hill County Treasurer Sandy Brown said incoming tax bills from the legislature will and are making her office a busy place, but things are otherwise business as usual.

She asked people present at the meeting to keep her informed about where money is coming from and where it is going, and said that she’s had to figure out a lot of information about funds flowing through the county through process of elimination.

Hill County Public Health Director and Health Officer Kim Larson said Phase 1B of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine roll-out began at the mall that day with 350 people getting their vaccinations at the former Famous Footwear location in the Holiday Village Mall.

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Larson said this will be the site of what she hopes will be weekly clinics.

She has said that there is a substantial waiting list for future vaccination clinics but people interested should call the health department’s designated line at 406-400-2369 and leave a voicemail if they don’t get ahold of someone.

She said the department is expected to receive 180 doses of the vaccine per week, and because Phase 1B is so large, it will take a long time.

“Phase 1B will take a while,” she said. ”We’re estimating about 4,000 people in the county in Phase 1B.”

She said the department vaccinated 405 educators in the county, covering all the schools.

She said this was a deviation from Gov. Gianforte’s plan, which was implemented after the department had already made plans and put commitments in place to vaccinate said educators in accordance with former Gov. Bullock’s vaccine roll-out plan, commitments they chose to honor with the blessing of the state.

From now on, she said, the department will stay within Gianforte’s plan for the vaccine roll-out.

Larson also said the county would follow the Gianforte’s lead when it came to public health mandates, and would not impose restrictions beyond what is already in place.

Gianforte recently rescinded his predecessor’s restrictions on business hours of operation and capacity, and Larson said Hill County’s COVID-19 case numbers don’t justify local restrictions beyond the governor’s new mandate.

She said she expects this, along with the further opening of Havre Public Schools, to result in a spike in cases but the department hopes to contain it and keep the numbers in the county low.

The resignation of Hill County Sanitarian-in-Training Will Lorett was also mentioned.

In a letter read in the Hill County Commission’s weekly business meeting later that day, Lorett says he regrets the position he put the county in with his departure, and appreciates the people he worked along side in his time there.

McLean lamented during the commission business meeting following the officials meeting that it has been a tough position to fill in the past.

The commission also discussed the possibility of creating a new and upgraded website for the county but the matter was ultimately tabled.

Peterson said they should take a look at their current contract with Montana Grafix, which is due to be renewed soon, and see if there is a way to get out of it if they decide to look for a new service for the potential new website.

McLean said the commission has no new board appointments yet, but the commission is setting up interviews with applicants.