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Commission moving to dissolve inactive Meadowlark water and sewer district

In addition to voting at their weekly business meeting Thursday on a resolution to allow the county to devote American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Box Elder Water and Sewer System for a planning grant, the Hill County Commission will be discussing the possible dissolution of the Meadowlark County Water and Sewer District.

Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean said the district has been non-functional for some time now, and the commission is looking into the proper procedure for dissolving a district of this kind.

McLean said the process will likely require public notices or meetings with people in the area so it’s very unlikely that the commission will actually vote on a resolution to dissolve Thursday.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said years ago Meadowlark Estates had planned to put in a water and sewer system and applied to become a district, but later decided against creating said system, making the district inactive.

Peterson said because the district was inactive it was not reporting anything to the state and has since racked up some penalties and the commission found that the easiest way to negate those penalties was to dissolve the district.

He said the commission originally thought it would be a simple process and that they'd be able to dissolve it with a resolution Thursday, but it's since become clear that it is a more involved process and the matter will likely be tabled until proper procedure is followed.

He said the commission will be talking with the state about how to dissolve the district in line with Montana state law soon.

McLean said the commission will also be voting Thursday on a resolution that will allow them to contribute ARPA funds to the Box Elder Water and Sewer Systems.

The commission has been discussing the allocation of ARPA funds for the past few months as guidance on its use has become more clear and these discussions have included contributions to water projects in places like Box Elder and Hingham.

 

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