Commissioners list concerns, issues to representative of Sen. Daines

The Hill County Commission met with a representative of Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., Wednesday and discussed local infrastructure needs, COVID-19 and their concerns with the U.S. southern border.

A Daines representative listened to the commissioners and said he would take their comments and concerns back to the senator.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said the area has increasingly apparent infrastructure needs including road repairs, equipment that is becoming increasingly expensive, and county buildings that need updates, including the Hill County Courthouse.

Peterson said addressing these needs through things like the American Rescue Plan Act and other legislation passed and pending has become problematic due to unclear rules for what money can be spent on.

“We’re trying to make a recipe and we don’t even know if we have the ingredients,” he said.

He said projects like the St. Mary Diversion, local lift stations and the industrial park are being talked about, as it seems like the money now available for infrastructure may be the last significant amount of funds the area will have access to for the next decade.

Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean said she’s also concerned about the deadlines for programs like ARPA, which she said seem very tight.

She said putting out projects like the ones they need done takes a long time and they feel constrained by the stipulations in ARPA.

Peterson said this is made even more difficult by the fact that seemingly every respectable engineering firm in the U.S. is working full tilt on projects all over the place.

He said Bear Paw Development Corp. in Havre has been extremely busy helping the county with everything they’re working on and he can’t say enough good things about the job they’ve been doing.

However, he said, the cost of construction is getting out of control, in both the private and public sector.

Another big concern brought up by commissioners Peterson and McLean was that of the U.S. southern border.

McLean said the state of the southern border is contributing to Montana’s drug crisis, and Peterson lamented that the northern and southern borders were being treated differently, with the southern border open and the northern border closed.

The northern and southern border were treated identically, with the Trump administration closing both to nonessential travel.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Oct. 12 that the department will begin to allow fully vaccinated travelers to enter the United States across both borders.

Peterson also lamented Wednesday the state of the county when it comes to COVID-19, which he said is putting a significant strain on the health care system.

He said the Hill County Health Department is persevering impressively despite the massive job they have to do.

However, he said, he’s concerned with some of the vitriol public health is encountering at the hands of members of the public who have allowed their strongly held opinions to become anger.

“I’m afraid of where we’re headed,” Peterson said.