Commission approves COVID-19 wastewater testing

At their regular business meeting Thursday the Hill County Commission approved a new security system for election documents and a task order allowing for testing local wastewater for COVID-19.

The commission approved a task order allowing the Hill County Health Department to conduct weekly tests of the wastewater for COVID-19.

Hill County Public Health Director and Health Officer Kim Berg said people tend not to report or even test for COVID-19 any more and testing wastewater for it will help the department get an idea of how prevalent it is in the community.

Berg said the state is discussing expanding to include testing for other diseases or even opioid levels, but for now they’re just looking at COVID-19.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said he hopes the state will expand their surveillance as it will allow the county to get a better idea of the problems going on in their community.

They also approved the department’s yearly public health emergency preparedness task order.

Berg said while this is essentially the same task order they have every year, the deliverables often change so the commission needs to approve it each year, unlike some other yearly task orders.

The commission also approved the Hill County Clerk and Recorder’s Office to install a new security system in their office which will require anyone using the room containing election documents to sign in and out and document their reasons for being there.

Hill County Clerk and Recorder Lexis Dixon said the Montana Secretary of State has told all counties that this is required unless they have auditable doorknobs to prevent any tampering.

Dixon said she will be issuing all members of her office individual key cards as well as a multi-factor code which they will need both of to sign in and out of the room.

The commission also approved John Chinadle to fill a seat on the Hill County Conservation District Board of Supervisors left by Tom Jurenka.

Peterson said Jurenka has been with the Conservation District as long as he can remember, thanked him for his years of service and said he hopes his successor can fill the void he will leave.

He said Chinadle will serve out the rest of Jurenka’s term before the seat is up for election at the beginning of 2025.

During public comment Peterson also said he had an informational item that wasn’t on the agenda, specifically that the county recently received a certificate of substantial completion for RSID 21, the septic system just north of the City of Havre’s wastewater plant.

He said RSID 21, which recently went through a major rebuild, has been inspected and is functioning.

He said they will be keeping a close eye on it for some time to make sure it continues to work without any issues, but outside of that it’s another project done for the county.

The commission also tabled the renewal of their lease with Tilleman Motor Co. for its Industrial Park building as there were some changes that the county attorney hasn’t had a chance to look at.

They also tabled a memorandum of agreement with Havre Trails as there is still necessary paperwork that hasn’t been shown to them yet.