HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Hill County Commission held their regular weekly business meeting on Thursday morning and approved a series of agenda items.
The Commission was notified of two retirements of employees with the Hill County Sheriff’s Office. Transport Officer Jeremy Schmidt and Dispatch/Civil Secretary Ilene Parsons will be leaving the Office at the end of the calendar year. Smith has worked at the Sheriff’s Office for 24 years, while Parsons has worked there for a decade.
In Smith’s retirement letter, written to Sheriff Jamie Ross, he says his decision to retire was due to health reasons, and added that, “I would have continued to work, but headaches at the end of the week were just too much after the last inmate assault. I just hope to pass on my knowledge that I have acquired over the years to the younger staff and hope that they will learn from my experience of what to do and what not to do.”
Also at the meeting, by a 2-1 vote, the Commission approved having the Great Northern Fairgrounds Office Building assessed by Newfields Co. LLC via contract with Bear Paw Development to check for asbestos and mold. The dissenting vote came from Mike Wendland, who said he didn’t have enough information about Newfields Co. LLC to approve the agenda item.
This comes after a fall 2019 snowstorm caused severe damage to the roof of the building. The assessment comes at no cost to the county thanks to the Brownsfields EPA program. However, if mold or asbestos is found in the building, the County could be on the hook to pay for fixing the issues. The building is currently unused, but the Fair Board has discussed potentially using it for storage at some point.
Other action taken at the meeting:
- Approval of a budget amendment adding over $73,000 to the Health Department’s budget via CARES Act funding
- Accepting a Maternal Childhood Healthcare Block Grant of over $20,000 for the Health Department
