HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Hill County Commission held a public hearing on Wednesday morning and voted unanimously to approve a ‘General Mutual Release and Settlement Agreement’ with Lodestar Development, LLC, and Magpie Hills, LLC.
The settlement will see Hill County pay the plaintiff $10,000. According to Commissioner Diane McLean, funds will be paid via their MACo insurance dollars for errors and omissions, with any excess funds coming from their general fund.
The plaintiffs sued Hill County in District Court in December 2021 after the Commission approved a subdivision survey with conditions that the developer viewed as unfeasible.
The subdivision is located east of Havre, just south of US-2, north of County Road 440, and east of 32nd Avenue East.
The settlement is not finalized yet. In late July, there will be a public meeting to amend and address the preliminary plat application, which will lead to the creation of a final plat.
Appearing at the hearing virtually were Tara DePuy and Susan Swimley, Attorneys with the Montana Association of Counties (MACo).
Attending the hearing in-person were the Hill County Commissioners, Mike Winchell of Lodestar Development, and his Counsel, Attorney Andrew Adamek.
All of the attorneys in the meeting urged the County Commission to approve the agreement.
“I just simply want to encourage the County to sign the document and follow through with the negotiated settlement,” said Adamek. “As we’ve demonstrated already and through public comment, those lots that make sense for connection to public sewer and joining the sewer district will do so. And the remainder lots will be subject to appropriate regulations for on-site septic, as well as water. And I believe the terms of this agreement are in the best interest of, I respectfully say, the County, its citizens, as well as my client. It’s a reasonable resolution, and the County is to move forward in compliance with its own subdivision regulations, as the applicants still have to establish conditions of approval. before they receive final plat. So the public remains protected in the process. Their interests remain spoken for as we move forward with complying with these preliminary conditions of approval resulting in an appropriately approved final plat, eventually.”
“There were some irregularities in the subdivision process, and it’s best for all parties involved to correct those regularities,” said Swimley. “We will be presenting before you a revised staff report that is consistent with the terms of the agreement and meets the requirements.”
The settlement also ends and resolves the enforcement action from the County regarding lot 1, which is not part of the subdivision.
According to the agreement, the settlement is not an admission of liability.
The agreement is public record. A copy of it can be viewed here.
