Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 01.11.2005 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP JANUARY 11, 2005 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the COuncil Chambers and called to order by Mayor Ken Olson at 6:30 p.m. on January 11, 2005. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: __ Dick Fritzler _x_ Doug Poehls x Kate Stevenson x Mark Mace _x_ Gay Easton _x_ Daniel Dart x Jennifer Johnson x John Oakes OTHERS PRESENT: Mary Embleton Cal Cumin Steve Klotz Jean Kerr Terry Ruff Larry McCann J. T. Smith, Beartooth RC&D Public Input (three-minute limiO: Citizens may address the Council regarding any item of City business not on the agenda. The duration for an individual speaking under Public Input is limited to three minutes. While all comments are welcome, the Council will not take action on any item not on the agenda. · Four citizens raised objections to a zone change request filed for 904 Yellowstone Avenue. Fire Department: · Terry Ruff presented a resolution to increase call out pay for the fire department · Terry explained that the auditor's raised a concern that taxes were not withheld from the firemen's call out pay. · In the 2004-05 budget, an increase of $10,000 was budgeted for the fire department to raise the call out pay from $6.00 to $8.00 per call, per hour. o After taxes are withheld, the amount received should be close to $6.00 per mn, per hour. · Mary explained that the City of Laurel issues 1099's for firemen and contractors who are paid more than $600 per year. o Fire department fits more into the category of an employee, not a contractor. o City pays workers' compensation on the firemen. · Discussion regarding increase of $8.00 or $10.00 o Mayor Olson stated that the council could revisit the issue at any time. · The resolution for an increase in the fire department's call out pay from $6.00 to $8.00 will be on the January 18th council agenda. Council Workshop Minutes of January 11, 2005 Clerk-Treasurer: · Resolution- MMIA Employee Benefit Program representation o City of Laurel recently joined MMIA's state-wide health insurance pool. o Program allows the city to choose a local representative or have a member of MMIA's staff take on the responsibility. o Local representative, Dave Allen, has administered the city's plan and helped with issues for the past few years. o MMIA's premiums include $6.92 per employee per month as compensation for a representative. o Recommendation to designate Dave Allen as the local representative for the MMIA plan o MMIA prepared the documents, the city attorney reviewed the documents, and Dave Allen has agreed to be the representative. o Mark Mace affirmed the choice for a local representative. · Resolution - Memorandum of Understanding with Beartooth RC&D o Mary introduced J. T. Smith, the Economic Development Coordinator of Beartooth RC&D. · City of Laurel signs an annual Memorandum of Understanding with Beartooth RC&D, and the cost is $1,400. o J.T. Smith distributed information regarding the Beartooth Revolving Loan Fund, the First Time Homebuyer Education Classes, and the October 2004 Bear Facts Newsletter. o J.T. explained that the RC&D is a non-profit regional resource conservation and development district with the intent of promoting rural economies through conservation and natural resource development. · Beartooth RC&D has doubled its revolving loan fund to $2,000,000 over the past year. · He stated that the First Time Homebuyer Classes, held on the second Saturday of each month, have been exploding here in Laurel. o J. T. requested the council's e-mail addresses in order to send the quarterly newsletter on a regular basis. o City of Laurel obtained a Rural Business Opportunity Grant last year for an appraisal and some assessments of South 4th Street. · Resolution to amend the contract price with Olness & Associates for auditing o Auditors were here the week before Christmas, and the audit went well. o City of Laurel entered into a three-year contract with Olness & Associates three years ago. o The contract price three years ago for this final year of the contract was for $9,500. o Auditors have put in more man-hours and done additional work due to single auditing purposes and the GASB 34 requirements. o Fee increased to $12,100, and a resolution will be on the January 18th council agenda to approve that contract amendment. Citv Court: · Resolution - contractor agreement with High and Dry FloodBusters 2 Council Workshop Minutes of January 11, 2005 · Judge Jean Kerr explained the resolution authorizing the mayor to sign the agreement and change order with High and Dry FloodBusters. · High and Dry FloodBusters completed the cleaning for the mold so the court could move to the remodeled building. o Hard surfaces were cleaned with sporocides and Hepa-vacuumed. o The company worked closely with Lyndon Sears, of Northern Industrial Hygienists. · Jean received names of three companies from Lyndon Sears, o High & Dry Floodbusters was the preferred company and they gave the lowest bid. o One company did not get back to her, and the other company's bid was $9,700. · High and Dry FloodBuster's bid of $2,800 was for the cleaning. o A change order increased the total bill to $3,106.37. o Change order included moving some office furniture, heavy files, and the safe, purchase of four canisters of Sporocidin anti-microbial wipes for future day-to- day maintenance and cleaning, and an additional 3¼ hours of cleaning labor. · Discussion regarding presentation of the contract after completion of the work o Mayor stated that consideration should be noted that when the project was started, the council was informed that certain costs would be brought forward at the end of the construction period. ~ He stated that, at that time of the discussion, the council authorized the mayor to have change orders at the end. o He stated that the project was very intense and was very constricted in time. o Mayor Olson expressed appreciation to all who worked to resolve the situation. · A resolution will be on the January 18th council agenda. Public Works Department: · Ordinance for the creation of a Tree Board ~ Steve Klotz stated that thc first reading of the ordinance would bc on January 18th, the public hearing would be on February 1st. · The requirements to become a Tree City include: o Creation of a Tree Board o Tree Care Ordinance and designating the Tree Board o Spending $2.00 per capita annually on tree care and providing for an annual proclamation of Arbor Day. · This ordinance is basically the key piece needed to complete the application to become a Tree City. o Steve will present the annual Arbor Day Proclamation in two weeks. · A Tree City qualifies for a $400 Arbor Day Grant, while a non-Tree City qualifies for only a $150 grant. · There are good reasons to be a Tree City other than grants. o Training from DNRC o The care o£our trees is a primary reason. · Discussion regarding trees in boulevards and city parks · Discussion regarding Section 12.32.220 - Arborists License and Bond 3 Council Workshop Minutes of January 11, 2005 o No staff member is a qualified arborist, but we are in the process of acquiring a $300 grant to provide training and complete the required testing to become a certified arborist Discussion regarding the need for additional trees of different varieties and types to supplement the current trees that are the same age and species. Gay Easton has been working with the county extension agent and the Yellowstone Conservation Dislrict to acquire seedlings at a minimal cost. Court Move · Steve stated that the council boxes would be relocated in the old court office. · The mayor's office will be in the back office, and tables will be put in the front room. · In the near future, computer terminals will be available there for the council's use. · Council members need to get a key to enter the office. Public Utilities Department: · Larry McCann explained the resolution for the Preliminary Engineering Storm Water Grant. o Grant requires a $15,000 match and the state will grant the City of Laurel $15,000 for a city-wide storm sewer study. · The current storm water system has basically been in two different operations, and a plan needs to be developed to pull those together. · The storm sewer study is a requirement for the city to receive any future grants for storm water. · The study will be a city-wide storm water plan. · Methods to correct the exposed culverts up and down the avenues will be priorities, as they need to be corrected. · The plan should fit with the Waste Water Facility Plan and the proposed Water Facility Plan, which will be presented to the council soon. o The concepts for those plans are for the next twenty years, and the planning area for storm water needs to follow the same concept. · Storm water currently drains into the Laurel Drain Ditch. o City of Laurel is currently under the population levels that require treatment of storm water. · The resolution will be on the January 18th council agenda. Planning Board issues: · Zone change request for Tract A, C.S. 826 (904 Yellowstone) from Residential Manufactured Home to Residential Tracts. (Public hearing on January 18, 2005.) o Cai Cumin stated that planning board held a public hearing and recommended approval. o The zone change request is for a large tract of land of four acres. o The owner has requested the ability to have animals on the site and has requested a change to the residential tracts, which the city recently changed as a result of the East Maryland issue. o The surrounding neighborhood strenuously objects, and there is a legal protest to the zone change request. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of January 11,2005 o Jenny Johnson suggested that the conncil drive out and view the property prior to the public hearing. o John asked if the request was for 4.60 acres, and stated that it would come under spot zoning, which is not recommended any place. · John expressed surprise that it was recommended and stated that it is wrong. o Cai stated that spot zoning is a very specialized area of zoning law. · The City of Laurel has a provision in its ordinance that, in order to apply for a zone change when located alone in a "spot", the land has to be at least a city block in size. · The applicant has 4.6 acres of land. · If the land size is smaller than a city block, then it is spot zoning where one lot in a block is being requested as zoning. · Cai stated that this is not spot zoning, as it is 4.6 acres of land. · Cai stated that it is just the introduction of a new zone. o John stated that it is spot zoning as far as he is concerned. Zone change for a portion of proposed Solid Foundations Subdivision (C.S. 1330) from Residential Tracts Zone to R6000. (Public hearing on January 18, 2005.) o Solid Foundations Subdivision has requested preliminary plat approval, approval of the requested zone change, and annexation to the city. · City ordinance allows for these things to take place concurrently and that is being requested. o Dan Dart asked if the zone change is for just a portion of the subdivision, as the original plat looks like there were two pieces. o Cai explained that there are two certificates of survey that comprise the whole subdivision area, the north and the south one. · The zone change is needed only for the north certificate of survey, and the zoning on the south portion will remain the same. Determine projects for CTEP assistance o Cai needs direction in order to submit the application and get the project moving. o Cai distributed information regarding three proposed projects. · Information regardi~n~ four proposed projects was distributed at the public hearing on January 4 . · With four proposed projects, we are short $31,643. · The south side pedestrian access and signage project, which deals with the intersection of 4th South and South 1st Avenue, will be affected by the agreement Cenex and MRL reach regarding the Corner. · This project could be delayed for now. o Cai distributed information regarding three proposed CTEP projects, and a copy is attached to these minutes. · The three proposed projects include the 1st Street sidewalk, Thomson Park north side sidewalk, and the Nutting Park sidewalk. · The total cost for each project, engineering costs, the proposed CTEP contributions, and SID funds are shown on the sheet. 5 Council Workshop Minutes of January 11, 2005 o · With the three proposed projects, $16,148 of CTEP funds would remain available. Cal and Sam will prepare a resolution for the January 18th council agenda. Labor/Management Cooperation Committee: * No discussion Attorney: · Explanation of conflict of interest · Sam presented an update on the situation with the conflict of interest charge that was filed with the county attorney's office in regards to the development company. · Sam stated that nothing has changed and there have been no additional filings against the city council members regarding the development company. · The opinion of Deputy County Attorney Gillen remains that there is no conflict of interest, and the public hearing in regard to the zone change for Solid Foundations remains on track. · Jenny Johnson asked for an explanation of the involvement in business, profit or non- profit. · Sam stated that the State conflict of interest statute mentions that leaders who are elected cannot serve on corporations or non-profit corporations; however, the heart of the matter is whether financial compensation is received from the corporation or the non-profit corporation. o If the answer is yes, there is a conflict of interest. o If there is a conflict of interest, it does not mean a member cannot participate or vote. o It means the member has to disclose at the meeting to the remaining council members that he/she has a conflict of interest because of the salary or whatever is received from the corporation. o Once the conflict is disclosed, the member can go ahead and participate and vote. o In this situation where some members sit on a non-profit board, they do not receive any compensation whatsoever. · You do not get expenses, per diem, or mileage. · Sam does not believe there is a conflict of interest. · So when this comes for a vote, he does not think they have to reveal anything to anyone because no compensation is received. · Until we learn differently or get something filed that says something differently, his recommendation is to proceed. · Dan Dart stated that, at the legislative level, members are not in a situation where they are advancing or forwarding a cause on which they would vote. · Sam stated that the legislature does have the ability to go to a panel to determine if a conflict of interest exists. o Sam gave an example of a case of a county commissioner in Great Falls that served as a non-profit corporation board member whose non-profit corporation actually received money from the county every year through a county grant and he was paid some compensation from that non-profit corporation, so there was personal benefit. 6 Council Workshop Minutes of January 11, 2005 · The opinion and determination was that a conflict of interest existed. · However, he was allowed to participate and vote because he disclosed the information to the remaining commissioners. · That opinion remains effective, having never being modified or replaced. · The statute requires members to reveal to the public a situation where there is a conflict of interest. · Dan asked whether revealing that there is a conflict of interest allows a member to abstain from the vote. o Members of an appointed board, or a legislative body, cannot abstain from voting. · Sum stated that is generally the accepted principle. · Dan asked how planning board members abstained from voting and where that leaves this in coming to the city council. · Sum was not present and did not advise the city-county planning board. o In his opinion, the members should have voted since no conflict of interest was revealed or existed. o The council has the record of the Planning Board and its recommendation. o It is up to the council to utilize the evidence gathered and submitted by the Planning Board with its recommendations to apply it to the criteria listed in the city code when the decision is made, after the public is allowed to present evidence at the public hearing. · John Oakes stated that a small group of individuals serve on different boards and committees. o John said that, in a case like this, there were so many people serving on committees that wanted this piece of legislation passed and they overrode the other people who objected to it. o He stated that there are not enough people serving on the boards that are interlocking and are coming into play in the sume arena a lot of times. Executive review: · Mayor Olson stated that a portion of the council might not be present during the decision- making process regarding the zone change requests. o He distributed copies of Ordinance No. O98-01 at the previous council workshop. o Ordinance No. O98-01 clearly states that the council can, by unanimous decision, set a date for an issue. · If the council does not decide to set a specific date, the decision will be scheduled at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. · At the time of the meeting, the decision will be made by the members present. · If six council members are present, a super majority of four would be required for approval. · If seven council members are present, a super majority of five would be required for approval. · Mayor Olson stated that it is important to understand that the decision is predicated on the number of people present at the council meeting, and not the council as a whole. 7 Council Workshop Minutes of January 11, 2005 Resolutions: * Resolutions will be on the January 18th council agenda. Ordinance:~ · Ordinance - creation of the Tree Board · Mayor Olson stated that this important step will make a difference in the quality of life for residents of the City of Laurel. Announcements: · Jenny Johnson stated that it was good to see Mayor Olson back. · Kate Stevenson mentioned the Swimming Pool Committee meeting on Thursday, January 13th, at 5:00 p.m. in the council chambers. Attendance at the January 18th council meetin~ Mark Mace and Dick Fritzler will not attend. Other: None The council workshop adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen Council Secretary NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of the Council for the listed workshop agenda items. 8 ON¥ S~JlYJ.S B31N30 Z MOUNTAIN NOIdl/WHO THE COUNTRY CORNER ANVd~'IO0 ~J O' q),OO),J eeq 'MMM//: d:l.:l.t. ". ?~. m go. \ ~ · ,. ~ VOt*UME 4 ISSUE 4  rtooth Resource Conservat on & Develn Where We Work and Play - IOessens Funding for Community Facilities The USDA Rural Development recently announced that funding through the Community Facilities program is available m rural communities. The funding is dedicated to hel~.build stronger, more vibrant rural communities. The funding is available in low interest, long term loans to enable communities to make needed improvements, while minimizing the annual debt obligation. Projects which are eligible for Community Facilities loans are Health Care, Public Safety, Telecommunications (for medical and educa- tional) and Public Services. A special program emphasis this year is Emergency Services. A vex'/small amount of grant funding is available in Montana in conjunction with the loan funding. Beartooth staffhas expressed a will. ingness to assist communities in accessin~ this program. Last year, USDA allocated over $300 million dollars to important community projects. The local contact for USDA Rural Development is Shad Weber at 657-6527 Ext 125 or James Klessens at Beartooth RC&D at 962-3914. Above~ The F,d~r and tb~ Colum~ ~ire Stations EDA Reanthorizatlon Passes Congress. Smith Montana Applauds Retention of District Planning Program The Senate, by unanimous consent, and the House by an overwhelming vote of 388~31, adopted a multiffear reauthotization package (S. 1134) for the Economic Development Ad- ministration (EDA). This bill had the Montana Economic Developers Azsociation (MEDA) in gasps of anticipation as to its approval this early October. The measure contains a $3 million funding increase for the planning program for Economic Development District. It is important to note that funding for the planning program author- ised in the bill establishes a minimum funding level in which "not lass than $27,000,000 shall be made available for grants.' According to the Senate report, "This increase should allow EDA to provide funding to designated but unfunded Districts, as well as new Districts and increase funding to currently funded Districts." The measure increases thg overall authori- zation level for the agency to $400 million in fiscal 2004 and rising to $500 million in the bill's final year, fiscal year 2008. The final legis. lation places a new emphasis on workforce development and the use o~c technology in the economic development planmng process. Highlights of the Bill include: Improving agency performance in rural America: Highlights the President's commitment to re- sults by providing the Secretary of Commerce with new authofiv/to reward outstanding per- formance by grant recipients who excel in carry. ing out projects that create jbbs; ~tlnued en page 5 What ever happened to those 56 patriots that signed thc Declara- tion of Independence - Page 5 Remember to Votol! Inside this issue: Taking Value Added to ~re 2 Next Level Beartoolh 8~uclum, Ps.em 3 and Programs Where We've Been... 4 ............ Whafs Ahead Bse~teolh Incmeses Loan Fund 5 by $1 Millionll Tirnberweki CDBG Grant 5 Awmded Greater Stlllwater County 6 Chamber Cresf~e Fundraising Board of Directors Cily Of Re~ Lodge C~-of s~ Tm~er Montana Is Still All About Agriculture - ~ Taking Value Added 'To The Next Level o[ Product/on USDA Rural Development has granted funcls, eo~peratively with Montana State UhiversiV/and Regional Development Corpo- rations to fund a new rural agriculture econ, in the eastern, north.~ em regions of the stat with agrienlmre exten economic developme~ ~rogram to aid and assist in the securRy of ~mies. In Montana, 5 Centers were created m~al, south central, central, and northwest- These positions will work cooperatively ~ion offices as well as all othee business and agencies. The MAIC program focuses on creating and keeping jobs in rural America, and keeping our agri- culture products prodhced, packaged, and marketed' in Montana. The USDA, Montana State University and Beartooth RC&D together have set goa~ and objectives for the Agriculture Innova- t/on Program. : From the farm gale on, the Montana Agriculture innovation Coordinator for your area strives to enable agriculturalists to de- velop entrepreneurial ~ldlls in diversifying Montana's rural agrlcul- rare economies. The program also is to provide ~a'alned profession- als to assist local agricultural entrepreneurs. Currently many prc~ jects are underway in Lq the South Central Center. These projects are focused on addin~ value to agriculture producers~ packers, and marketing business'. Value-Added production is "increasing the bundle of benefits rather than dropping the price", which means agriculture innovation and value-added agriculture includes but is not limited to larming and ranching of commodity crops and livestock as well as small thick farms where irmova~ors differentl. are their products by qualit% form, place, time, and ease of ptu~ chasing. This in tutuI creates more value directly to the farmer and not the middle man Ir sources outside our economy.: Staying ahead of the commoc~ty production and pricing structure is key to retaining higher valuas in agriculture production. Additional proje{ts underway include producing compost from forest hazardous fuels, natural beef, buffalo, pork ranchers, organic herb growers, U-Pick truck farms, on-farm wind energy, annual Red Lodge Farmers Market, oil seed refinement, and a director'/of local producers for public distribution Just to name a ~ne successful project this year was our first farmers mar- ket tgcated in Red Lodge. Keeping in mind, the first 6 weeks of a developing market, our farmers market met our expecta- tions for beginning success. This new market place has set the ground work for the years to come allowing local producers another oudet to market their innovative agriculture products locally. We regularly had a minimum of 6 agriculture vendors this season and already have signed on an additional 3 for ne~t season. Three of the six agriculture producers continued their sales to local stores and restaurants in the area during and after the market closed. Additional information regarding the MAIC is available by contacting Ghas Holt at 861-6395. The National Association of Development Ocganitations (NADO) ~it~ support flora the W. IL Kellog FouMaaan recentl~ released the ~esults [fora the EForara: The Pube o£ ~mall Torch atld RtwalAmerica. More than 200 re. gioned development professionals and k~cal go~emment off. ~ials, flora across the nation, were led tMough a series of quest/ora da~iag NADO's August 2004 Training Confer. ence in OdaMo, b'bt/da. The ~es:dts of the questions rdated to affnc~ture strongb support the corxept that "mral Amer. ica (and Montana) is still ali about affriculmre'. Do .you agree that agriculture,related pro- dnation and industry is a viable ec, onoruic development strategy for your ragton! 62% Very much agree 27% Moderately agree 10% Do not at all agree 2% No impact Which of the following is the primary indu~ try in you. r region? 28% Agrsculeure . . 5% Educational xnstttutiom 7% Government fact/ties 5% Health care 0% High, tech businesses 27% Manufacturing 8% Namrabresource baaed businesses 16% Retail/serviea sector 4% Tourism 1% Other More in£ormatio~ on EForm~ and a complete record :o£ tile res~dt~ can be accessed bv go/~g to fittla~//~,w~,.nado, org/aadorto/e[omm.taml Did You Know?..... U, g et or blended fuel is one of the easiest ways you can help reduce air pollution and our dependence on imported oil. Volume 4 Issue 4 Beartoo Increases Loan Fund by 81 Bea~tooth's ability to assist local businasses tuok a Heat leap forward recently with two award s totaling $1,000,000 to the revolv- ing loan fund (KLF3. The fund~ come from the USDA-Ruml Development's Intermediary Relanding P~ogram and the Montana Board of Investments. The funding comes in the form of a long term, low interest loan. Beartooth, as the intermediary, will relend these funds to businesses in the region with the intent of stimulating economic activity. One of the primary goals of Beartooth has been that of providing access to capital for start up and expanding businesses. Bearc(~ tooth CI~O Jim White was elated at the news of the award, "This addition to our c~pital pool will allow us to participate in more deals." As with the other loan products managed by Beartooth, RLF loans axe made in conjunction with a participating lender. Thks method of gap finance is designed to help projects move forward in the developtuen[ of their business and with an ongoing relatiousbi- ship with their bank. White continued, "As most of our deal flow comes from local banks, this award should be good news to local lenders too.' Persons interested in the RLF should contact Jim White at 962-3914. Application materials arc also available on-line at www.beartooth.ore. Beartonth ks an Equal Opportunity Lender. Timberweld CDBG Gra t Awarded. In October, the Montana Department of Commerce an- nounced that an economic development grant was awarded to Stillwater County for the Timbetweld Manufacturing project. The $400,000 in CDBG funding has been granted to the County to assist the long time Columbus company in an expan- sion effort. The County, with Beartooth RC&D as the admini~ trator, will loan funds to Timbetweld to expand the manufactur. lng facility, purchase equipment and provide working eapitai~ This expansion will allow the company to maintain competitive- ness in an increasingly difficult market place. Timbetweld markets, manufactures and delivers laminated structural wood beams, arches, and roof ~/stem component~ throughout the United States. The company established in 1957 in Columbus employs 52 people when operating to full capacity. The American Institute of Timber Constmction/ckes Timberweld as the oldest qualified laminator in the United States. The implementation of this project will be carried out over the next 18 montlm. EDA ]Reauthorization Bill. continued from page 1 EconOrtuc P/arming: Reflects the Administration's support fo~ regional collaboration for thinking strategically about how com- munities can position themselves to compete in a worldwide economy, with particular focus on strategies for manufacturing. intensive communities and for deploying broadband technology. Streamlining in~tment process; Advances the President's inifia. tive to simplify and streamline governraent procedures by redue- ins paperwork for grant recipients and removing barriers for non-profit and faith-based organizations to participate in eco~ nomic development activities. A large thank you to the Montana congressional delegation and their staff, for their support to encourage adoption of this bill to promote the continuation of positive economic develop ment phrming here in Montana and the Beartooth region. Questions regarding the EDD may be directed to JT Smith, Eco- nomic Development Coordinator smithit~beartooth.otR 604 West l~ont Street, PO Box 180, Joliet, MT 59041 ~o=~ '4~6~3914 ~ ~96~47 h~://~.beaRooth.o~ inf~bea~oo~.o~ U.S. POSTAGE PAID JOLIET, MT 59041 PERMIT NO. 10 If you would like to receive this newsletter electronically please contact us at info@beartooth.org Using the Past to!Fund the Future - Cunv Greater Stillwater Chamber Creative Fundrai ing In the tradition of rUral enterprise, the Greater stillwater County Chamber of Commerce has joined ~i, ith resources throughout the Region, including Beastooth, to begin the fundraising fgr construction of a Lewis and Chrk Interpretive/Visitor Infor- mation Center just a sllort distance from the 1-90 exit. A generous contribution by Yellowstone Bank 0f the copyright permission for 10 of their permanent collection of art by renowned artist, Bemasd Thomas, has opened up a fundraising venture by a special committee of the Chamber, Limited editions of these historical pieces ~e being printed and are available for sale in sets of 10 (one of ~Winter Quarters on the Yellowstone~- Image Size 10.5~X 23' each print) or individually. ( Set of 10- $500 / Individual- $60 each) These prints may be purchased by contacting GSC Chamber at 406!3224505, An additional showcase of larger than llfe bronzes depicting the 5 major enter- prises that helped form the economy and social structure of Stillwater County, will grace the garden surrounding the new Center. Johnson and Sons are the sculptors and foundry for these bromes and will be selling sets of smaller renditions of the statues in Columbus. Information on the bronze is available by contacting Randy Johnson, at "c~os~i~-g the Yellowstone" - Image Size 10.5" X 28~ 406-256-7114 or 406-3~5-2390.