The Jefferson Local Development Corporation (JLDC) on Oct. 29 presented a plan to pursue an additional $200,000 in grant funding for the clean-up of the so-called Cottage Five on the former Montana Developmental Center’s South Campus, another step toward the possible conversion of the building into a county health facility.
“This is a new opportunity, and we didn’t necessarily anticipate being able to get more funding from Brownfields,” said Jefferson County Commission Chair Cory Kirsch. “Any opportunity we have to get more asbestos out of the building, regardless of what is eventually decided will be done with it, is a good thing.”
The project has already received a $426,500 commitment from the state Department of Environmental Quality under its own Brownfields Program to remediate asbestos in the century-old Cottage Five. The new grant, administered by the EPA, would come from a separate, competitive pool of federal dollars. The opportunity to apply for the grant arose because the EPA is allowing applicants for the first time to seek aid without fulfilling a match requirement.
“Cottage Five is very salvageable, even if we are unable to convert it to a new building for the health department,” said JLDC project coordinator Leah Lewis, who is coordinating planning for the renovation effort. “Even if they ultimately decide to tear the building down, this asbestos must be removed. So this grant is just an excellent opportunity, without any new costs for the County.”
The EPA Brownfields Program grant won’t be decided until the summer of 2025. Because asbestos abatement, due to the specialized equipment needed, is most reasonably done as a single task, Lewis said, Cottage Five probably won’t complete treatment until sometime in 2025.
The JLDC recently submitted a feasibility study for the conversion of Cottage Five into a health center that estimated total costs at about $3 million, roughly $980,000 less than an initial 2023 estimate suggested. But the asbestos removal effort has experienced additional, unexpected, and undisclosed costs that have given some Jefferson County Commissioners pause in regards to the project’s future.
“We really need to see if we get that historic preservation grant, and then the historic preservation tax credits, to know if we can afford to move forward or if it’s going to be too big a bite for the County,” said Kirsch. “Almost any money is too much money right now for a project like that. It’s a tight budget this year and next, and we need to get pretty far funded to pull it off because we don’t have much other money to throw at it.”
Jefferson County has already committed $280,000 of funding remaining from its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) receipts, which total roughly $2.3 million since 2021. $90,000 from an existing Department of Health and Human Services grant could also be allocated towards the conversion. The project now largely depends on the award of a Montana Historic Preservation grant, which would provide up to $500,000. Should the grant be awarded, JLDC could also potentially qualify for up to $625,000 of federal state historic tax credits. The remaining funding would need to be sourced from Jefferson County’s Local Assistance Tribal Consistency Fund, which could provide up to $800,000.
“This building is something we’re hopeful for,” said Jefferson County Public Health Supervisor Pam Hanna. “Not just for us, but for public health in this community. [The county health department] wouldn’t be occupying the entire building, and would be able to bring in other health care entities in with us. Our recent Community Health Improvement Plan identified mental and behavioral health, and healthcare access, as key priority areas for our county. This conversion aligns with improving access to those who need it.”
