Recently we Jefferson County Commissioners have been getting a number of questions about some of the projects we are working on. It has become obvious that most people have little or no knowledge about what their local government is doing. This has been an issue forever. It seems that about every time we make a decision that impacts more than a few people, we have folks coming out and saying they didn’t know anything about what we were doing and why didn’t we let them know.
To fix that, I set out to write this “state of the county” report for the residents of Jefferson County. I thought maybe I could explain some of the issues we deal with and a bit of the history of our economic development efforts over many years. It can be difficult to talk about one project at a time, because many of the things we work on are tied together in some way. I hope I can explain our local government in a way that makes sense to folks without boring everyone to death.
How local government works
Local government works best when the public is involved. The public needs to be informed to be involved, and in that regard I have not done a really great job. I go to a lot of meetings and talk about some of the projects we are working on, but often I am talking to the same people. As a result there are 30-40 folks that may have some understanding of what we are looking at, but that is a pretty small group when you consider the size of our county.
Legally, we are required to make decisions at our regularly scheduled meetings after an item has been placed on the agenda and properly noticed. Legally, we can do that by posting our agendas in several pre-selected posting places at least 48 hours prior to the meeting, yet we go way beyond that. With few exceptions, all of our agendas are posted at the public posting places, as well as appearing in the county’s two newspapers about a week before the meeting.
Once in a while we have items that come up that need to be dealt with in a timely manner after the agenda has gone to the newspapers. In such cases, we do an amended agenda that is posted in the public locations. We are also trying to get our agendas and other information out on social media.
Yet even after those efforts, I think most county residents have no idea about what is going on in their local government. The most common comments we get from residents that didn’t know about something include “Why didn’t you send me a letter?” “I don’t read the newspaper,” or “I don’t do the internet or Facebook.”
So even though we go above and beyond what is legally required of us to provide notice, it appears that it falls far short of being sufficient. So a big question becomes, “Is the County Commission obliged to ensure that every county citizen is made aware of every decision, or are the citizens of the county obliged to stay informed about their local government?”
Jefferson County is very diverse. We have Whitehall in the south served by the Whitehall Ledger, Boulder in the middle served by the Boulder Monitor, and north county communities that have no dedicated news source and whose residents identify more with Helena and Lewis and Clark County than with Jefferson County.
For the most part, folks in Elk Park are more affiliated with Butte than with Jefferson County, but Elk Park does have a very defined sense of community. The same is true for the southeast corner of the county that is closer to Willow Creek and Three Forks.
Because we are required by law to have a “newspaper of record” for the publication of legal notices for the county, every two years we put out a request for the county’s two newspapers to bid for it. However, in Jefferson County, we publish all of our legal notices in both newspapers, so being the county’s “Newspaper of Record” isn’t a real big benefit.
Not everyone in the Boulder area subscribe to the Monitor. The same is true for the Ledger in the Whitehall area. We would like to figure out a way to provide the public with better notification of what we are doing and working on. If folks have ideas, please let us know.
Development takes time – and good timing
I think most folks understand that economic development generally takes a long time. Timing also plays a huge role in whether something happens or not, as well as being prepared.
In the 1990s, when the State of Montana decided it needed to build a private prison, we decided to see if we could be a player. At that time, we had an Economic Development Committee. We talked with several firms that had expressed interest in the prison project. A company from Florida, called Wackenhut Security, came to Jefferson County for a couple days. We showed them several different sites throughout the county that we thought might work for a prison. We held three public meetings countywide. In the end, they bid to locate the site in Shelby. They told me that we had a beautiful county and this would have been their number one choice, except that we had no infrastructure and Shelby did. The guy I spoke with said that if we wanted to attract a big business, we would need to have something to offer other than scenery.
That experience was the main driver for the creation of the Jefferson Local Development Corporation. Glenna Obie, a commissioner at the time, and Scott Mendenhall, our economic development extension agent, were instrumental in getting JLDC up and running. The prison experience was also a big driver for the creation of the Tax Increment Finance District (TIFD) at Golden Sunlight Mine and the one at the north end by Tri County Disposal. These districts let us provide the infrastructure for businesses that will locate there. Several new businesses have set up in the south TIFD and the north TIFD is sold out.
In the early 2000s, when I wasn’t a commissioner, JLDC nearly had a Cabela’s store at Cardwell. The land was donated and ready to go when Cabela’s had a shakeup in leadership and the new leadership decided to focus on bigger communities rather than smaller ones. Our timing on that one was just a little off.
A couple of years ago, after the construction on Highway 69 south of Boulder, the landowner of the gravel pit just outside town was apparently willing to donate the property to the city for a community pond and park. We spent too much time talking about it instead of finalizing plans, and when the landowner passed away the family decided to keep the property. Again, we had a timing issue.
Putting Jefferson County on the map
After the layoff of 140 folks at Golden Sunlight Mine a few years ago, followed by the closure of the Montana Developmental Center (MDC) in Boulder and the accompanying loss of 250 jobs, we tried to focus on projects that could be accomplished sooner rather than later.
One of the first things we looked at was how to get people into our existing Main Street businesses. More than 60% of Jefferson County is on Federal land, so we have many recreation opportunities. We also have numerous events during the year. We decided we needed someone who could help promote recreation and help organize and promote existing and new events. We hired Bruce Binkowski, former Executive Director of the Holiday Bowl, a major college football bowl game. Bruce has worked on a countless number of major events, including college bowl games, two Super Bowls, two World Series and a major league All-Star game. He has done a tremendous job promoting everything Jefferson County.
Bruce and Events Assistant Hollie Woods, GIS Manager Melissa Morris and Planner LaDana Hintz have done a lot of work promoting Jefferson County. Bruce has put together a brochure about Jefferson County, listing places to eat and places to stay. These brochures are now being included in packets going to participants to every event that happens in Jefferson County, such as the Butte 100 and the Governor’s Cup.
The Butte 100 is run mostly in Jefferson County and in the past we have gotten no recognition. Now people are learning about where the race is actually run. The Governor’s Cup has been starting in Clancy, so Bruce sees that everyone involved is informed about Jefferson County. The team has launched the website discoverjeffersonmt.org to list recreation, dining, lodging and events in the county. Bruce also manages the Jefferson County Recreation Park/Fairgrounds and has set up the ability to make reservations for various functions on the website.
Bruce’s function is not to put on events, but to help existing and new groups with events that could bring folks into our communities. New events this year include a circus in June in Whitehall and Boulder, and a week’s long Halloween event in both Whitehall and Boulder. For the latter event, Bruce’s brother Jon, CEO of Renaissance Entertainment from Orlando, Florida, has agreed to donate his time if we will cover his direct expenses to help our local volunteers in creating displays for the Halloween events. Jon designs and manages theme parks all over the world, and his clients include Disney, Universal Studios, Six Flags and SeaWorld.
The vital role of the JLDC
Following the decision to shut down the MDC, Boulder, working with the JLDC, formed the Boulder Transition Advisory Committee (BTAC). This group meets at 8 a.m. the first Thursday of each month, and seldom do fewer than 20 people attend. At their February meeting, I believe 21 attended when it was minus-23 degrees. I think that shows a huge interest in what is happening in Boulder as it transitions from being an “institutional town” to rebranding themselves and moving forward to a brighter future.
Boulder is somewhat landlocked, in that a great deal of surrounding land is agricultural or public, so it has been somewhat limited in its ability to expand. A large landowner is willing to help, but there is no infrastructure across I-15 to the west. We have done a lot of work researching various scenarios that may enhance business opportunities in that area that I will discuss later.
JLDC is a private 501c(6) corporation with 45 dues-paying members and a board elected by those members. Currently, Alison Richardson and Tom Harrington co-manage JLDC. Both of them are economic development county extension agents who are in contact every day with folks with ideas about new businesses or doing something with their existing business. Some ideas work out and move forward and others don’t. JLDC has had a hand in helping to create over 150 direct jobs and over 50 indirect jobs. JLDC has also helped businesses retain over 85 existing jobs.
In addition to working on recreation and events to bring people into our main street businesses, JLDC and the Board of Commissioners do a lot of work trying to attract new business and help existing businesses expand. Several years ago, after the fire that destroyed several buildings and businesses on Main Street in Whitehall, JLDC took on the Borden Hotel project so there wouldn’t be another big hole in downtown Whitehall. That project has been very successful and has led to another remodeling project next door.
The Business Park/TIFD east of Whitehall is another example of JLDC stepping up. There are two new buildings with three tenants each that are full and another being built exclusively for the wind developers we have been talking with for several years. They recently sold their testing facility in Lolo, moved all of their equipment to Whitehall and intend to eventually locate an assembly plant at the Business Park.
JLDC was instrumental in helping to get the North Business Park/TIFD operational. That has sold out, and JLDC is exploring ways to put together another Business Park/TEDD in Northern Jefferson County. (TEDD, or Targeted Economic Development District, has replaced the TIFD.)
Over the past couple of years Boulder has gotten a lot more attention from JLDC, largely due to a huge increase in public involvement to help improve Boulder. There has been much discussion about several different projects. The I-15 Interchange project actually started a few years ago as a site for a rest area to replace the two rest areas at Jefferson City. It then evolved into a potential site for the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center. It is now being looked at as a possible Western Legacy Center/Pro Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame/Cowgirl Hall of Fame. MDC’s closing an opening for Boulder
Another opportunity in Boulder is the mostly abandoned campus of the former MDC. We have been working with the Governor’s Office and other state agencies in an effort to have the campus turned over to Jefferson County. Our initial thoughts are to use it to serve military veterans.
The MDC saw its last regular client leave early this spring. Since then the facility has changed its name to the Intensive Behavioral Center (IBC) and moved to a high security area on the south side of the grounds. The IBC houses 12 beds for clients that have severe enough behavior issues that they are not able to be placed in community setting at this time.
I spoke with Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney a few months ago about what was going to happen to the facility. The bill to close it stipulated that the committee set up to oversee the closure would also come up with a post-closure plan. That didn’t happen. We talked about the absolute need to repurpose the site instead of the state abandoning it. The Lieutenant Governor put the process in motion to determine if the entire site, less the IBC, could be turned over to Jefferson County. The state has been investigating deed restrictions or other obstacles that might hinder the process. Jefferson County committed to paying up to $15,000 to help complete the survey, estimated to cost about $30,000.
In recent years we have been approached by about four different organizations looking at various options for a veterans facility, for which the former MDC campus is well-suited. We have spent a considerable amount of time talking with residents, veterans, educators, congressional staff, state agencies and folks from the VA in Helena. We have heard loud and clear that there is a huge need for additional veterans services in Montana.
One possibility is to have veterans work with the youth at Youth Dynamics, located on what used to be the MDC south campus. When these kids reach age 18, they are generally done with state programs and on their own. We would like to be able to incorporate them with the veterans in some of the programs we could possibly offer.
JLDC hired consultant Kristian Richardson to sort through our various options and come up with a plan for repurposing MDC for what would be the best and most beneficial use. While our objective has been to serve veterans and youth, there is a possibility that may not be the best use for the facility. We have had some interest from others about different types of uses.
For the most part, our discussions have revolved around what is most needed by veterans. Early on, education and training rose to the top. We would like to offer classes through Helena College, Gallatin College and Highland College. We would also like to set up apprenticeships. Veterans and the Youth Dynamics kids would be the priority for these programs, but they could also be available for others as space and capacity allow.
PTSD and chemical dependency treatment are huge needs. Currently the VA in Helena only has 12 beds for each program and a waiting time of 30 to 60 days for admission. They send some of the veterans to Sheridan, Wyoming for treatment, but the waiting time there is generally over 90 days.
There is an equine treatment facility in Helena, but it is limited in how many it can serve.
One of the areas we were told about from VA staff is the need for a pain management center. Doctors are making every effort to get people off opioids. They told us that the only such facility in the area is in Seattle and it has only eight beds available for veterans. Kristian is exploring what it would take to make it happen here.
There are an unlimited number of opportunities that could be available for our veterans and youth. There are so many different programs that offer assistance to veterans that sorting them out and deciding what would fit here is a huge undertaking. Taking on a project of this magnitude is a daunting task, but if we don’t do it, who will?
Mine’s closing an opening in Whitehall
As with the closure of the MDC in Boulder, the eventual closure of the Golden Sunlight Mine is a tough pill to swallow, but at the same time it opens up huge opportunities. It’s all of our jobs to look at what opportunities may exist and then do what is necessary to find the best outcome.
We have been working for several years with LGT Sustainable Energy Systems, a company that recently sold its testing facility in Lolo and moved all of its equipment to the Business Park near the entrance to the Golden Sunlight Mine. The company rented part of one building and is awaiting for the county to build another. Its goal is to have an assembly plant located there.
LGT’s owner has an apartment at Bordon’s Hotel but spends a lot of time traveling. Their lead engineers have purchased property near Whitehall, so it is good to see them putting down some roots.
The company plans to have a prototype of its new technology this summer — technology that has the potential to change how renewable energy is done. Their system involves much smaller wind towers than are currently used, can provide “on demand” energy without the need for backup sources, and can do it much more cheaply than current rates. They don’t build the wind farms to produce large amounts of energy, but they think their system will be affordable enough for small users.
We have also had talks with another global company that expressed an interest in installing a wind farm at the Business Park. We have high hopes that perhaps we can get that done and be able to provide inexpensive power as an enticement for business relocation to our area.
When Golden Sunlight Mine actually does shut down, many of those buildings at the site will be turned over to the County. We are getting an inventory and have started looking at what some of the possible uses might be. If anyone has any ideas, please let me or the JLDC know.
‘Made in Jefferson County’
One of the offshoots from our discussions about the Western Legacy Center and Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame is marketing a brand name affiliated with the facility. We have talked about having a gift shop that only sells Montana-made products and offering incentives for products made in Jefferson County. Montana has a certain mystic in much of the rest of the country, as does cowboys and the west.
Over the years there has been a lot of discussion about “value-added ag products” and the need for a meat processing facility. We have producers in Jefferson County that raise various specialty animals for consumption, such as elk, buffalo and sheep. We could also market Jefferson County beef through a brand name tied to the Hall of Fame.
We were recently contacted by a former County Commissioner from another county who really likes Jefferson County and has been working with investors for a group that would like to start a dog food company. We’ve talked about the possibility of tying in the dog food company with a meat processing facility. Financing would be an issue, but it is worth looking at. The dog food project already has some fairly substantial investment commitments, so if this project could get some traction, we could start looking into possible ideas for financing.
Recreational gold in these hills
Over 60% of Jefferson County is on public lands. That hinders our ability to attract more private enterprise to the county, but allows us to capitalize on the many recreational opportunities that are available. We need to figure out the best way to take advantage of what we have.
The Pipestone Trails are a huge draw to this area with little benefit to the community. We may have a few people stop at the interchange and get gas or snacks, but for the most part, people are doing day trips or camping. The Ringing Rocks is another local attraction that brings in a lot of people, but they are not spending much time in Whitehall. Having businesses that cater to these folks and letting them know what is available in Whitehall would help. So might more camping spaces and RV parking. A company out of Bozeman hauls ATVs to the Pipestone for rent; an ATV rental place in Whitehall could be a huge success.
The Piedmont swamp and pond has great potential as a bird-watching destination. That could bring folks into the community that may stay for a couple of days. Again, camping and RV parking would be extremely important.
The Whitetail Road between Whitehall and Boulder could be exploited for recreation. It happens to be very close to the same distance as a marathon, and bicycle races are a huge deal. Starting a race in either Whitehall or Boulder and ending in the other would benefit both towns. Longer races could use some of the side trails along the road.
Boulder is probably better suited for ATV recreation, because the trails are easier to access on an ATV from town. Out of Boulder you can ride to the Pipestone Trails (the trail needs a lot of work), Elkhorn, Basin, Butte, Deer Lodge, Rimini, Clancy, Park Lake and Helena. There are also a lot of great hiking and biking trails. Boulder also needs camping and RV parking, and more motel-type rooms. An ATV rental place in Boulder would probably do a great business.
The north end of the county also has huge recreational opportunities, especially hiking and biking. The trails draw many people from the Helena area, but Jefferson County sees little benefit from them. Small businesses that cater to recreationalists might find a good home in Clancy or Montana City.
Recreation in Jefferson County has been happening mostly on its own. The potential is huge if we are willing to step up and give it a boost. Of everything we are working on, the recreation aspect could probably be the fastest economic development component. A lot of the pieces are already in place: the trails, the scenery, two interstate highways. We need to convince those coming to play here to spend more time in our communities. We also need to convince folks just passing through that we have something special to offer here in Jefferson County. Perhaps some of our existing businesses could reassess and update their original business plans to reflect the new reality. We need to change the mindset that all of these recreational opportunities are in Jefferson County near our towns and not south of Helena or north of Butte.
Bruce, our events coordinator, has been doing a lot of that work. He has become involved with many events that occur in Jefferson County but have not been associated with it. Now, at each of those events Jefferson County will have a presence and each participant will receive a packet with information about what the county has to offer.
Bruce’s efforts have already worked. Most of these events now acknowledge being held in Jefferson County, and at a recent commission meeting a representative from the Governor’s Cup — one race starts in Clancy and another in Jefferson City — updated us on that event.
Our new recreation website discoverjeffersonmt.org is up and running. It has a lot of information on where to eat, where to stay and where the trails are. It has links to maps, restaurants, motels, and other recreational-based businesses.
Looking outside the box toward the future
As we move forward, I think we need to look outside the box. Just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean we can’t do it. If there are obstacles in our way, we need to figure out a way around them. If we want our communities to move forward and remain viable, we (all of us) need to step forward and make something happen, because if we don’t, nobody else is going to do it for us.
If any of you would like to look at starting a business, please contact the folks at JLDC in Borden’s. Allison Richardson and Tom Harrington would be happy to sit down with you and offer whatever assistance they can.
Tourism is vital to Jefferson County’s future
We are working on a lot of major opportunities. When any new idea comes up we try to look at the potential it may have and what we — Jefferson County or Jefferson Local Development Corporation — can do to help it along.
I think all of the projects that we are currently looking at and working on could stand alone as viable projects. However, several could be tied together to strengthen one another.
For example, if we were to construct the Montana Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and a Western Legacy Museum in Boulder, its reach could be countywide. We are looking at the gift shop being Montana-made only, with special enticements for products made in Jefferson County. I don’t know what the enticements might be at this point, but we would want it to be strong enough to possibly encourage folks to move their operations here. There are a large number of folks from all over Jefferson County that make some beautiful products that would be a huge draw for tourists. There would be an opportunity for people to expand their own little niche and others who have an idea they want to try an opportunity to put their wares in front of the Public.
I wrote of the possibility of a meat processing plant for value-added ag products. The products produced could be tied directly to our gift shop and marketed under that brand name. I’m sure there could be a whole array of other ag products that could be made available under the same brand name.
As part of the Hall of Fame, we have talked about having a year-round indoor arena/event center/community center located at the County Fairgrounds. This is listed as a priority in the Recreation Park/Fairgrounds Master Plan. This facility could also be used for an equine therapy program for the Veteran’s Center if we are successful in putting that together at the former Montana Developmental Center campus. All kinds of folks can benefit from the equine therapy, such as Youth Dynamics, the IBC unit that remains on the MDC campus and Liberty Place in Whitehall. If we build the indoor facility at the Fairgrounds, it will need to be in use most of the time.
If the Montana Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and a Western Legacy Museum were built in Boulder, it could tie in with many other things around the County. Perhaps the museums in Clancy and Whitehall and Heritage Center in Boulder could become affiliates of it and be promoted as places to see additional displays. Other gift shops in the county could be promoted as additional affiliated places to shop.
If we build some type of development at the I-15 interchange in conjunction with a rest area, a feasibility study prepared in 2017 by the State of Montana tells us that we could expect over 4,000 vehicles per day to drive by the site. That is a whole lot of people that would see whatever facilities we had there and potentially stop to check it out and look at promotional information for Boulder businesses and area recreational opportunities.
Despite the closure of MDC in Boulder and the potential closure of Golden Sunlight Mine in Whitehall, I believe Jefferson County has a bright future. Recreation can be a huge economic driver for the entire county. One of the biggest concerns I heard over and over when I visited White Sulphur Springs a few weeks ago, to talk about potential impacts from a proposed mine on their community, was what the impact to their tourism might be, because tourism is such a big part of their economy.
While some might not agree with me on devoting a lot of time and energy on tourism, I think it is extremely important. Increased benefits from tourism can happen fairly quickly. For the most part, what we are trying to sell is already here: natural beauty, fishing and hunting, hundreds of miles of motorized and non-motorized trails.
Unfortunately, some local folks don’t like riding local trails anymore because they are out of control. Particularly in the Pipestone and Homestake areas, there is a lot of drinking, folks riding off the trails — creating unauthorized trails in the process — and a lot of folks going too fast and being reckless. And the campground at Homestake Lake is so out of control that deputies won’t go there without backup. We need support from the BLM and Forest Service to provide more law enforcement there. If the feds would assist financially, I believe the best approach would be for the enforcement to come from the county.
Tourism dollars can happen fairly quickly. Much economic development is slower. We will continue to promote Jefferson County as a great place to do business. We also must understand that there are over 3,000 other counties and thousands of towns and cities that are after the same businesses. To attract good businesses, we need to stand out. Offering great recreational opportunities is one way to do that.
Jefferson County Commissioner Leonard Wortman represents District 1, which includes Whitehall, Cardwell and Pipestone. He can be reached at 406-225-4027 or lwortman@jeffersoncounty-mt.gov.
