All Is Calm and Bids Are High the Week Before Christmas

While the December Whitehall Town Council meeting, held Monday, December 18th, was brief, the main item of discussion will be a recurring topic into 2024.

Public Works Director Kory Klapan reported that the Town had received bids for the water treatment facility, ranging between $8.6 and $11.6 million. Hard Rock of Helena was the lowest bid. These bids come in almost 50% higher than originally expected. For context, the pre-COVID-engineered cost estimate for the water treatment building alone was $3.7 million. It now sits at $5.3 million.

The total project cost now sits at $12,740,116.00. Klapan noted that the Town is working with Federal Rural Development on a $2 million grant, which is expected to be successful. However, notification of a successful application is not expected until the third week of January. If it is awarded, the town would need a loan of $4,024,000.00 to fund the project fully.

“It’s a little bit higher than we wanted, obviously,” said Klapan. “But it is what it is. We can’t put it off any longer.”

In a separate discussion with the Ledger, Klapan explained that the Town is currently under DEQ Enforcement to resolve the uranium issue within the Town’s water.

“We are progressively working on the solution,” Klapan said. He explained that the Town taking action on the situation is better than DEQ taking over - as the Town would lose the grants they’ve been awarded and the entire project would have to be funded through homeowner tax increases.

Whitehall resident Maxine Samuelson, during public comment, brought up the importance of having committee meeting minutes available to the Council before Town Council meetings. In the past several months, several boards have had Clerk/Treasurer Kennedy Kleinsasser doing their minutes. Kleinsasser admitted that the added work, which is not part of her job description, does “throw a hitch” in her day.

Councilwoman Linda Jung added that she had also noticed certain boards were falling short on getting their minutes done and submitted. Mayor Mary Janacaro-Hensleigh noted that the boards should be restructured at the beginning of the year and that she will stress the need for having a dedicated notetaker on each board, as well as a backup.

BUSINESS LICENSES:

• Scotch Ink Tattoo Studio

• Electrical Design and Construction, LLC

NEW BUSINESS:

• The Council accepted the HB355 list for potential projects. HB355 was formerly the BARSA funds, which were required to be used on streets; HB355 reallocates these funds to broaden the spectrum of projects allowed to be funded. Projects, in order of importance to be funded, are the water treatment facility, the Public Works building roof, and concrete between the Town Hall and the Public Works shop.

• Roy McBride was nominated and renamed Council President for the upcoming year.

OTHER NEWS:

• Janacaro-Hensleigh reported that the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority had received a $500,000 grant, as well as gone in with Amtrak for a $14.9 million grant, which was also awarded to Montana. The funding keeps the planning alive for an alternate Chicago-to-Seattle Amtrak route connecting communities like Fargo, Bismarck, Billings, Bozeman, and Missoula. Known as the North Coast Hiawatha, the route existed through the late 1970s when cuts to Amtrak ended the service. (Read more on page 8)