Commissioners approve water flow, funding for county TV

PHILIPSBURGH – The Granite County Commissioners were in session Tuesday, handling a variety of topics that help keep the county moving forward.

Perhaps the largest decision reached in the session was to approve $19,000 of funding for

the free television program that is broadcast throughout Granite County. The money would see $15,000 go to Drummond for upgrades and repairs while the other $4,000 goes to Philipsburg. The antennae, which are located to provide a signal on a line=of-sight basis, provide a variety of channels which include NBC, ABC, CBS and PBS as well as other channels. In all, Drummond has 15 channels and Philipsburg 13.

Blanche McClure, along with Drummond representative Mike Coyle and Philipsburg rep Mark Ransford, made the request to the be part of the budget process for the coming fiscal year.

Commissioner Bill Slaughter noted the value of the service, stating that residents “… get local news and weather, which is really important.”

Commissioner Scott Adler added that since the county had already invested in setting up the service, that “We might as well stick with it and get it right.”

The measure passed 3-0.

Georgetown Lake Outflow

With the weather heating up as summer has turned past the halfway point, the water level in Georgetown Lake has started to dip. The Commissioners voted 3-0 to reduce the water outflow to 30cfs (Cubic Feet per Second) for a period of one week, deciding to revisit the matter again at next week’s meeting.

Planning Board

In a search to find two members for the County Planning Board, the Commission got no response from their advertisements. As such, they discussed the possibility of recruiting some folks to help that important task.

Child Safety Team

The Commission approved (3-0) a measure to appoint members to this countywide group based on the positions that are represented within it. For example, Granite County Attorney Blaine Bradshaw is on the team based on his position as the county attorney.

The team is made up of various county and city individuals who are all involved with children in some capacity, but that are only able to communicate legally through such an organization. The team discusses various matters regarding children and enables various agencies to have access to information they wouldn’t have available otherwise, giving them a more complete picture of individual cases and how best to act on them.

All meetings are held under the signature of a nondisclosure agreement.

Drummond Schools Diesel Generators

The Commissioners signed off on a grant from TWEnterprises of Billings to supply Drummond Schools with diesel generators for backup power. The acknowledgement does not cost the county any money.