Tribal road director discusses partnering
Berl Tiskus
Mike Brown, head of Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes road projects, discusses the Michel Road bridge at the opening on Jan. 28.
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POLSON — Michael Brown, director of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes road projects, spoke to the Polson City Commissioners at their Feb. 3 meeting.
Brown said that on every reservation there is a road inventory, consisting of every public road on the reservation. The CSKT receive construction funding of $1.3 million annually for improvements on any public road on the reservation. The CSKT Council decides which road projects and prioritize based on how they benefit the tribes. One example would be the Michel Road Bridge, a $361,000 cooperative project recently completed three miles north of Ronan.
The tribes also receive $170,000 yearly for maintenance, which have been used to maintain 17 tribal homesites, snowplowing and street sweeping.
Another source for funding has been the state’s Transportation Alternative program.
“If (CSKT) wants to do a project in the city of Polson, (CSKT and Polson) could partner on those,” Brown said.
He also said the construction funds received by the CSKT could be used as leverage on grant applications.
Although the tribes would have to be the main applier, grant money for transportation safety could be a consideration.
“My main purpose is to let you know, to ask you to help with projects,” Brown said, adding that the CSKT creates a transportation improvement program every year, which is a future wish list.
Brown came to ask the Polson City Commission about its needs and what it might want to put on the wish list.
In other business the commission unanimously approved Cote & Associates for a three-year contract as the city’s auditor.
After the June 30, 2012, audit was completed, research suggested the Florence-based firm might be the way to go.
Polson City Manager Mark Shrives and Polson Finance Officer Cindy Dooley researched audit prices being paid by Western Montana cities. They discovered a wide enough variance that they decided to advertise for bids. The audit review committee reviewed six proposals and recommended Cote & Associates CPA PLLC for the position. The firm’s fiscal year 2013 audit fee will be $16,965, a savings of $5,335 from the previous auditor’s projected fee.
No fee was involved when the commissioners appointed community members to the following boards: Dave Cottington, golf board for a two-year term for citizen at large; Arlene Long, park board for a two-year term as Ward 1 representative; Ken Avison, four-year term as citizen at large to the Polson Redevelopment Agency; Patricia DeVries and Mark Evertz, Board of Adjustments for three-year terms; and Gordon Zimmerman and Mike Lies, two-year terms to the city/county planning board.
Mayor Heather Knutson appointed Dennis DeVries and Samuel Jacobson as citizen members to the city/county planning board.
The next committee meeting will be held Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. at Polson City Hall.
