Cascade County work session reviews consent‑agenda contracts and grant details, adds time‑sensitive Foster Grandparent policy to consent agenda

At a Cascade County Commission work session, staff walked commissioners through a long consent agenda that included federal grants, county contracts and fair‑entertainment bookings, and identified one time‑sensitive add‑on related to the Foster Grandparent program.

Staff corrected one grant listing and provided local match details for the Foster Grandparent program: federal funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service is listed at $206,603 for the 07/01/2026–06/30/2027 term; staff said this is the third year of the grant and that the local match totals $29,004.25, including about $8,190 from United Way (secured), county mill‑levy funds making up the remainder, $14,808 in in‑kind workers’ compensation coverage, and $7,500 in meals from Great Falls Public Schools. Staff noted the program has capacity for 28 Foster Grandparents and that recruitment is ongoing. The meeting included an add‑on announcement that a resolution to establish policy 90.7 (to meet OIG requirements for the Foster Grandparent audit) is being drafted and is time sensitive; staff said funding could be at risk without timely action.

Other consent items reviewed:

- A Bulletproof Vest Partnership grant (CFDA 16.607) to purchase 10 vests totaling $15,938, with staff noting roughly 50% of the cost is reimbursable.

- A lease between Great Falls Public School District and Cascade County for the Great Falls Early Learning Family Center (used by MSU Extension) for a two‑year term, with monthly lease payments listed at $22,348; staff said the office occupies approximately 4,617 square feet.

- A Montana Department of Transportation HSIP project (CW0097) to install two 'stop ahead' signs on East Highland Road at no cost to the county; MDT installs signage and the county assumes maintenance after installation.

- A DNRC cooperative fire protection agreement to loan firefighting apparatus to rural volunteer departments; staff estimated five to six of the county’s volunteer departments have DNRC apparatus at this time.

- Acceptance of Emergency Management Performance Grant reimbursement for FY2025 with a total project cost of $113,840 and a county match not less than $56,920 (50%).

- An amendment to a state contract for the 8th Judicial District juvenile drug treatment court extending services through 06/30/2027 with reimbursement under the amendment not to exceed $9,300.

- A recommendation to award Copper Creek LLC the contract to replace an undersized indoor grease interceptor at the sheriff’s office with an outside 2,500‑gallon unit, with the lowest bid reported at $122,222 and staff describing one‑day planned kitchen shutdown during cutover.

- Final plat approval for the Horizon Meadows three‑lot minor subdivision and a preliminary three‑lot Sunland Minor plat (one lot in the Sunland submission lies in the floodplain and is not buildable).

- A clerk and recorder contract (approx. $37,350.08) for digitization and indexing of historic film records, which staff said had been through the RFP and legal review.

- Several Montana State Fair entertainment contracts and a booking services agreement, including multiple strolling acts and headline bookings; staff listed contract amounts ranging from roughly $10,000 to $25,000 for individual acts and a booking services agreement with a listed total around $432,000 to procure headline talent.

- Formal acceptance of the Cascade County annual comprehensive financial report for fiscal year ended 06/30/2025.

- Selection of Lewis & Ellis to perform post‑employment benefits valuation services for FY2026–27 with fees shown as $1,500 (FY26) and $3,000 (FY27).

Commissioners asked clarifying questions on several items; staff provided context but no formal votes were recorded during the work session. The chair closed the meeting after noting there were no public comments and offering brief commission remarks.