Culbertson council moves to create Special Improvement District No. 4 to upgrade Highway 16

The Town Council of Culbertson on March 26, 1958 adopted a resolution of intention to create Special Improvement District No. 4 to participate with the Montana Highway Commission in upgrading the portion of Highway No. 16 that runs through the town, the council recorded in its minutes.

The resolution, introduced earlier in the year and incorporated into the minutes, describes work to include grading, reconstruction, surfacing and the installation of curbs and gutters along the route through town. The district boundaries listed in the resolution include multiple additions (North Side Addition, Bruegger Addition, Nugent Addition, Cushing's additions and portions of the original townsite) and several specifically described tracts of land.

The council recorded an approximate district cost estimate of $18,000 and said the improvement would be funded by special improvement district bonds issued against a "Special Improvement District Fund No. 4." The resolution states that assessments would be payable in annual installments spread over 20 years and that the bonds would bear interest at not to exceed 6 percent per year. The clerk was instructed to publish notice and mail copies to property owners; the minutes record the publication date as March 27, 1958 and set a public hearing for 8:00 P.M. on May 5, 1958 in the Town Council chambers.

At a Jan. 22 special meeting with Montana Highway Department representatives, the department had told the council that if Culbertson agreed to participate in construction the department would install curb-and-gutter pavement curb-to-curb with the town paying 25 percent of the cost, not to exceed $17,500; if storm sewers were included the town's share would be 43 percent (the minutes record $13,800 as an estimate). Without town participation, the department said the town would receive only a 24-foot strip of blacktop instead of a curb-to-curb installation. The highway delegation urged immediate action because bids were to be let around June 1.

The resolution of intent specifies procedural protections for property owners: any owner or agent who delivers a written protest to the town clerk within 15 days after first publication may appear in person or by counsel at the May 5 hearing to show cause why the district should not be created or the proposed improvement made. The town clerk was directed to mail a copy of the notice to every person, firm or corporation owning property within the proposed district.