Chatham? Gretna? Hurt? Danville? Will this happen to us?

Promises, promises!

Will this be us?

GV

Roundup residents patiently await town's economic boom

By LORNA THACKERAYOf
The Gazette Staff

ROUNDUP - With years of false starts and disappointing stops about to be buried under the weight of millions of tons of coal dug from the Signal Peak Mine, Musselshell County is gearing for a prosperous future.In some ways, it doesn't seem real. A check with the Roundup Chamber of Commerce showed no surge in new stores on Main Street and no rush to expand by existing businesses. At midday, the streets don't buzz with traffic, and it's still easy to get a table at a local café.There are plenty of "For Sale" signs on most streets, though newcomers could be hard-pressed to find a place to rent as construction continues at the mine and on a railroad spur connecting the mine to a Burlington Northern Santa Fe line at Broadview.Big plans for the coal reserves in the Bull Mountains south of town have been on the board before, and locals could be forgiven a pinch of caution in their outlook.

"We're kind of waiting for that first train to come through," said Jerry Frazer of Rimrock Realty of Roundup. "Everyone's kind of gun-shy."The mining company, which has poured tens of millions of dollars into the project and expects to spend between $400 million and $450 million to get that first train rolling, says it should be on the tracks by late summer or early fall.

As production increases, the permanent work force, now somewhere around 100 strong, will double.

Musselshell County and Roundup won't absorb the full impact of a new population of miners. Many are expected to commute from Yellowstone County. But there will be increased pressure on roads, emergency services, schools, medical services and other amenities that local government is expected to provide.And they are as ready as they can be, County Commission Chairman Larry Lekse said."We've been in the planning stage 20 years," he said. "We've been anticipating and preparing all these years. I think we're right on track.

"New subdivision ordinances have just been adopted for the county, and the city has adjusted its zoning requirements and extended its water and sewer lines. Capital improvement plans have been updated for the city and county, and the school district has applied to the Coal Board for a planning grant. A new housing plan has been completed so Roundup can apply for housing grants.

Starting in the mid-1990s, when the Bull Mountain Land Co. tried to start a major mining project, the county, city, school board and other entities began approaching Montana's Coal Board for money to prepare. They received just under $3.2 million between 1994 and 2007.Coal Board grants have paved Old Divide Road, helped pay for an ambulance barn, provided money for road and emergency services equipment, financed a study for a new water system, helped build new water and sewer lines and built three additional classrooms at the high school.Between the county, city and school district, grant applications for another $2 million are before the Coal Board now.

Until the Legislature finishes its business, no one knows how much money the Coal Board will have available for the coming biennium. In the last biennium, the total was $2 million, and that had to be allocated among applicants from several Montana coal counties, said Ellen Hanpa of the Coal Board staff.

"We probably awarded half to a little more than half of what was requested," she said.The Coal Board is out of money and won't award new grants until summer.

Bills that would increase the amount are before the Legislature, as are alternative proposals for funding impacts of coal development. The city, county and school district have hired a part-time lobbyist to represent their interests in Helena.When the mine starts producing its anticipated 10 million tons a year, taxes should start flowing into county coffers, even with the county's decision to waive half the company's property tax bill for the first five years and gradually bring it back to full payment over five more.

Monty Sealey, executive director of Central Montana Resource Conservation and Development, estimates that the county's taxable valuation could increase from about $7.5 million to $10 million.

But more important, he said, would be income from the 5 percent gross proceeds tax on production. It's only an educated guess, Sealey said, but when the mine starts digging up millions of tons of coal each year, the county's share of the revenue could increase as much as $200,000 a month. That would nearly triple the county's current income, he said."If it goes into production in the fall, it'll be two years before the revenue stream gets here," Sealey said. "That's what the Coal Board is for - to kind of get us through.

"Musselshell County has been judicious in petitions to the Coal Board. Local officials - city, county, school district, hospital - get together periodically to decide which projects take priority."We don't want to be in competition with each other," County Commissioner Sue Olson said.

Applications now before the Coal Board include county staffing increases, $259,000; ambulance purchase, $130,000; Fattig Creek and Majerus Road construction, $585,000; and storm-water main trunk line for Roundup, $390,000.There are other long-term goals that local officials hope coal money will eventually help them complete.

"Our infrastructure is in very tough shape," Lekse said. "We spend a lot of money repairing our courthouse. Our courthouse is not even ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible. The county shop is from the turn of the (20th) century.

"Musselshell County Sheriff Woody Weitzeil said his department of seven is stretching to keep pace with an increase in activity around the county.

"If I could get up to nine officers, we'd be good," he said. "I could use about two or three new patrol cars. When we start getting tax money, that will give us what we need.

"Weitzeil said he especially needs a new jail to replace the one built a century ago."It's wore out," the sheriff said. "We're just squeaking by, waiting for someone to come and tell us to close it up.

"For Roundup, one crucial element to continued growth is obtaining a new water supply.

Roundup is a founding partner in the Central Montana Regional Water Authority, a group of towns from Hobson to Melstone hoping to replace their mineral-laden supplies with better-quality water from a deep well near Utica. It will involve a 225-mile pipeline and cost more than $100 million.Sealey said the project is proceeding in fits and starts.

"What we're really working on is getting a couple of studies done needed for federal authorization," he said. "They should be done in the spring and then we can move on.

"He's hoping there may be some funding in President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package.

Published on Monday, January 26, 2009.Last modified on 1/26/2009 at 12:31 am
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.