Connect With Your Community!
Connect With Your Community!
The third of four planned Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) meetings in southern Broadwater County is scheduled for November 8 at Bridger Brewing in Three Forks.
The meeting hosted by the county and the Montana Department of Commerce will begin at 6 p.m. A meeting for residents in northern Broadwater County will take place at 6 p.m. on November 14 at the Flynn Building in Townsend. The dividing line for the sub-areas in the county is the 101 Road.
Broadwater County has received a CTAP grant from the DOC, which partnered with the WGM Group to facilitate the meetings and planning. As part of the process, possible addendums could be added to the county growth policy and address needs and visions through public engagement and feedback in the northern and southern ends of the county.
At this week's meeting, there will be an in-depth discussion on water rights and availability. The final meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 6, will review the proposed future land use map and collect final comments from residents.
At the second (CTAP) meeting in southern Broadwater County last month, WGM Group and Montana Department of Commerce (DOC) officials discussed the results from a recent survey and feedback on land use maps.
WGM Senior Land Planner Jamie Erbacher said at the second meeting that Broadwater County needs to work to establish a vision in the south area. She added the county has been experiencing a lot of growth since 2020, and they are seeing people coming in from out of state or out of county. Erbacher noted the focus of the CTAP grant will be to develop a sub-area plan and to see where residents do not want growth to happen, as well as a potential Professional Engineering Report for water issues.
Erbacher told the audience the objective of a sub-area plan is to guide the governing body, and it would be an amendment to the growth policy, not a regulatory document.
When discussing the results from surveys and feedback on maps, Erbacher listed six key takeaways from the input: communication and transparency with government, emergency services and schools, infrastructure, water quality and quantity, agriculture, and quality of life. Erbacher said they know water issues are a concern in the county's southern end, and they will include a recommendation for future studies and potential grant opportunities.
Erbacher told those in attendance that the four main concerning trends from the resident's feedback were environmental degradation, water quality decline, increased traffic congestion, and suburban sprawl.
She added the trends with the most support were natural resources preservation, transportation planning, and local government collaboration. Erbacher said preserving agriculture and water resources is a big topic in Broadwater County and asked residents where they do and do not want to see development happen.
Additional information can also be found on the following county website pages: https://www.broadwatercountymt.com/home/news/ctap-exploratory-map
For more information, please get in touch with the Broadwater County Commissioners at commissioners@co.broadwater.mt.us.
