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Lake County Montana

Lake County Commissioners

Thank You, Commissioner Decker!

Commissioner Decker took the time to share his knowledge with community members in the Pachyderm meeting February 9, and again on July 12. Topics were PL280, water rights, constructions and more. Minutes below, once typed out.

The Commissioner also shared updates on Anderson Broadcasting on July 11, 2024:

Lake County Commissioner Gale Decker talks PL 280 and construction of the Annexation Building (andersonbroadcasting.com)

Presentation on the history of Lake County by Commissioner Decker at Pachyderm meeting January 24th, 2025

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Hearing you may want to attend

Re: Notice of Development of Real Property

The Board of Lake County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the
resolution text listed below, on Thursday, May 22, 2025 at 2:30 pm in the
Commissioners Chambers located at 106 4th Avenue East, Polson MT 59860,
Room 211.

PUBLIC-NOTICE-RESOLUTION-25-19

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Commissioners’ Schedule

May 12, 2025

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Letter from the Lake County Commissioners to President Biden:

President Joseph Biden-Treaty Depredation

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The Lake County Commissioners have written an Op-ed that they hope will get printed in the local newspapers which documents the inaccuracies of EKI’s statements against the county’s FERC petition.  Very well written and great facts – see attached.

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February 9 Pachyderm Meeting Minutes

Micah opened the meeting with the invocation

The group said the Pledge of Allegiance
 
Announcements:
Please make sure to sign the petitions that are on the front table:  One for President Trump to be on the ballot for Montana’s primary and the either to allow hunting on private property within the boundaries of the reservations in Montana.  
Our next Pachyderm Meeting will be on February 23 and the speaker will be Linda Sauer.  LInda’s presentation will be titled “Islam – Gaining Power and Momentum in the United States”
Linda Sauer asked the group to send letters to FERC and our government officials about the low lake levels and the damages incurred as a result of the lake levels.  The government officials contact information is available at:
Jean Rigg spoke about her appeal letter to Tim Sheehy – he has not responded to any of her correspondence and let him know she will not provide financial support to him at this time.  We need more people to stand up to the politicians and let them know what we expect from our government officials if they want our support going forward.
 
Guest Speaker – Lake County Commissioner Gale Decker
Commissioner Decker is running for his 3rd term as Lake County Commissioner
He was born and raised in Ronan.  The Commissioner taught middle school math in Ronan for 33 years and has coached sports.  He was Superintendent of Schools for 6 years.
The Commissioner is still learning about Lake County and learns a lot everyday.
He is asking for our support during his re-election campaign
 
PL280 update – The Commissioners have notified the Governor that the County is withdrawing from PL280 and has until May 20th to put plans in place for the transition.  May 20th is the date that the County stops paying for and supporting PL280.  The County will stop housing criminals after May 20th including criminals that are in process that are in jail waiting for trial.  The County does not expect the Governor to do anything – we will see.  If Lake County was not a PL280 County, the felon who started the Boulder Fire would not have been identified and prosecuted.  The County had one officer who put in 800 hours investigating the case and the criminal has been in our jail for a year and will be for at least 6 more months.  All of this at the taxpayers expense.  The judge who handled the Lake County withdrawing from PL280 case stated that Montana will pick up what the County is no longer doing.
 
Property Tax update – The Department of Revenue stated that 77 mills is all that was needed to cover the budget for upcoming years expenses.  Governor Gianforte sued the 49 counties who were only collecting 77 mills and won the case so now all of the counties have to go back and send out updated property tax bills for the remainder of the 95 mills even though the state had sufficient funds.
 
Inmate Lawsuit – The lawsuit has been settled.  As a result the County will be building an outside exercise area for the inmates costing Lake County anywhere between $750,000 and $1 million dollars.
 
Lake Shore Regulations – The County just simplified the regulations which had not been revisited for years.  The County eliminated a lot of the unnecessary permitting processes.
 
Flathead Lake Levels – Lake County sent a letter to Ferc last fall about the lake levels.  EKI sent factual miss information to FERC so the County sent factual information to educate FERC.  The county will send another letter to FERC soon.  Safety is a major concern around the lake.  If there is a fire, the lake is an alternate evacuation route for the people who live on the lake.  Last summer the water was not an accessible escape route due to the low water levels and boats not being able to be used.  The County in their next letter will be emphasizing the lake as an escape route and the role Hungry Horse Dam plays in the water levels of Flathead Lake.  In the 1940’s there were discussions about turning Flathead Lake into a reservoir.  After about 10 years, the discussion stopped and a decision was made to build Hungry Horse Dam and use it as a reservoir.  The County had a commitment from Hungry Horse to send water to fill the lake but EKI said the water would flow through the dam and would not be used to fill the lake.
 
Land Exchange – this is part of the MWRPA water compact.  The first part of this bill gave the Bison Range back to CSKT.  In addition, there is supposed to be another 36,000 plus acres on the reservation that will be given to the tribe in exchange for land off of the reservation.The MWRPA bill passed through Congress and took effect September 2021. The land trade was supposed to be completed within 5 years of the bill passing. In March 2022 Governor Gianforte sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior requiring meetings be set up about the land trades.  The tribe will be receiving school trust lands which will have a negative impact on the funding of our schools.  The Lake County Commissioners told the Governor that some lands within the County were not eligible for exchange.  The County has not heard back from the Governor.  Only property that is managed by the sTate of Montana should be part of the land swap. When lands were removed from the reservation, the tribe did not agree in the early 1900’s.  The US still owns the National Bison Range but the tribe manages it.  The state must solicit public comment (this did not happen) during the land exchange process.  Lands must be equal in acreage or value.  It seems as if the process was doomed from the start.  Water Court claims are not close to being adjudicated.  The County Commissioners wrote a letter to the land board asking for status but have heard nothing back.
 
The County has little interaction with Montana State Officials – never get responses back from letters.
 
Commissioner Decker quoted a phrase from a famous football coach “Don’t Ever Ever Ever Give Up”
 
Question – Given what our Governor has shown us in Lake County, he ignores us.  Would the commissioners consider formally endorsing someone other than Gianforte?
Answer – Gianforte told the County if they were to get funding through the legislature for PL280 he would sign the bill but Gianforte vetoed the bill – broken promise.  Commissioner Decker did state that he will not support Gianforte.  The Commissioners will discuss formally not supporting Governor Gianforte for re-election.
 
Statement from audience – In the 1960’s there was a water law professor who said the water judge who would be solving the water claims in Flathead and Mission Valleys will not be born for decades. The water here is such a big issue with moving parts that will require an event to bring it together.  Water Rights are a large issue and there are not many water rights lawyers
 
 

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Commissioners vote to streamline lakeshore protection regs | Lake County Leader (leaderadvertiser.com)

(January 18, 2024)

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Fellow Patriots of Lake County,

I was informed tonight by the Commissioners that we have lost the PL280 case against the State. The Commissioners will withdraw from PL280 and we should/must support them in this. It is unjust for this State and Federal issue to be pushed off on the property owners of Lake County.
 
 
Tracy Sharp
LCRCC Chair
Nov 9, 2023
 
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Polson City Council approves Annexation 7 Aug 2023

The City Council of Polson Montana approves an unprecedented first step to annex 79 federal trust acres into the City of Polson. The beneficial owner is the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal corporation will ensue to immediately commence next steps to build out a new, third establishment in which to offer gambling, a potential future hotel, conference center, RV park, new Polson visitor center, up to several hundred affordable housing units, and potentially several other commercial parcels which will all remain in federal trust status. The high density expansion is only possible by leveraging sewage waste into the existing Polson sewer facility. A negotiation which will benefit the CS & K Tribal corporation immensely both on precedence and financially. Phase 1 will commence with a lease of approximately 10 acres to S & K Gaming for immediate casino construction, subject only to final hurdles of red tape, in response to a recent and very limited traffic study conducted at the intersections of Irvine Flats Road and U.S. Highway 93.

See links below:

Polson City Council approves Annexation Part 1, 7 Aug 2023 – YouTube

Polson City Council approves Annexation 7 Aug 2023 / Part 2

Polson City Council approves Annexation 7 Aug 2023 / Part 3

Click Here for Lake County Site to Listen

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Service is the best way to build and strengthen a community, and ours is one of the strongest communities around. Take a chance on a new adventure and make a difference with an outstanding group of colleagues. Consider joining our Chamber Director team today!

County Commissioners are working for YOU! Contact them with YOUR input, thanks, and ideas for change that benefits Lake County Residents!

The email address for the County Commissioners is: lakecommissioners@lakemt.gov

our contact them via phone: (406) 883-7204

District 1  Commissioner Bill Barron


Bill is a lifelong Montana Native. Bill worked over 30 years in Law Enforcement, graduating from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy, the FBI National Academy, and has previously been elected to two terms as Lake County Sheriff. After leaving the Sheriff Office, Bill was elected to County Commissioner and is currently in his third term. Bill brings common sense, vast knowledge of county government operations, people management skills and the ability to work together.

  • District 2 Commissioner Steve Stanley
    Steve was born and raised in Montana. He stepped into the County Commissioner role with a long history of serving the citizens of Lake County through emergency services dating back to 1978. His careers have spanned 22 years as Facilities and Building Services Director at Polson’s St. Joseph Hospital to over 30 years with Lake County Disaster and Emergency Services.
Steve Stanley

District 3 Commissioner Gale Decker

Commissioner Gale Decker and his wife, Susie, live in the North Crow area east of Pablo. Mr. Decker was born and raised in Lake County. He earned his Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Montana before going on to teach in the Ronan School District for 33 years. Following retirement from the school system, Mr. Decker served as Lake County Superintendent of Schools for six years before being elected to the Commissioners’ Office in 2012. Mr. Decker’s particular interests in County government include land planning, environmental health and property tax relief.