Ronan City Council hears new business, smoke complaint

It was a packed Wednesday night agenda for the Ronan City Council, with new business coming to Ronan, a citizen complaint and other small agenda items on water and sewer.  

Friends of the Children comes to Ronan   

Ben Davis is remodeling not building. Davis is the director of the Friends of the Children Clubhouse on Main Street in Ronan; the group is remodeling 9,000 square feet of the building east of Life for the Nations Church on Main Street.    

Friends of the Children is a long-term professional mentoring program. Their model was founded on research showing that the single most important factor in overcoming childhood adversity is a long-term, nurturing relationship with a consistent and caring adult.   

Full-time, salaried mentors follow the child and family throughout the child's school career. Children ages 4 to 6 are selected based on who could most benefit from the group.  

“I like to think of it as a disruptive model; it disrupts cycles of poverty and trauma in families,” Davis said. 

Friends of the Children opened in 2021 in Montana. Polson’s club opened in 2023 and serves 32 children, and 13 of those kids are from Ronan. With family engagement activities attracting 100 people, the 1,000-square foot house in Polson isn’t large enough; they need a bigger facility. 

Smoke coming from Tech Woods  

Sage Dorrington came to the council with a complaint about the amount of smoke coming from Tech Woods USA. 

Marty Perkins, head of Tech Woods USA off Terrace Lake Road, said, “We realize the smoke’s a problem.”  

Tech Woods is working to mitigate the problem; the company, which employs 13 people, received a $350,000 grant in 2025 to install a biomass burner to reuse wood byproducts as fuel. Perkins said they would be installing part of the burner by the middle of July.  

Since Tech Woods doesn’t burn anything during the summer, that will solve the smoke problem. The biomass burner will be fully installed by next year and will burn much cleaner than the current furnace, which injects air that burns much of the carbon. 

“We want to be good neighbors,” Perkins said in an earlier interview with the Lake County Leader. 

After complaining that the smoke is a recurring problem and that his family was unable to leave their house on Easter, Dorrington said …”My question is there an opportunity to find a more industrial location near Ronan?” 

“We are looking for another spot,” Perkins said, “but affordability comes into it.” 

Farmers market stays put for the season  

Ronan Rural Fire Department Chief Chris Adler approached the council to ask that the Ronan Farmers Market could use the new firehouse site from April 1 to Nov. 1.  

Adler said, “Brennan Grainey from Glacier Bank asked us to honor the agreement with the farmers’ market.” The market was previously located here when it was owned by Glacier Bank.  

The fire department has been trying to acquire that property since 2018 and has now purchased it. The department is now waiting for grants to start building. 

Application needed for wastewater upgrade 

The council reviewed and approved a resolution authorizing the city to apply for the United States Department of Agriculture-Rural Development application. The application needs to be scanned and sent as soon as possible, and a copy of the minutes approving the application needs to accompany the paperwork. In a later interview with the Leader, Dan Miller, the Public Works Director, said the city aims to obtain about $10.8 in federal grant funding and loans to upgrade its water treatment.  

A motion passed by the council authorized Mayor Ryan Corum to sign a contract with Morrison Maierle to expand the environmental assessment for the sewer lagoon to meet federal standards, with a cost of $9,730. Miller said this assessment is needed to apply for federal funding.  

The council also authorized Mayor Corum to sign a letter to Jamey Ereth, Montana Department of Commerce, asking for an extension for the water system to Dec. 31, 2026. 

Other agenda items 

Ronan Police Chief Rob Jacobson asked council to approve overtime to sworn police officers to provide coverage during times of patrol officer position vacancies, and the motion passed. 

Council passed a motion to approve a managed services agreement and scope of coverage and authorize Mayor Corum to sign the agreement on behalf of the city contract with Valley Tech LLC. The company offers real-time monitoring and a hardware firewall. The company will manage the city’s computer systems.  

In other business, the council approved an open container permit and a street closure for the Ronan Fire Department’s Smoke Out event on May 1 from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. The street closure would be on Fourth Avenue Southwest to the Main Street alley. 

They also approved an application for an open container permit for June 18 and 19 at the community center for a rehearsal dinner and wedding reception.  

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, May 13.