The Ronan City Council continued discussion on an informal “gentleman’s agreement” put together by the council’s inter-government relations committee, Mayor Ryan Corum, and the Lake County Commissioners.

Council member Mark Nelson said the commissioners said the county would cover 25 percent of the time, including when officers are out sick, on vacation or at training. They discussed the time of day as about 3 a.m. to 7 a.m.

There was not an agreement; the committee brought back information on what the commissioners were offering. 

The group decided they did not want to use a Memorandum of Understanding because they couldn’t “dial it tight enough.” The commissioners wanted to see how the agreement worked before chiseling it in granite.

However, Councilperson Julie Moore said she talked to Commissioner Bill Barron, and he said he felt we needed an MOU and a lawyer to protect them and us. City Attorney Clifton Hayden said, “That’s my recommendation, too.”

Delving into the issue, Hayden picked up all of the minutes and videos and used his systems to transcribe them; he also pulled the legislative history on Montana House Bill 333, 2025, the bill referenced by Deputy Sheriff Levi Read.

“That statute doesn’t apply to us,” Hayden said. 

“The important thing is that statute does not apply to Ronan; … if you have a police department, it doesn’t apply,” Nelson reiterated later in the meeting.

“The bill was sold as a favor to a small towns,” Hayden said, communities with no police department.

He evaluated the number of calls from April to August, looking only at the call-outs; the number was 51, and half a dozen of those were for Tribal Police. The time spent was 16 hours and 44 minutes — 16 hours on the 46 responses.

The 24-hour service is in the City of Ronan manuals but not in state code, unlike dispatch, according to Hayden, who asked Chief Jacobsen and Mayor Corum to speak as well. Ronan Police Chief Rob Jacobsen said, “The whole discussion comes down to resources — office resources; how do you utilize the officers? I saw 24-hours a day when I came. I understand, and I am not against it … the other part is you only have so many resources.”

One Ronan officer is in training, and he needs another officer for felony cases, such as a sexual assault case involving a juvenile that his force investigated. If it’s the middle of the night and another officer is coming on duty at 9 a.m., the investigating officer needs assistance immediately.

“How do you optimize the people resources you have?” Jacobsen asked, adding that burnout is an issue. 

The other side of the equation is money. It’s hard to keep officers here with crazy salaries elsewhere, he said. Jacobsen is waiting to hear if Ronan Police will receive a COPS grant, which would help pay a new officer.

According to the city attorney, there are three ways to provide 24-hour police coverage: Staff with enough police officers, manage emergent calls or hire another agency. 

“Regardless of what you do, it should be formalized,” Hayden said. ”It’s the only way to do it … I’m  a big fan of finding our own solutions.”

Hayden suggested executive committees appointed by Mayor Corum, with executive members who could be community members, noting that he was slowing things down and asking Mayor Corum to do formal votes, etc., so council can decide.

An audience member raised Mayor Corum’s relationship with Lake County Sheriff Don Bell. Bell is Corum’s uncle. 

Hayden said, “The nepotism question was brought up. It does not apply because there was no money involved and it was not to their personal benefit.”

In other business, Hayden suggested the council table a motion to pass through grant money for Friends of the Children until a grant administrator can be found. 

“That way it (the grant) doesn’t become a project of the town itself,” Cliff said, adding that he would know who was doing what in a couple of weeks.

Dan Miller, Ronan’s public works director, asked council to designate Mayor Ryan Corum as environmental certifying officer and authorize him to sign a resolution in conjunction with the Community Development Block Grant, which is the Friends of the Children project. The council approved the motion.

The council unanimously approved a request from Mission West Community Development Partners to close northbound Second Street Southwest from Main Street to the alley for community mural painting days from Friday, Sept. 18 through Saturday, Sept. 19. 

Artists Aspen and Cameron Decker are drawing the mural on the Friends of the Children building, according to Brittany Simonich of Mission West Community Development Partners. She said Katie Jo Elliott has been talking to the schools, and high school, middle school and some elementary school students are coming to paint. 

The muralists are paid through a budget category in the tourism grant, Simonich said, in answer to a question by council.

Homecoming for Ronan schools is set for Sept. 18, so the council okayed a road closure for Main Street for the homecoming parade.

The next council meeting will be Sept. 23.