3 vying for southern county commissioner seat
NAME: Mark Crago
OCCUPATION: Sheep producer and owner of the Broken Wire Fence and Construction company.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND:
Soon after moving to Montana, he married his wife Jennifer, a kindergarten teacher at Columbus Elementary School. They purchased land between Columbus and Absarokee and began raising a family and sheep. “Animals and agriculture have always been a valued part of my life and remain that way today,” he said. “There is no better way to raise a child than in a farm or ranch setting.” They have two daughters, Alyssa and Ashley, and are active in the local community as chamber members and sponsors for 4-H, Little League and other sports teams.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND:
Crago graduated from Emory and Henry College in Emory, Va. in May 2004 with a bachelor’s in economics. In 2006, he was elected president of the Montana Columbia Sheep Association and served on the national board of directors for more than nine years, serving as vice president for two years. Over the past seven years, he built up a landscaping, fencing, pole building and remodeling company.
WHY ARE YOU SEEKING OFFICE:
“One of the key factors in my decision to run for commissioner is our youth,” he said. “I firmly believe it’s our responsibility to ensure that our children and grandchildren have as much or more opportunities than we do.” This can be achieved by improving infrastructure, community-based events or growing our 4-H programs, he said, “and that is what I hope to help do as your next commissioner.”
WHAT DO YOU BRING TO THE OFFICE:
“When you elect me, you are getting an honest hard-working individual who will not stop until the project is completed,” Crago said. “My leadership skills are a true highlight to what I will give you as your commissioner.” He says he will utilize the same principles used in his construction company. “Customer service is a valuable part of my company and will be a valuable asset to my position as commissioner,” he said.
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NAME: Wesley House
OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND:
House was born in Alaska and attended school in Red Lodge, one of five children, raised by a single mother. After graduating, he set out to see the world. “I moved to Columbus in 2002 because this is where I wanted to raise my children,” he said. His four children, Tana, Stone, Rae and Cort, attend school in Columbus.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGround:
House has worked in sales and management his entire career. “We were unable to afford college, so I entered the work force at a young age,” he said. “I started at the bottom and worked my way up to where I am today.” House has been a co-owner of Beartooth Ford for the past 14 years.
WHY ARE YOU SEEKING OFFICE:
“When I came back to Montana, this felt like home,” he said. “I have lived and worked in this community for so long that I felt as if it has become a part of me.” He said he volunteers and gives back whenever he can, but serving the community as county commissioner “seems like the best way to give back to the community that has given me so much.” He said he resigned his post at Beartooth Ford and started his quest to become the next Stillwater County Commissioner.
WHAT DO YOU BRING TO THE OFFICE:
“Stillwater County is not only a beautiful place to live – it’s a functioning business, a business that requires leadership and business knowledge,” he said. House said he has run a successful business and understands what it takes to work within the confines of budgets, laws, rules and regulations. “I am a good listener, have managed a large group of employees and understand that the best way to make a decision is to be informed on of all sides of any issue,” he said.
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NAME: Marta Gauthier
OCCUPATION: Comptroller, real estate manager, case manager.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND:
Gauthier said she started working at 12 as a babysitter and has worked ever since. “I acquired independence, self-reliance, work ethics, family values, a sense of gratitude and a deep love for my country,” she said. At an early age, she volunteered for her community, won several scholarships to college and scored the highest grade in the American Society of Women Accountants scholarship exam open to all the high schools in South Florida. Throughout the next 20 years, she raised five children before marrying Rodney Gauthier, a native of Absarokee. “I am very proud of the almost 100-year history I’ve adopted as my own,” she said. “There is no place on earth I’d rather live.”
PROFESSIONAL BACKGround:
At 17, Gauthier was hired as a part-time bookkeeper for a large diesel ship mechanic repair and maintenance company in Miami, where she eventually took responsibility for the accounting department and became comptroller. Later she became comptroller of a structural engineering firm and then part owner and comptroller of a general contracting company and structural engineering firm. In Montana, she worked for Al Bedoo Shrine Temple in Billings for five years as editor for their newspaper, building rental manager, Shriner’s children hospital visit coordinator and membership accountant. She owns and manages real estate in three different states, is a case manager with experience dealing with government agencies and represented herself in court as a pro se litigator. Currently she is comptroller for Hole-in-the-wall Drywall in Absarokee. She has a bachelor of science degree in business administration, majoring in accounting with a minor in hospital administration.
WHY ARE YOU SEEKING OFFICE:
“I am seeking this office to give back to the county I embraced as home 20 years ago,” Gauthier said.
“I believe a person should share their skills, abilities and knowledge to benefit a cause or use for the betterment of their community.” Stillwater County represents family, stability, neighbors helping neighbors, independence, good work ethics, clean open spaces and agriculture at its core. “People move to our part of the country because of these traits, but too often want to change our way of life,” she said. “We can develop and progress toward a better tomorrow, but we should always keep our objectives in harmony with what makes Stillwater County great in the first place.”
WHAT DO YOU BRING TO THE OFFICE:
The main focus of the county commissioners is to optimize delivery of services, solve local issues, plan for the future and wisely utilize tax dollars in the best interests of all our residents, Gauthier said. She said she will bring to the job her strategic planning skills, administrative and budgeting abilities, and law literacy. “Too often we hear that we need a leader to guide us into prosperity through more economic growth and increased infrastructure,” she said. “I am all for responsible growth, improved infrastructure, etc. However, I believe a leader represents the people he leads, and a good leader listens to his constituents and leads on their behalf.” She notes that there are three county commissioners and no one is above the others, so building consensus and working as a team is of utmost importance.
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EACH CANDIDATE WAS ASKED THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
•County facilities
Do you see a need for more and/or improved office facilities for the county’s administrative offices, the sheriff’s office and the justice and district courts? If yes, which of the four options presented by the county commissioners do you support:
1) Remodel the former hospital (West Annex) along with the first floor of the current courthouse;
2) Remodel the current courthouse and build a new law & justice building at the courthouse site;
3) Remodel the current courthouse and build a new Law & Justice building at a new site;
4) Build completely new county facilities at a new site?
If none of these, what other option would you support? How would you pay for and build any of the above options?
•Absarokee Sewer System
A moratorium on new sewer hook-ups has been in place in Absarokee since the 1990s, the county was cited for wastewater discharge violations from 2007 through 2012 and is now under a state order to upgrade the treatment facility, the monthly rate was last increased in 2003, and now sewer users are facing a 200 percent monthly fee increase. Do you think that something should have been done sooner and if so, what?
•Library/County Center
Do you see a need for a new county library facility in combination with a new county center? If yes, what type of facility would you support? If yes, how would you pay for and build such a facility?
•Roadside Tree Cutting
Do you think the county handled tree cutting projects in the Fishtail area correctly?
CRAGO
-On county facilities
Crago says he sees a need for new and improved county facilities. “Preserving the old hospital or renovating it in any form does not seem fiscally responsible, but to renovate and bring the courthouse up to code makes a lot of sense, and this is an historical landmark that deserves the considerations of time and money,” he said. “While renovating the courthouse, care should be taken to produce a facility within the courthouse that can serve as the justice department – this should be what the court house is used for.” If a new and separate county building is built, it should serve all county offices other than the justice center, he said. Funding for the project could come from rural development loans and grants. “This is tax money we have already paid – let’s go get it back and put it to work in our county,” he said. Funding not covered under the rural development loans and grants would have to come from county taxpayers, but the projects could generate money back to the county and its businesses, he said.
-On the Absarokee sewer system
“It would appear as though a lot of this could have been prevented by establishing a rate 20 years ago that would have allowed a portion of the revenue to be set aside for upgrades and system changes,” Crago said. “If you wait to change the oil until the car is smoking, it’s probably too late and much more costly to repair. That could be said about this system.”
-On the library/county center
Crago believes a new county library is needed, and an event center attached to it could provide a lot of benefits to the community. A performing arts addition could be used by local high schools for plays or musical concerts, forums with keynote speakers and lyceums, and other community functions. Funding could come from rural development loans and grants, he said.
-On roadside tree cutting
Crago said the county should have communicated more with the public before cutting down the roadside trees in the Fishtail area. “Making an announcement of such extensive changes, like those that occurred in some areas, is not that farfetched or out of line for the county offices involved to give the general public,” he said. “Surprising people is not an ideal way to handle any situation.”
HOUSE
-On county facilities
The county courthouse and facilities issue has haunted Stillwater County for many years, House said, and many of the solutions are expensive. “My question would be, are there any other solutions?” he asked. “Does it all have to be done at the same time?” When running a business that faces budgetary restraints, concessions have to be made, he said – projects need to be prioritized and completed over time. “In a perfect world, we would all want to have a new complex so that our county had the most amazing facilities available,” he said. “Unfortunately, it always comes down to the money.” House said he would look at all alternative funding sources so taxpayers were not unduly burdened. He would also consider phasing in the project and looking at which was more cost effective – remodeling or building something new. “The speed of the leader is the speed of the pack,” he said. “Communication, information gathering and listening would be key ingredients in making an informed decision.”
-On the Absarokee sewer system
House said it’s never too early to plan for the future. “Sewer systems deteriorate,” he said. “We have to be prepared for growth – being proactive as opposed to reactive.” He cites his experience as a subdivision developer who has gone through all the planning phases and is knowledgeable about county and state rules and regulations. “Having knowledge and being prepared equals success,” he said.
-On the library/county center
House said he loves having a county library and would love to have a new state-of-the-art facility. “On the other hand, I don’t know if the feasibility of a new facility is viable,” he said. “Again, this is a time to be proactive as opposed to reactive.” The county should be looking for public and private funding sources now so they can build in the future. “Again, searching for opportunities outside of additional taxes would always be my first answer,” he said. “There are so many grants available for small rural counties, both on the federal and state levels.”
-On roadside tree cutting
Public forums before the tree-cutting project began would have been a good idea, House said. “Again, communication, information gathering and listening are key ingredients in making informed decisions,” he said. “Working with our citizens and listening to their point of view could help avoid these concerns in the future.”
GAUTHIER
-On county facilities
Gauthier said it’s important to maintain county employees in a safe, adequate facility that accommodates the needs of a growing population, but it’s also important to maintain fiscal integrity. She said she’d need to look at budget figures as well as architectural and engineering reports before making a decision. She said the courthouse appears to provide adequate space for the departments remaining there. “Also, I don’t think we want all the county departments, nor is it feasible, to have all the county departments under one roof,” she said. With that said, Gauthier said she doesn’t see a need for more or improved county facilities other than improvements cited in the 2008 Capital Improvement Plan to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. “If I had to choose without further research, I would choose Option 1, given that it carries the lowest price tag and would accommodate practically all the county functions in locations close to each other,” she said. Funding would depend on what’s available in the capital improvement fund or other county funds, along with bonds, grants, fundraisers, donations and selling other county property. “I would try to stay away from raising taxes, no matter how small the mill levy,” she said.
-On the Absarokee sewer system
Gauthier said she learned about the moratorium about 20 years ago but assumed the system was maxed out. “I later learned the system was built for 1,200 people but was locked down with approximately 1,040 people using it,” she said. “This would have raised a red flag.” The county commissioners seemed to be running the sewer system to most people’s satisfaction until the Montana Department of Environmental Quality started changing wastewater discharge requirements faster than the county could keep up, she said. “If I had lived in the sewer district, I would have built consensus with my neighbors to determine if we wanted to increase our sewer hookups and how we would be able to maintain ahead of the DEQ requirements,” she said. Absarokee sewer users have enjoyed low rates for a long time, she said, “and now it’s time to hitch your horse to the wagon and together, neighbor helping neighbor, move forward.” A volunteer program might help residents who can’t afford the higher rates, she said.
-On the library/county center
The county library was mentioned briefly in the county’s 2008 Capital Improvements Program, Gauthier said, but there was no mention of needing a new facility. “So my first thought when I learned that the County Library Board and Friends of the Library were considering a combined library and conference center was that our small community would not be in need of such a place,” she said. However, our community must look ahead to the future needs of a growing community, so perhaps a new library and convention center would be something to consider.” But Gauthier would rather see county funds spent on more pressing needs – the rockslide blocking Stillwater River Road, the Absarokee sewer system, road upgrades around Reed Point, Rapelje and Molt, and flooding problems in Park City and Fishtail. “Too often our outlying area is forgotten and our major focus surrounds Columbus,” she said, so a traveling library van might be a good option. She also said the city and county should share with construction and maintenance costs for any future library and convention center.
-On roadside tree cutting
Gauthier said the tree cutting issue should have been handled with more consideration for the residents whose lives were most impacted. She noted that a 2002 county survey “clearly showed our citizens value our mountains, scenery, open spaces, nature, etc.,” she said. “The beauty of our area is the first thing our visitors are attracted to. It’s one of the reasons many relocate to our area.” She wanted to know why the trees were allowed to grow to maturity and then cut down. “How many accidents were caused by tree obstruction? After so many years, why was this tree cutting project even started?” she asked. “Nothing will bring back the trees now. I just hope our residents in all parts of the county are heard and decisions are made in their best interests.”