Dan Clark, the director of the Local Government Center at Montana State University-Bozeman, explains the role that the non-profit is operating under in Baker while using the county-owned property.
Brenda Stoddard makes a point during the March 18 meeting at Longfellow gymnasium.
Fallon Medical Complex CEO Dave Espeland explains the situations that the non-profit is facing in Baker, including a drop in public membership.
FMC meeting draws crowd, heated remarks Betty Mueller, president of the of the Fallon Medical Complex Board of Trustees, made a point during the March 18 on the lack of public membership and involvement at the annual meetings. PHOTOS/Brad Mosher
By Brad Mosher
bmosher@countrymedia.net For almost two hours, there were fiery comments aired during a special public meeting covering the Fallon Medical Complex and how it is operating in Fallon County. While some members of the audience shouted claims of abuse at the operators of the medical facility and the members of the board of directors sitting on the gym floor, others praised the work of the people at the complex. The meeting started with Dan Clark, the director
of the Local Government Center at Montana State University-Bozeman, explaining the role that the non-profit is operating under in Baker while using county-owned property. He also asked people at the meeting to keep in mind the need to build up a community and not try to tear it down. “My hope was to at least help the community understand what is it they should expect,” Clark explained after the meeting. “This is a very complicated relationship between the county and FMC, which is a non-profit. It appeared to me (during the meeting) that clarity would be helpful and that it would be understood that the (FMC) is not a public entity. “Some of these (comments) were individual grievances they have which may not be a public issue, but are a beef with the organization or with an individual,” he said. “There are certain things for any community to survive – school, hospital and a vibrant Mainstreet or downtown. We don’t want to have this issue be a point (of division),” he explained. He said that he has seen some communities become so divided that they start disappearing. They have Facebook posts about how much they hate their communities, then
complain that there are no new businesses coming to the towns. “This is the downside of social media. If you are a community that trolls each other (online).... then maybe I should go to Miles City or maybe I should go to Glendive,” Clark said, noting the choice that providers and other businesses have when they look for someplace to expand into. They have choices where to invest. “How do they use their energy to be more aspirational,” Clark said. Concerns aired The community had a chance to air out some concerns, according to David Espeland, the Chief Executive Officer of the health care company which serves the southeastern Montana region including Carter, Wibaux and Custer counties. “There’s a lot of things that need to be said, but I think it is being fueled by a lot of disinformation out there. There are some false statements being made. I need to call them out on that (disinformation), just like they need to call out their concerns about me. I am willing to tell them the truth. I am willing to show them that they are wrong.. “Only if everybody’s willing to come to the table,” he said after the sometimes boisterous meeting concluded. “Everybody has to be willing to be
working towards the same goal. If there are people that are not … what irritates me is there is so much umbrage against me. It tells me that they do not want to work towards a goal – they want to see me burn,” he said. “They want to see me get fired. That isn’t productive.” He noted that there were a mix of people among the more than 100 attending the meeting in Longfellow Gym March 18. He said that the board at the complex has an annual meeting which often has few if any people attending. “We send out requests for people if they want to have it … but it seems no one wants to have it. The way the corporation should work is if they have interest, they should join as a member. Then, when it comes time for the annual meeting, they have a vote on who is going to be the next trustee or two – or whatever happens to be vacant.” “I ask people do you want to have an annual meeting and nobody ever says yes,” Espeland said, adding that the people need to become motivated and participate. “Nobody wants to be a volunteer any more. Nobody wants to do something that they are not paid to do.
See FMC MEETING Page 2
Parkview 1 apartments may reopen in May – or sooner By Brad Mosher
bmosher@countrymedia
Anika Ploeger & Emily Shumaker
Logan Graham & Konner Flint
District Basketball All-Conference Teams
Four BHS basketball players were named to the 3B All-Conference basketball teams. Anika Ploeger, a junior, was selected to the girl’s first team and Emily Shumaker, a junior, was selected to the girl’s second team. Logan Graham and Konner Flint, both seniors, were selected to the boy’s second team. These players are nominated by and voted onto the team by the 3B coaches.
The former residents of Parkview Retirement Complex may soon be moving back into the Baker facility, according to one of Fallon County’s commissioners. The project to renovate Parkview 1 started almost a year ago when three county commissioners held a meeting in the common area to discuss the need to repair and renovate the building and for the residents to move elsewhere until the job was completed. County Commissioner Steve Baldwin was one of the three at the June 2020 meeting and has said that the $2.2 million project is nearing completion and residents may get the chance to move back in sometime in May – or maybe a little sooner. The company doing the renovations still has some things to finish up before the residents can return, Baldwin explained. “We are hoping that by the end of April they (residents) can move back in,” he said Tuesday. “We still have some electrical things – but they could probably be done at a later date. We are still on our timeline. The contractors have
told us they are still on time as far as they are concerned.” The workmen are already installing carpet in a couple of the rooms and have put all the counter tops in, the commissioner explained. “They are getting down to the nitty gritty inside the apartments.” The workers are still finishing up the interior painting, he added. From the start During the June 2020 meeting, commissioner Deb Ranum told the residents the complex has been in need of repair for a number of years and it has always been put off. “We have known for years that we would have to fix it up. We just kept putting it off and putting it off and doing other projects.” According to the people in the building, some of the needed repairs included a carpet with gaps covered by strips of duct tape and also has exposed nails coming through. The residents have also cited problems with drainage where water comes through the walls into the basement and also problems keeping the rooms warm or cool, depending on the season. The June 2020 meeting was
held in the greeting room of the complex with commissioners Deb Ranum, Roy Rost and Baldwin. Identified as Parkview 1, the project started after the residents were relocated. The project was to repair the building interior and exterior, which meant forcing the building to be vacated. Chad Sutton of SDI Architects + Design in Miles City is the project designer for the more than $2 million renovation and repair of the oldest section Parkview Retirement Complex. T. W. Clark Construction of Billings won the bid for the project in February 2020 with a $2,062,706 offer. In addition to repairing the water drainage and damage, the contractors were also to update the air conditioning, plumbing and fixtures in the 12 apartments in the older Parkview 1 building. The building was built in the 1980s. “We are going to address some problems they are having with water on the outside of the building finding its way into the inside of the building. There are some structural problems with the foundation on the south side of the building. So that is going to be excavat-
ed and a new overlay foundation is going to be added to that south base,” Sutton said before beginning work. “The new foundation is to fix a big crack. There are some pretty substantial cracks in the foundation on the south side of the building. It is a structural problem that we need to stop so that we don’t keep expanding the crack,” he explained. The water problem has several causes, Sutton said. “They have some ground water that is making its way in from underground and coming up. Also, there is close to 26,000 square feet of roof that drains into the courtyard. It is coming off the nursing home, the hospital, Parkview 1, the new expansion that was done. There is a whole bunch of them trying to get into a manhole and the storm drain. When you get the big heavy rains, it is not able to take (all the water) right now.” There is some water damage to the main floor, he added. “That is going to get repaired.” “The carpet (on the main floor) has some wrinkles in it because it has gotten wet so many times. The plywood that is underneath it has warped and
See PARKVIEW Page 2