Sheriff’s substation proposed for Victor

by Michael Howell

Efforts are underway to establish a Sheriff’s Office substation in Victor. Some residents of Victor met last week with the Ravalli County Commissioners to discuss the possibility of establishing a law enforcement district in the Victor area that would house a Sheriff’s Office substation. Victor resident Ron Wirth, who is spearheading the effort, said they are seeking to place an estimated 15 mill levy on residents within the proposed district which would coincide with the current boundaries of the Victor School District.

According to Wirth, donors have already been found for the property and the construction of a building to serve as a substation. The mill levy which they would like to place on the ballot next June would serve to pay for staffing and operation of the facility. He said the property for the substation would be donated to the Sheriff’s Office by Farmers State Bank executive Kay Clevidence, who owns the property located on the north side of Main Street across from the Post Office. Victor residents Dan and Marlene Nixon have offered to construct a building on the property.

Wirth said a rough preliminary estimate of the cost of staffing the facility, based on consultation with Sheriff Steve Holton, came to $190,000, which would cover the expenses for 1.5 fulltime sheriff’s officers and some clerical personnel to staff the operation. He said based on an assessment of property values within the proposed district, the cost could be covered by a15 mill levy.  According to Wirth, that comes to about $22 per year or about $1.83 per month on a home valued at $150,000 and about $3.60 per month on a home valued at $350,000.

Wirth said the proposed building would be 28’ by 30’ and include a closed interview room on the interior as well as a half bathroom. The rest of the office space would be open. He said the Nixons also offered to include basic furnishing at an estimated total building cost of around $500,000.

The main thing they were looking for most immediately was some determination from the County as to whether establishing a law enforcement district was legal. He said it looked to him and others upon reading the law governing the establishment of special districts as though it would be, but when he asked County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg, she had never heard of anyone doing anything like it. Wirth said they would like to get an opinion from the Ravalli County Attorney before proceeding any further.

“If it’s legal, we want to move forward with it,” said Wirth. He said they know it would involve circulating a petition to get it on the ballot and they were OK with that.

Commissioner Jeff Burrows questioned the estimated cost. He said having the property and a building and paying for the deputies was not the whole picture. He said there were insurance costs, power, water and lighting costs, as well as the inevitable rising of the prices for those costs and possibly more to consider. 

“A one-time allocation doesn’t do that,” said Burrows.

Commissioner Greg Chilcott agreed and wondered if there were not even more costs to be considered, saying, “We have to consider this in the long term.” 

Wirth said that they were looking at a June election date in 2025 to place the mill levy on the ballot and that there was plenty of time to massage the details and get it all in writing. He said if it turns out to cost more, then they would adjust the mill levy request.

“The bottom line is we are committed to make this happen,” said Wirth, “and whatever we need to do to make this happen, we are going to do it. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.” He said the only real question at this point was whether it was legal or not.

In public comment, Hamilton resident Skip Chisholm, a member of the Ravalli County Board of Health, said that he had lived in Victor a couple of times over the years and he thought it was a great idea. He spoke to Wirth, saying, “I think it’s amazing that you brought this forward. I can tell you, all the things you presented are right on. I really hope, just as a citizen of Ravalli County, I really hope that this can come together. This is the kind of thing that is good for the future of this county and will set an example for it.”  

Tommy Dobberstein, chairman of the Victor School Board, had some cautionary words about the proposal. “From my past experiences,” said Dobberstein, “probably the building you are going to put up will be way more expensive than you think it is going to be.”  When Wirth said he didn’t think so, Dobberstein said, “We thought the same thing when someone wanted to build a weight room for us.” He said it was a public building that had unexpected expenses. “We estimated the cost at $100,000, but after looking into it we found out it was going to cost $675,000,” said Dobberstein.

Dobberstein also pointed out that there was already a building in town housing a Highway Patrol Office.

Sheriff Steve Holton said, “The problem with looking at a substation facility is that the Victor Fire Hall is already a great facility for that, the real problem is staffing it. We have a physical structure that we can use, we just can’t staff it. That’s the issue.” 

Dobberstein added that they would be asking local residents, who are already paying taxes for law enforcement, to pay another tax for the same thing on top of it. “I think it’s going to be way more complicated than you think and the more you look into it, the more difficult it is going to end up being,” said Dobberstein.

Commission Chair Dan Huls ended the meeting, saying to Wirth that the commissioners were “committed to help you get this thing kicked off and then leave it to see what the voters want to do.” The issue of the legality of setting up the district will be forwarded to the County Attorney’s office for an answer.