Bowman County officials talk development

Talk about it

Bowman County officials talked about housing and industrial development in the area at a meeting Tuesday at the Bowman County Courthouse.

“A plan was done 14 years ago, so we are due for an update,” Bowman County Auditor Sandy Tivis said of the comprehensive plan they are building.

Bowman County commissioners along with the Bowman City Council and the Bowman County Development Corp. attended the meeting and took the very first steps in putting a plan together.

“We want to be proactive and work together in an effort to keep things running smoothly,” Chairman Ken Steiner said.

Officials also talked about road repairs.

Neil Hofland, Bowman County Highway Department superintendent, said most construction projects have ended for the year due to winter conditions.

“Right now we are working on easements for the Scranton Road project,” Hofland said.

The Scranton Road project is nine miles south of Scranton on 133rd Ave. SW.

Gravel was another concern for two townships at Tuesday’s meeting.

An unorganized township (Hart Township) was awarded $4,000 for gravel and road repair.

Gem Township requested 346 yards of gravel from the county. The county will charge $1,435 for placing gravel.

“A lot of the townships are pressed for money so we give them gravel that we have stockpiled and they pay to have it put on,” Steiner said.

Mark Schneider, from the Atmospheric Resource Board, gave his yearly report on hail suppression and rain enhancement, which is manipulating the weather to create favorable conditions.

“This year we had a good report,” Steiner said. “They were about $3,100 under budget. We had a lot of rain so they did not have to do a lot of rain enhancement and didn’t have to spend as much.”

Tags: bowman county, news, development