by Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
Havre and Hill County officials aren't saying much about the scheduled meeting of the joint city-county 911 board next week.
It will be the first time the board has met since Jan. 11, when it voted to locate the primary enhanced-911 call center at the Hill County Detention Center, reversing a 2-year-old decision to use the Havre police station as the primary location and prompting city officials to abruptly leave the meeting.
The city and the county have since begun drafting plans to create separate dispatching jurisdictions within Hill County. County officials have called for mediation and city officials have said they are open to negotiations.
The city attorney and county attorney have proposed an agreement, Havre Police Chief Mike Barthel said today. He declined to comment further and said details would be provided at the meeting. Neither City Attorney Jim Kaze nor County Attorney Cyndee Peterson were available for comment today.
Hill County Sheriff Greg Szudera, who chairs the board, said today that he didn't want to comment on what will be discussed at the April 12 meeting. The agenda has not yet been set, he said.
Barthel said the meeting is a step in the right direction.
"I believe it is positive. We're moving in the right direction," Barthel said. He encouraged those who are interested in e-911 to attend the meeting, which is open to the public. The meeting will be held at 11 a.m. at City Hall on April 12.
County Commissioner Mike Anderson said he is hopeful the meeting with be a positive step. He did not want to speculate on what may be discussed at the meeting.
"When we have that meeting, everything will come out then," he said.
Havre Mayor Bob Rice also would not comment on any specifics but said the meeting is a good idea.
"I think it'll work out just fine," he said.
County sanitarian Clay Vincent said he understands that some agreement has been reached but does not know the details of it.
