Hill County declares state of emergency for flooding

The Hill County Commission has declared an emergency situation in the county for the flooding and voted to impose a two mil emergency levy to help pay for repairs.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said safe roads are vital to providing for the welfare of the people of Hill County, but the extent of the damage cannot be addressed with the county's current finances, hence the need for a levy.

The tax will apply to all county residents not living within an incorporated community like Havre and Hingham and will show up on the November taxes.

Peterson said imposing this tax requires a unanimous vote, not just a majority, so he's thankful to his fellow commissioners for supporting the measure which he believes is necessary to address a situation of this severity.

Hill County Treasurer Sandy Brown initially raised concerns that the resolution, which read that flooding began April 9, would exclude damage caused by flooding that started before that date but wasn't serious enough to register with the county.

Strissel said the resolution shouldn't exclude anything like that and they put April 9 in it because that was the first day the county received any calls about flooding.

Peterson said this declaration won't just allow them to levy more money for repairs, but will allow them to make the case to the governor that the situation is serious enough that he needs to request President Joe Biden declare a federal emergency, which would allow the county to make use of FEMA funds.

During the meeting the commission also passed a resolution allowing them to distribute $150,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to Hingham for its water and sewer infrastructure projects.

Strissel said these are much-needed projects and he's glad Hill County could help Hingham get these funds.

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Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services listed road closures for Hill County as of April 18, subject to change, with no timeline on reopening at this time.

Inverness

Road 50 South

Fox Crossing, Obrien Coulee

Road 30 North to 100 North

15 North from 60 North to North 100

80 North of Inverness

Rudyard

Rudyard to Inverness Cut Across *

115 South Mile Marker 16-30 CLOSED

55 South

180 North

Hingham

190 North, water over road, use extreme caution

Kremlin

North Kremlin Chain of Lakes area is submerged

80 West Kremlin South

North Havre

Amos Trail South is intermittently damaged and closed, water in several spots

Alternative route for these roads are East St. Joe. West to Wild Horse

Cottonwood Road open for the south end 3 miles. Otherwise closed continuing heading north

CottonWood Bridge and surrounding area CLOSED TO PUBLIC, Junction area CLOSED TO PUBLIC

West Fork Road CLOSED