Commissioners travel to Helena next week

The Lincoln County commissioners will be traveling to Helena next week to meet with state officials in hopes of finding solutions to the county’s economic woes.

Lincoln County has consistently held the state’s top spot on the unemployment list. In hopes of calling more state attention to the county’s plight, Rep. Mike Cuffe of Eureka has helped facilitate several meetings between the commissioners and a number of state officials.

Commissioner Greg Larson said Lincoln County’s delegation, which will include the three commissioners as well as Eureka mayor LeeAnn Schermerhorn and local port authority directors Tina Oliphant and Tracy McIntyre, will be presenting a number of project proposals to the state agency leaders.

“We will be bringing a list of some project ideas and needs we have in Lincoln County. What we hope to do in the future is have short-term, mid-term and long-term projects identified each year for agency and legislative funding considerations and this is a good first step toward that goal,” he said.

The ideas and projects to be considered will run the full gamut of possibilities, Cuffe said.

“Attendees will get first-hand information, get to meet people who are involved with grants and projects and get idea on how to proceed. They will also have the opportunity to see how their ideas may fit with available funding and planning. Ideally, we may come up with short-term projects, longer-term projects, major projects and discussions on industry development, including mining and forestry, tourism and recreation and other stuff, too,” Cuffe wrote in an email.

Larson said this is a meeting being organized exclusively for Lincoln County, it isn’t part of any regular legislative or agency agenda.

“This is definitely specifically being done to help Lincoln County,” he said.

The meeting will be taking place during an extremely busy point of the legislative session, which could create some distractions for the members of the delegation. In his email to the commissioners, Cuffe warned of the potential for politics to enter into the discussion, as well as the advantages of the meeting.

“The 64th Legislature will be at a very active point, so don’t be surprised if some political stances are presented. I hope the main unbiased focus is on how to boost economic activity and long-term economic health for Lincoln County, which consistently has the highest unemployment rating out of 56 counties. There will be advantages just from having all of you together focusing on those things,” Cuffe wrote.

The commissioners will be heavily booked during their two-day trip, meeting with agency heads from transportation, fish, wildlife & parks, environmental quality and tourism. They will also be spending a great deal of time with John Rogers, the governor’s advisor for economic affairs.

“We have a pretty ambitious schedule,” Larson said. “But we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”