Howdy makers of Montana

Welcome back to the Bozeman Build Report covering trade related activities happening in Montana. Today we’re covering Simms being resold, Big Sky lift building incident, urban campers ousted, quick steel structure assembly, Town Pump, multi family framing, Northern Lights, DSG Butte, State grants for housing and agritourism, Paradise valley proposed luxury development, Bull mountain mine being sued, water meetings, old machines, wind bursts Yellowstone river bridge build, Wyoming Range fire film, Elk fire update, and logging trains.

Thanks again for tuning in and please enjoy the next 5 minutes covering what Montana is made of.

Keep the saw sharp,

Daniel

When, what, and who is the Bozeman Build? The BB is a 1x/week free email newsletter delivered every Monday morning focused on mountain West trades with an emphasis on Montana. We are not a financial or building advisors.

Bozeman and Montana Trade Pulse

Bozeman trade pulse

October 5, 2024 - Leading global fly fishing brand sold for second time in two years. SIMMS Fishing Products is part of the Revelyst division of the US-based Vista Outdoor conglomerate which has entered into a definitive agreement with Strategic Value Partners (SVP) for the $1.125 billion sale. The Bozeman, Montana company joined Vista for $192.5m in July 2022. (Angling International)

Oct 8th, 2024 - Several Doppelmayr construction employees escaped injury in Big Sky today when a crossarm fell from a helicopter and crashed to the ground.

Oct 10, 2024 Bozeman City Commission advances updated urban camping ordinance (KBZK)

• City staff noted that since August’s study session, 7.5 percent of all calls for service were related to urban campers. Around 100 of those resulted in a misdemeanor or felony offense.

• The city also released results from its survey saying that nearly 87 percent of residents believed that urban camping should not be allowed.

• After nearly five hours, city commissioners passed the new ordinance in a 3-2 vote, with Deputy Mayor Joey Morrison and Commissioner Emma Bode voting against.

• The new ordinance would restrict urban camping in the public right of way. So, no camping would be allowed on city streets. Violating the ordinance would be a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500 and the possibility of up to 10 days in jail.

Oct 12, 2024 - BOZEMAN — If you were planning on staying in Bozeman for Montana State’s Parents Weekend, if you didn't book your hotel early, you were probably out of luck.. According to the Chamber, there are currently 2,535 hotel rooms in Bozeman in 31 hotels. 650 of those rooms were created in the last five years, but that hasn’t kept up with the rapid rate of tourism. So why aren't more hotels being built to increase availability and lower costs? (KBZK)

The one week roof

October 4th, all the wall frame columns were were assembled and 4 cranes were ready to lift all the rafters and purlins in place for Montana State Universities 112,000-square-foot Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center also discussed in the Bozeman Build Report #33.

October 11th, I drove by the site and all rafters and purlins were set, I couldn’t believe it took less than 7 days to set the roof structure.

New Huffine Town Pump

This is temporarily Montana’s largest Town Pump until the location off Hwy 287 East of Helena opens. It felt like a grocery store.

Framing speed

Arco Murrys framing contractor started framing up the Freestone Apartments around the first week of July. Here they are as of October 12th 2024, watching several other projects race to get their buildings dried in prior to the first snow.

Bozeman MT Project Portal

6 new projects added last week on the cities Planning Projects portal

Montana trade pulse

Northern Lights seen around the State Oct 9th, 10th and 11th

Oct 8, 2024 Two Stillwater County solar facilities expected to transform area's energy landscape. The approved projects — Battle Butte Solar 1 and Battle Butte Solar 2 both projects are located at the intersection of Battle Butte Road and Rapelje Road, and are both spearheaded by Birch Creek Energy, LLC. (Bozeman Chronicle)

• Battle Butte Solar 1 consists of a 65 megawatt solar energy facility to generate approximately 152,081 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy annually. This amount of energy is expected to power around 20,000 homes, representing a significant contribution to local and state energy needs.

• No details regarding Butte Solar 2’s output

Construction of the project is expected to commence in 2025 and be completed by December of 2026.

10/09/2024 - DSG Opens 60,000-square-foot Facility In Butte, Montana (Business Facilities)

• DSG is a Midwest-based independent wholesale distributor that supplies a broad range of products and solutions from manufacturers to professionals in the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, communications, utility, automation, waterworks and onsite sewer and well industries.

Oct 10, 2024 Montana Dept. of Commerce announces initiative to tackle housing obstacles. The initiative, "Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing," looks to leverage a competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).(KULR8)

October 10 2024 HELENA, Mont. – The Montana Department of Commerce announced today the launch of a new grant program designed to support rural and tribal agricultural businesses and promote economic diversification across the state. The funding is through Commerce’s Agritourism Grants Program. “This new grant program will help Montana farmers and ranchers expand operations by developing new or enhancing established agritourism revenue streams. (Montana Department of Commerce)

Oct 10, 2024 LIVINGSTON — A resort that includes a restaurant, spa and 100 cabins is planned in Paradise Valley, about five miles south of Livingston. The developer on the 90-acre project is Miami-based Flex Capital Group. Elements of the project related to water supply and septic systems require the approval of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. (Montana Right Now)

• Food & Beverage, 200 Seats — 7,500 square feet

• Pools, Spa, Gym — 4,500 square feet

• Lobby — 3,500 square feet

• Recreational Sales Outlets — 1,500 square feet

• Event Space — 5,000 square feet

• 70 one bed, 1.5 bath cabins — 615 square feet

• 30 two bed, two bath cabins — 895 square feet

• Circulation — 4,595 square feet

Oct 13th 2024 - HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Department of Commerce announced grant funding that aims to help Montana communities increase their appeal to tourism. The second round of funding through the Pilot Community Tourism Grant Program will be made available on Nov. 1. The program was made possible by the Montana Legislature's enactment of Senate Bill 540 in 2023. (NBC Montana)

Oct 13th 2024 - Three environmental groups are suing the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for approving an expansion for the Bull Mountain Mine that would open up more land for coal mining. The groups say the expansion would continue to damage water supplies for ranchers, destroy cultural artifacts sacred to Native American tribes and contribute significantly to climate change. (ICT News)

MDT News

20241011-081559 | MDT, Frontier West, Inc. Announce Completion Of I-15 Bridge
20241008-162618 | Construction Complete On Butte Urban Pavement Preservation P
20241007-093144 | Custer Avenue Signals Project Underway In Helena

DNRC

Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee to Meet virtually and in person at 9:30 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 17. The meeting will include reports and discussion on:

• • Current Conditions and Season Wrap-Up (Troy Blandford, MSL)

• • USGS Cooperative Stream Gage Program (John Kilpatrick - USGS)

• • USDA Disaster Declarations (Les Rispens - USDA - FSA)

• • Cloud Seeding Feasibility Study (Michael Downey – DNRC)

Retired machines

Old heavy equipment found at the Flathead County Maintenance yard featuring a road grader and water truck.

North Flathead wind burst

There was a wind burst around late August between Big Fork and Kalispell that came off the Flathead Lake blowing over stacked hay bales and other non anchored structures.

Yellowstone River Bridge

The Yellowstone River Bridge project is located at intersection of the Northeast Entrance Road and the Grand Loop Road (Tower Junction) in Yellowstone National Park. It will replace the existing 60-year old bridge on a new mile-long realignment of the Northeast Entrance Road. The new 1,285 long, 175 high steel girder bridge will have drilled shafts, concrete decking, sidewalks, and railing. It is located within a hydrothermally and geothermally active zone with multiple gas vents observed along the river s edge and will require sulfate resistant cement and thermal monitoring of below grade concrete curing. (US DOT)

THIS BRIDGE IS BIG! Photos sourced from the Yellowstone NP Facebook page.

Wyoming Range Fire

August 10th fire captured by a buddy residing near Daniel, WY #Remington_krejci_smith

Elk Fire - Bighorns

87,805 acres burned at 28% containment as of October 13th 2024. Thoughts and prayers to everyone residing near the Big Horns.

September 30, 2024 - DENVER – FEMA authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Elk Fire burning in Sheridan County, Wyoming. At the time of the request, the Elk Fire was threatening more than 1,000 homes and 1,000 residents, which are under an evacuation order. The fire started Sept. 28 and has burned more than 22,410 acres.

Montana Weather

*Fall colors are in full swing, after this week lots of leaves are going to fall especially at higher elevations.

History

Baird-Harper Lumber Company logging train. Pictured: William Baenen. (Montana History Portal)

Have a great week!

Daniel

bozemanbuild.com & blockbiome.com