Stevens County’s three commissioners Joe D. Thompson, Tron Stegman and Pat Hall convened Monday, August 21 for their regular meeting.
The agenda for the meeting was relatively full, as was the Commissioners’ Room. Wayne Tate, Tom Hicks, Paula Rowden and John Brower with the Stevens County Foundation came in to speak with the commissioners about possible uses for the fund. The Stevens County Foundation was formed in 2003, and the fund currently sits at $5.3 million. Wayne told Pat, Joe D. and Tron the purpose of the fund is to mitigate the effects of the county’s decreased valuation. Tax-supported entities promoting the quality of life are the focus of the fund. The money should be used to support things normally funded by the county that are no longer possible to pay with county dollars.
Basically the purpose of the Foundation Board’s visit was to establish some dialogue between the two entities. The group couldn’t recall even one formal request for use of funds, so a little publicity may be warranted. Wayne Tate commented, “It doesn’t do us any good to sit with $5.3 million while the town or county withers away.”
Commissioners agreed they would go over department budgets to evaluate where some of the money could be best used.
