99 year lease program for Montana Heritage Commission properties put on hold at quarterly meeting

On March 6, the Montana Heritage Commission (MHC) voted without opposition to begin the process of developing a work group that will create guidelines for the 99-year property lease program created by HB 680 that was sponsored by representative Ken Walsh in the 2025 legislative session. New MHC executive director Joseph Stasko was tasked with developing the proposed composition of the work group and presenting it to the commissioners for approval at the MHC quarterly meeting in June. 

An animated exchange between Montana state senator Tony Tezak and Virginia City mayor Justin Gatewood after the open portion of the meeting was adjourned was used as the lead in the television news coverage of the event. The confrontation, which began after Gatewood pointed out that Tezak had not contributed any comment during the meeting, was seen by some attendees as an extension of the frustration felt by the community after having long time concessionaires contracts canceled and replaced with contracts that require payments of 15% of gross revenue by the Department of Commerce (DOC). 

While the cancellation of concessionaire contracts was not scheduled for discussion at the meeting, review of the guidelines for the 99-year lease program were on the agenda. Before the discussion took place, DOC deputy director Mandy Rambo, who is serving on the MHC in proxy for DOC director Marta Bertoglio, moved to table the topic and develop the work group. 

Madison County commissioner Duke Gilman, who represents Virginia City, requested that the county have a representative in the work group. Gatewood suggested that the city government have representation as well. It was also suggested that current concessionaires and members of the community be represented in Stasko’s proposal for the composition of the group that will develop the guidelines for the long term leases. 

Christopher Budeski, who chaired the meeting, suggested that the mayor of Virginia City and the county commissioner be added to the agenda for future meetings to increase communication beyond the allowance for public comment during the meetings. 

It was announced during the meeting that the DOC is finalizing negotiations with concessionaires for the Wells Fargo Steakhouse, Bob’s Place, a bodega style grocery at the City Bakery and the Opera House. According to Rambo, the contract details will be released in an update to the MHC FAQ page at www.commerce.mt.gov/About/Boards/Montana-Heritage-Commission/Concession-Opportunities-and-Short-Term-Leases/MHC-Contract-Continuity-FAQs.

Rambo also indicated that the DOC is showing the Star Bakery in Nevada City to potential concessionaires in the near future. 

Stasko’s executive director report highlighted a variety of maintenance projects that were taking place including addressing the HVAC issues in the McFarland Curatorial Center. 

Rambo gave an update on the Stonewall Hall restoration project and announced that the Montana Chamber of Commerce Foundation will be the fiscal sponsor of the project and will be collecting funds on behalf of the DOC. 

Rambo also detailed the cleaning costs for the Wells Fargo Steakhouse that topped $32,000 and included winterization of the building and hood cleaning. Additionally, Rambo stated that the DOC has spent more than $1 million to cover the salary of acting director April Armstrong and the staff members who have worked on the digitization of “decades of paper documents” relating to the MHC. She indicated that the digitization project is still ongoing and emphasized that the $1 million number is just for the state fiscal year which began on July 1 of 2025 through Feb. 28 of this year. 

The deputy director also stated that the DOC had made the decision to supplement the MHC budget with $570,000 to ensure that they would be able to pay their full-time employees. She indicated that she expects to have to supplement the budget again in June. 

The next meeting of the MHC is scheduled for June 5 in Virginia City. More information can be found at https://commerce.mt.gov/About/Boards/Montana-Heritage-Commission/Reports-Publications-and-Meetings.