Lewis and Clark County Awards Road Striping Bid, Reviews Rocky Mountain Development Plan

The Lewis & Clark County Board of Commissioners gathered Tuesday morning in Commission Chambers at the City-County Building in Helena to take up a short but consequential agenda: awarding a contract to stripe county roads for the coming season and receiving Rocky Mountain Development Council's 2026-2027 work plan.

The paint-striping project covers waterborne paint striping on county roads throughout Lewis and Clark County. The annual bid process puts the work out to competitive contractors, with commissioners holding authority to award the contract at the public meeting. Tuesday's action locked in a vendor for the 2026 season before road crews shift into full summer maintenance mode.

The second item brought Rocky Mountain Development Council before the commission to outline its plans for the coming fiscal year. Rocky Mountain Development Council is committed to improving quality of life, especially for low-income citizens in Lewis & Clark, Broadwater, and Jefferson Counties, and currently encompasses senior services, affordable housing, energy assistance, child care, Head Start, and senior volunteer opportunities. The 2026-2027 work plan presentation gave commissioners a look at how the nonprofit intends to deploy those services in the county over the next year.

Rocky Mountain Development Council is a Community Action Agency that primarily serves Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, and Jefferson Counties, established in 1965, a year after federal authorizing legislation. Its relationship with the county commission is ongoing: as a public-sector partner, the commission holds a seat in Rocky's governance structure. Rocky's board structure requires a tripartite board consisting of equal parts local private sector, public sector, and low-income community representatives and leaders.

Lewis and Clark County commissioners hold public meetings every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00 a.m. in Commission Chambers, Room 330 of the City-County Building, with meetings also available live on Helena Civic Television.

The road striping contract award and the Rocky Mountain Development Council work plan review reflect the commission's dual role in county government: managing basic infrastructure that residents use daily while overseeing partnerships with social service agencies that serve the county's most vulnerable populations.