Big Sky Culinary Classes was inspired by Chef Heather’s passion to share within her community her love (and talent!) of food! Designed for all skill levels and ages, our hands-on, Chef Instructed classes are ideal for hosting parties in your home, a special dinner for 2, date-night, team building for your crew or just because you want to expand your culinary knowledge & techniques! Big Sky Culinary Classes has a class for you!
December 2, 2023 Come on down and stroll around Townsend for great food, atmosphere, fun and maybe even a little early shopping for the holidays. Make sure you get a Stroll card for a chance to win some great cash and prizes. Our SANTA hat raffle is becoming a huge part of the stroll. Wear your hat around for the day and enjoy a Norman Rockwell style Christmas Stroll in our cozy, friendly town Townsend Area Chamber of Commerce brings to you our Annual Christmas Stroll. Contact Chamber: 266-4101 to register & reserve your FREE vendor space.
Christmas is a time for Family and for Friends; For giving your time and energy to your community. It is a special season all across the United States. It is also a time for shopping. Your local stores depend on you! Shop Local this Holiday Season.
Our Mission is to Attract, retain and expand businesses in Broadwater County and support infrastructure and beautification efforts. Protect and maintain our heritage.
The BCDC Meetings are open to the public. Join us at our monthly meeting held the 3rd Wednesday of every month at The Lodge of Townsend.
Webcam Bulletin Board Weather Events Calendar Business Directory Community Connections
Click on Broadwater Community Foundation Newsletter to view the 2022-2023 newsletter
Click on BCF Grant Guidelines and Application to download the 2022-2023 BCF Grant Application.
Click on Broadwater Community and Aqua Center Survey to help design the proposed center
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that it is accepting applications for loans and grants to expand access to new and better markets for rural small business owners and microentrepreneurs.
The Department is making approximately $29 million available in funding through the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP).
USDA provides RMAP funding to non-profits, Tribes, colleges and universities to create revolving loan fund programs and support training and technical assistance for rural microentrepreneurs and microenterprises. Rural businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees are eligible for loans and technical assistance.
USDA is particularly interested in applications that will advance Biden-Harris Administration priorities to:
Applications must be submitted to the USDA Rural Development State Office where the project is located no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the following dates:
Interested applicants are encouraged to contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office well in advance of the application deadline to ask questions about their project, the program or the application process.
Additional information is available on page 63054 of the Sept. 14, 2023, Federal Register.
To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit GovDelivery subscriber page.
Letter from BCDC Trails Committee
Public Comment Letter from Broadwater County Development Corp. – Trails Committee
Broadwater County Commissioners meeting 11-7-2023
Agenda topic: MDOT highways and bridges
Dear Commissioners and MDOT representatives:
The Broadwater County Development Corp. has identified walking and bicycle pathways as a current need as well as meeting future needs of Broadwater County residents. A committee has been established to look at the health, safety, community use and recreational use of trails to develop a master plan to propose locations, issues, design standards and financing opportunities to develop these trails. The committee has established a preliminary set of priority trails to begin a more in-depth effort at getting them established. We anticipate that after some public open houses and meetings and further refinement having a draft plan completed by early 2024.
The committee’s work so far has surfaced several trail-related items that we would like to bring to your attention dealing with highways and bridges. Specifically, the Missouri River bridge on the north edge of Townsend requires a walkway. Additionally, there are three main highway segments the committee has prioritized that include highway Right-of-Way (ROW) use, trail design and funding of Highway 287/12 from Townsend to the Silos Road, Highway 12 from Townsend to the Broadwater County Fairgrounds and Highway 287 from Townsend to Toston. There are other long-term roadside ROW to be considered but these are the ones the committee has proposed to focus on for now.
Missouri River Bridge at Townsend, approximately 500 feet
This bridge is considered by our committee as the single barricade to the development of safe and usable trails accessing all trail opportunities north of the bridge in Broadwater County. The community views the bridge as unsafe for pedestrians and most bikers do not want or like to use it because of narrow shoulders and the 55 mph speeds. Pedestrians do not cross it because of safety fears. Children are not allowed in most cases to cross that bridge. The bridge has a paved trail from downtown Townsend to the Indian Creek campground and a gravel-surfaced trail on the north side that ties into various trails segments and types that lead all the way to the Silos and even further to Winston and several access points developing neighborhoods and to the Elkhorns and Canyon Ferry Lake. Without the development of a pedestrian walkway with this bridge, all trail development north of it cannot tie to Townsend nor Townsend residents to anything north of the bridge. This is a critical piece of hike/bike transit through Broadwater County.
Highway 287/12 Townsend north to Silos and Antelope Road junction, approximately 6.2 miles
This section of highway has been identified as a priority by the committee for several reasons. It would allow residents from all the subdivisions on both sides of the highway a way to access the lake and Townsend and vice versa. We need a safe trail system, properly designed and constructed that would allow and, in fact, encourage residents to use it safely. This could involve a dual trail system on both sides of the highway with underpasses at both ends that allow users to cross under the to be built 4-5 lane highway and not have to try to cross it. The number of deaths on this section of highway already highlights the need to keep people off of it and away from the shoulders.
Highway 12 Townsend to the Fairgrounds
This trail would stretch from Harrison Street on the eastern edge of Townsend along the north side of the highway to the main entrance to the fairgrounds, approximately 1.5 miles. This trail would allow town residents to access the fairgrounds without trying to walk in the undeveloped roadsides or walk/ride their bikes on a very narrow highway shoulder. This trail would facilitate access to the fairgrounds by people desiring to walk/ride and get exercise or people staying at the fairgrounds and wanting a no-vehicular avenue to access Townsend. Mr. Gates has seen this proposed segment on the ground. We believe this trail will provide a great community use trail to enhance attendance at fairground activities as well as family exercise and wellness use.
Highway 287 Townsend to Toston, approximately 9.9 miles
This is a route sought by many people as it accesses two communities and makes a longer segment than other trail segments. It would or could utilize existing highway ROW. If the segments that are not yet 4-5 lanes get developed, we feel inclusion of a safe trail system is warranted. The highway portion would also tie to many other identified routes of existing county roads that make this a very appealing route and will again keep walkers/bikers off the high-speed road. This road is a very high-speed segment and it keeps people from using the area.
Other long-term highway ROW use segments
The committee’s vision of the county trail network would include the use of Highways 287 and Highway 12 clear across the county lines, use of Highway 285 from Toston to Radersburg, Highway 437 from Highways 285 to 12, Highway 284 from Highway 12 north to Broadwater County line.
We believe that as highways are upgraded to handle heavier and faster traffic flows that a commensurate hike/bike adjacent trail system must be part of the upgrade design and cost as a safety and life-saving component. A design that merely includes an 8-foot shoulder on a new 4-5 lane highway does not create a safe travel route for hike/bikers, especially since a 4-5 lane roadway is identical to the nearby interstate highway that has an 80-mph speed limit. Drivers turning onto the state 4-5 lane highway drive it the same, so the increased speeds negate usability of the shoulder usage by hike/bikers.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input into MDOT and Broadwater County alternative transportation systems associated with the existing highway system and potential upgrades to it.
Sincerely, BCDC Trails Committee
Al Christophersen, representative
Letter From Al and Cindy Christophersen regarding HWY287 Safety
Public comment letter
Broadwater County Commissioners meeting 11-7-2023
Agenda topic: MDOT highways and bridges
Dear Commissioners and MDOT representatives:
We cannot attend the meeting in person so we are submitting our personal comments via this letter.
We live in the Silos neighborhood, residing there since 2006. We have witnessed the significant increase in vehicle traffic and associated safety concerns issues for neighbors, community, businesses, tourism and recreational use on the section of Highway 287/12 from Townsend over the Missouri River Bridge and past the Silos Road junction. Several lives have been lost on this section of highway during this time.
We understand there are plans/discussions of plans for further upgrades to 4-5 lanes with middle turn lanes from the bridge to the end of the current 4 lane. We ask that you consider the following improvements, changes and some creative design thinking for this segment of highway. These include and not in any priority way the following:
• Design of an 8-foot shoulder on the side of the highway where traffic travels at 80 mph does not constitute safe transit for walkers or bicyclists
• The high amount of ingress and egress access points along this 8-mile stretch of highway is an incredible safety hazard,
• Consider designing a frontage road, especially along the west side of the highway to a single or couple of highway access points,
• Consider, as a safety lifesaving feature, designing in safety corridor pedestrian and bicycle trails from Townsend to the Silos Road that keep people off the freeway type highway,
• Consider, as a safety lifesaving feature, development of speed up and slow down lanes at all major junctions to allow for the merging of large commercial and recreational vehicle we see on this section of high-speed road, i.e., Silos Road, Antelope, Whitehorse, Trailhead, Grandview Loop, Indian Creek Rd.
• Consider designing a route that all the 4-wheeler, ATV, UTV vehicles can travel safely from the Silos Road into Townsend as they are not high-speed vehicles and become a real safety element on the high-speed highway, 4-5 lanes will not solve that problem,
• Consider designing and constructing of two underpasses that will allow pedestrians and bicyclists to cross to either side of the highway at the Silos junction and somewhere near the Mansion that will allow users to safely stay with trails and not have to physically try to cross 4-5 lanes of high-speed traffic and get from the developing neighborhoods and Silos Recreation Area to Townsend,
• Provide an acceptable to MDOT a design plan for a cantilevered pedestrian walkway/trail attached to the Missouri River highway bridge,
• Consider speed reductions from Hahn Road to Townsend that significantly and successfully slows traffic down,
• Provide a department liaison to work closely with Townsend and the Broadwater County Commissioners on partnership development, funding programs and safety trails.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Al and Cindy Christophersen
PO Box 115, Townsend, MT 59644
Townsend Area Chamber of Commerce brings to you our Annual Christmas Stroll.
Contact Chamber: 266-4101 to register & reserve your FREE vendor space.
Big Sky Culinary Classes was inspired by Chef Heather’s passion to share within her community her love (and talent!) of food!
Designed for all skill levels and ages, our hands-on, Chef Instructed classes are ideal for hosting parties in your home, a special dinner for 2, date-night, team building for your crew or just because you want to expand your culinary knowledge & techniques! Big Sky Culinary Classes has a class for you!
The Imagination Library is a partnership between the Broadwater County Social Services Committee (BCSSC) and the Dollywood Foundation. Every child who is enrolled in the program receives a free age-appropriate book every month from birth until the age of 5. It is open to any child residing in Broadwater County.
In 2022, a survey was done with parents in Broadwater County with children currently enrolled in the program or recent graduates. The survey showed the program is already making a big impact in the community in just three years by increasing reading time, improving kindergarten readiness, promoting family bonding and fostering a love for reading. The survey respondents indicated:
BCSSC is raising funds to continue operating the program. The Dolly Parton Foundation covers the administrative cost of the program while the local organization funds the cost of books, postage and mailing. The local cost is $25/child/year. If you should like to sponsor a child to participate in the program or give a general donation, please complete the form below. BCSSC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and all donations are tax deductible. For more information about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library or to enroll, visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/.
Download the Dolly Parton Imagation Library Donation Form
The Citizens Action Group for the Silos Recreation Area has been working with the BOR and the people of Broadwater County and the surrounding region to develop a Master Plan for the Silos Recreation Area.
Click here to view the Silos Master Plan
We have a few available business/office spaces available for rent or sale. We also have a few business owners looking to retire from successful/thriving established businesses. Does Townsend fit into your next business decision? Browse our website; see what our area has to offer, visit with our realtors & property managers. Make Townsend your next move. For more information contact bcdc@mt.net
“It’s Time” to come home to Montana
Are you ready for a simpler way of life – a less corporate lifestyle?
Take a look at what our area has to offer.
Click Here for a partial listing
A video sampling of what is out our backdoor
Thank You for visiting our web site. This site is owned & maintained by Broadwater County Development Corporation.
If you own a business in Broadwater County please check your listing for errors, if you are not listed & would like to be, please send us your information. If you find any errors or broken links etc. please notify BCDC. You may contact BCDC with your information at bcdc@mt.net
