2010 Annual Report

Montana
Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

“USDA Rural Development funding made an enormous difference in the lives 

of rural Americans in FY2010. From helping tens of thousands of families 

repair or purchase a home, to large-scale investments to develop broadband 

infrastructure across dozens of counties, USDA Rural Develoment employees 

were helping build better lives for the American people. I am confident that the 

investments we have made will have a lasting, sustainable impact, and provide 

jobs and economic activity to keep rural America vibrant and prosperous in 

the future.”

- Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture

- Dallas Tonsager, Under Secretary for Rural Development

- Matthew Jones, Montana State Director

“The Obama Administration recognizes how important rural America is 

to the continued economic health and vitality of the United States. Rural 

America supplies much of our nation’s food and water and safeguards 

our environmental heritage. Its role in establishing our nation’s energy 

independence is growing every day. Reversing the youth outmigration 

dynaminc and revitalizing rural America for the next century is USDA Rural 

Development’s mission. Our goal of ensuring that rural areas are creating 

wealth, self-sustaining, repopulating, and thriving economically is especially 

critical in the aftermath of the economic downturn.”

“Fiscal year 2010 was a banner year for USDA Rural Development in Montana with more than a half billion dollars of investment supported in local 

businesses and communities. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, we were able to meet unprecedented needs for access 

to credit. At all levels of our local economies, from county government and 

large employers like hospitals to working families, we need access to capital 

for economic growth and job creation. In 2010, USDA Rural Development’s 

programs in Montana helped dozens of businesses and communities and 

hundreds of families secure the financing necessary to create jobs, invest in 

critical infrastructure, and purchase homes. ”

Welcome

1
Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Investing In Montana

2

Broadband Program

$109,521,388

Telecom & Electric

$99,756,000

Water & Environmental

$40,112,714

Business Programs

$39,088,703

Community Programs

$8,609,516

USDA Rural Development serves the nearly 

one million Montana residents with six office 

locations and a staff of 52. 

In Fiscal Year 2010, $507,724,121 in financial 

obligations were made in Montana

Housing Programs

$210,635,800

$50 M $100 M $150 M $200 M
§502 Direct 

Home Loans

$38,243,345

§502 Guaranteed 

Rural Housing

$165,474,724

§504 Housing 

Repair Grants

$156,762

§523 Mutual Self-Help 

Housing Grants

$696,000

§504 Housing 

Repair Loans

$106,911

Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Housing Programs

3

USDA Rural Development’s 

Housing Programs strive to 

provide access to safe and 

affordable housing for rural 

Montanans.

Rural Development’s Housing 

Programs offer two types of 

homeownership loans: Guaranteed 

and Direct Loans. The purpose is to 

provide financing - with no down 

payment and at favorable rates 

and terms - either through a direct 

loan with Rural Development or 

a loan from a private financial 

institution that is guaranteed by 

Rural Development. These loans 

are for the construction, purchase, 

or rehabilitation of a dwelling for 

rural residents in the very low to 

moderate income brackets. 1,347 

Montana families took advantage 

of our loans and guarantees and 

purchased homes in this fiscal year.

Home Improvement and Repair 

Loans and Grants enable lowincome rural homeowners to 

remove health and safety hazards 

from their homes and to make 

homes accessible for people with 

disabilities. Grants are available for 

people 62 years old and older who 

cannot afford to repay a loan.

Mutual Self-Help Housing helps 

groups of six to ten low-income 

families build their own homes 

by providing materials and the 

skilled labor they cannot furnish 

themselves. Sarah Greskowiak 

(pictured at left) built a home 

for herself and her daughter 

through a Mutual Self-Help 

program managed by Community 

Action Partnership in Kalispell.

She financed the construction 

and purchase with a §502 Direct 

Loan. The Mutual Self-Help 

program builds homes as well as 

neighborhoods, as the homeowners 

develop relationships throughout 

the construction phase that 

strengthen their commitment to 

their new neighborhood.

Single Family Housing

New Homeowner Sarah Greskowiak
§515 Rural Rental 

Housing Rehabilitation 

and Repair Loans

$427,102

§533 Housing 

Preservation Grants

$106,619

Rural Rental Assistance

$5,378,340

Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Housing Programs

4

Apartment living is often an alternative for people who cannot afford the 

purchase price and maintenance costs 

of their own individual house. Rural 

Rental Housing Loans and Multi-Family 

Housing Guarantees are made to finance 

building construction and site development 

of multi-family living quarters for people 

with very low to moderate incomes. 

Some units are reserved for people aged 

62 and over. Our partner, homeWORD 

of Montana, renovated a former hospital 

in Lewistown, Mont. through the MultiFamily Housing Guarantee program. The 

new facilitiy, Ouellette Place, is a 24-unit 

income-qualified apartment complex that 

began accepting tenants in 2010.

Rural Rental Assistance provides financial 

help for very low income residents in Rural 

Development multi-family complexes so 

they can afford shelter. In Fiscal Year 2010, 

1,427 Montana families received muchneeded assistance with their rent thanks 

to this program.

Housing Preservation Grants can be 

made to rental property owners for the 

repair and rehabilitation of their units if 

they agree to make such units available to 

low income families.

Multi-Family Housing

Ouellette Place Apartments

Lewistown, Mont.
B&I Guaranteed Loans

$31,996,698

Intermediary 

Relending Program

$2,000,000

Rural Microenterprise

Assistance Program

$685,500

Rural Energy for 

America Program

$615,195

Rural Business 

Enterprise Grants

$412,740

Rural Cooperative 

Development Grants

$339,580

Rural Economic 

Development Loans

$144,000

Value-Added 

Producer Grants

$94,990

5 Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

USDA Rural Development’s Business Programs seek 

to enhance the economic opportunity for all rural 

Americans by providing leadership in building 

competitive businesses and cooperatives that can 

prosper in the global marketplace.

Business Programs

The Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan Program (B&I) provides 

financial backing for rural businesses by 

guaranteeing up to 90% of a loan made by 

a commercial lender. These loans can be 

used for working capital, equipment, real 

estate, and certain types of refinancing. 

Bennett Motors of Great Falls, Mont. 

received a B&I Guarantee through the 

Recovery Act that allowed it to expand 

by purchasing an additional franchise. 

Bennett Motors, Inc. was one of twelve 

new business loan guarantees written 

by Rural Development in Montana in 

Fiscal year 2010.

Intermediary Relending Program

Loans and Rural Microenterprise 

Assistance Program Grants finance 

revolving loan funds administered by 

local development organizations. The 

funds are then loaned to small and 

emerging rural businesses.

Business Programs
Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Business Programs

6

Rural Energy for America Program provides loan 

guarantees and grants to improve energy efficiency 

and promote renewable energy in small businesses 

and agricultural operations. Greg Garrigues (pictured 

below), President of Pacific Outdoor Equipment in 

Bozeman, Mont. used a REAP loan guarantee and grant 

to purchase a photovoltaic solar array for his business. 

“REAP enabled us to boost our energy efficiency and 

reduce our carbon footprint,” said Garrigues.

Rural Business Enterprise Grants help facilitate 

development of rural small businesses through thirdparty organizations such as local development and 

resource & conservation development organizations.

Rural Cooperative Development Grants are given 

to cooperative development centers to assist in the 

creation and incubation of business cooperatives. 

Rural Economic Development Loans & Grants are 

administered through Rural Utilities Service borrowers 

such as electric and telephone cooperatives and used 

for economic development of communities in their 

service areas.

The Value-Added Producer Grant provides funding 

to promote the conversion of agricultural commodities 

into consumer-level products. These products are then 

marketed by the producer in the marketplace.

J

ust over one hundred miles north of 

Great Falls, Montana along Interstate 

15, and only nine miles south of the 

Canadian border you’ll find Sunburst, 

population 400. Much had changed 

and disappeared from Sunburst since 

the closing of the Texaco refinery in 

the sixties and now the loss of their 

local café left the community with no 

family-friendly place to eat. Sure the 

local bar had bar food, and there were 

chicken fingers and corn dogs at the 

deli counter of the grocery store, but 

a place to sit down for a cup of coffee, 

conversation, and a good meal was 

gone – possibly for good.

By 2009, local resident Peggy Tobin 

and some fellow community members 

started to explore options to bring 

their hometown café to life once more. 

They initially dismissed the idea of a 

cooperative, thinking it only applied 

to phones and electricity – but upon 

speaking with Brian Gion, Executive 

Director of the Montana Cooperative 

Development Center in Great Falls, 

plans began for the formation of a 

community cooperative to operate the 

Last Chance Café.

Funded through the Rural Cooperative 

Development Grant program from 

USDA Rural Development, Montana 

Cooperative Development Center has 

assisted 123 entities and guided the 

formation of 37 cooperatives since its 

inception in 1999. The reopening of 

the café as a cooperative has provided 

more than just jobs for the local 

residents. “It wouldn’t work without 

our volunteers,” said Peggy Tobin. “We 

have men and women coming in to 

bake pies and breads for the restaurant, 

or just to clean dishes and tidy up the 

place. It’s become a great opportunity 

for folks to get out and be active, and 

help support local businesses here in 

Sunburst.”

Providing the equivalent of three fulltime jobs, a project this size might 

seem inconsequential in the larger 

economic picture, but for Sunburst it’s 

a focal point for the community. New 

development is on the horizon through 

a wind power project, and a newlyopened U.S. Border Patrol station has 

brought more life into the town. With 

a year of operation under their belt, 

Tobin and her partners are proud of 

what they’ve accomplished at the Last 

Chance Café. “We have people driving 

all the way here from Great Falls just for 

our clam chowder and our homemade 

pies. It seems we’re getting a bit of a 

name for ourselves, and we’re thrilled 

to have the customers.”

Greg Garrigues

Pacific Outdoor Equipment
At Work In Montana

Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Community Programs

9

USDA Rural Development’s Community Programs develop 

essential community facilities for public use in rural areas. 

These facilities include schools, libraries, hospitals and clinics, 

assisted living facilities, emergency services including fire 

and police, and community centers.

Community Facilities Grants, and Direct & Guaranteed Loans are for constructing, enlarging, 

or otherwise improving community facilities providing 

essential services in rural areas. The funds are available 

to public entities such as municipalities, counties, special 

purpose districts, Tribes, and non-profit corporations. 

Liberty Place, Inc., a traumatic brain injury rehabilitation 

center in Whitehall, Mont. expanded their operations 

with the purchase of a second facility and funded it 

through the Community Facilities program. Their first 

new client came off the waiting list and took residency 

in 2010.

Over 2/3 of the nearly $8.5 

million in Community 

Facilities obligations in 

fiscal year 2010 went 

to support health 

care facilities across 

Montana.
Community Facilities

Direct Loans

$5,896,350

Community Facilities

Guarantees

$500,000

Community Facilities

Grants

$1,833,460

Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Community Programs

10

Community Facilities Programs

I

t’s good to be in demand, but Polson 

Loaves & Fish Food Pantry in Polson, 

Montana was struggling with its 

popularity.

A member of the Montana Food Bank 

Network, Polson Loaves & Fish Food 

Pantry provides nutritious food to 

families in need across Lake County. 

This completely volunteer organization 

serves hundreds of families and 

thousands of pounds of food annually, 

and up until 2010 were doing it in 

a 900 square foot space with some 

refrigerators and chest freezers.

“We had outgrown our space,” said Sid 

Rundell, Board President. In June, 2010, 

the food pantry was able to move to a 

spacious new location providing over 

four times the space. The customer area 

now looked not unlike a small grocery 

store, with coolers and shelving and 

space for the families to gather their 

resources.

With that expansion, Polson Loaves & 

Fish needed more storage and moving 

capacity. “We needed a walk-in freezer 

badly,” said Rundell. “We had chest 

freezers, but trying to make sure stock 

was rotated and maintain the ‘first in, 

first out’ rule was really difficult. We 

also needed a forklift to better move 

our donations. Thankfully, USDA Rural 

Development was able to help.”

Through a Community Facilities grant of 

$20,000, Polson Loaves & Fish purchased 

a walk-in freezer to supplement their 

storage capacity, and a forklift to move 

the donations they receive from the 

community. Rundell continued, “We’re 

all volunteers here, including the board. 

The Knights of Columbus come down 

to help move and sort food, Super 1 

and Safeway give us their older stock, 

and the new location gives us the 

ability to better organize and maintain 

the ebb and flow of goods we receive. 

We couldn’t do this without the large 

community support we have.”

The struggling economy increased 

traffic at the food pantry, with the unand under-employed in the region 

trying to make ends meet and keep 

their lives together. Polson Loaves & 

Fish has plans to expand their service 

to the community, especially with the 

increased traffic, by providing nutrition 

and cooking classes in the future.

“We want to help these families make it 

through the lean times. We continue to 

do our best to meet demand, and we’re 

thankful for large community support 

we have here in Polson.”
Water & Environmental

Grants

$23,034,714

Water & Environmental

Loans

$17,078,000

Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Water & Environmental

11

USDA Rural Development’s Water & Environmental Programs 

seek to make certain all residents in rural communities have access 

to safe drinking water and efficient wastewater facilities.

Water and Environmental Program Loans and Grants provide funding 

for water, sewer, and solid waste facilities 

in rural areas. Grants are also available for 

planning, training, and technical assistance 

to communities below 10,000 residents.

The septic systems in Wolf Creek, Mont. 

were encroaching on the community’s well 

water. The town voted to construct its first 

wastewater treatment facility and financed 

it through Rural Development’s Water & 

Environmental Program using funds from 

the Recovery Act.

Twenty communities across Montana 

received a total of $40 million of 

investment in their water and wastewater 

infrastructure through Rural Development. 

That’s a 71% increase over FY09, impacting 

approximately 12,000 Montanans.

Water & Environmental Programs
Broadband Telecommunications Grants

$69,944,634

Broadband Telecommunications Loans

$39,576,754

Direct Telecommunications Loans (FFB)

$74,337,000

Direct Telecommunications Loans (Treasury Rate)

$9,000,000

Direct Electric Loans (FFB)

$16,419,000

Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Telecom & Electricity

12

Broadband Programs

Telecom & Electricity Programs

Advanced telecommunications services play a vital role in the economic development, education and 

health care of rural Americans. With broadband loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations, USDA Rural 

Development helps rural communities enjoy enhanced educational opportunities, improved health care services 

and greater economic development. In fiscal year 2010, loans and grants were provided through the Recovery 

Act to expand broadband infrastructure on the Fort Peck and Crow Indian Reservations as well as the Gallatin 

Valley.

The Telecommunications Program creates public/private partnerships to finance the construction of 

telecommunications infrastructure in rural America. USDA Rural Development makes loans to finance the 

improvement, expansion, construction, or acquisition of telecommunications facilities in rural areas. The Rural 

Electric Program makes insured loans and loan guarantees to nonprofit and cooperative associations, public 

bodies, and other utilities. Insured loans primarily finance the construction of facilities for the distribution of 

electric power in rural areas. The guaranteed loan program has been expanded and is now available to finance 

generation, transmission, and distribution facilities in rural areas.

$0

$0

$10 M

$10 M

$20 M

$20 M

$30 M

$30 M

$40 M

$40 M

$50 M

$50 M

$60 M

$60 M

$70 M

$70 M $80 M
Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Recovery Act

13

Broadband

$109,521,388

Direct Home Loans

$30,970,166

Guaranteed Home Loans

$108,298,950

Water & Environmental

$26,050,600

B & I Guarantee

$21,877,750

Community Facilities

$6,645,960

Rural Business 

Enterprise Grants

$166,914

“The USDA-RD Business and Industry guaranteed loan program enhanced 

by the ARRA provisions was a much-needed tool to allow our business to 

weather the [economic] storm.” Greg and Joan Lucht

Lonesome Dove Concrete

Bozeman, MT

When President Obama took office in January 2009, the economic challenges facing our Nation were among the greatest in our history. But as immense as the immediate 

challenges were, our country’s economic problems were also deeper and more long-standing.

In an effort to lay a new foundation for economic growth, the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 

17, 2009. It was an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create and save millions 

of jobs, and put a downpayment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can 

thrive in the 21st century.

USDA Rural Development invested $303,531,728

in Montana over the two years of the Recovery 

Act and helped dozens of communities 

and businesses and hundreds of 

homeowners in the process.
Montana Annual Report - FY 2010

Montana Offices

14

Bozeman Area Office / State Headquarters ofc: (406) 585-2530

fax: (406) 585-2537

2229 Boot Hill Court

Bozeman, MT 59715

Serving: Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, 

Gallatin, Golden Valley, Jefferson, Lewis & Clark,

Madison, Meagher, Park, Silver Bow, Stillwater, 

Sweet Grass, and Wheatland Counties.

Billings Area Office ofc: (406) 657-6297

Extension 4

fax: (406) 657-6294

1629 Ave. D - A6

Billings, MT 59102

Bozeman Area Office / Helena Sub-Office ofc: (406) 449-5000

Extension 4

fax: (406) 449-5008

790 Colleen Street

Helena, MT 59601

Serving: Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, 

Gallatin, Golden Valley, Jefferson, Lewis & Clark,

Madison, Meagher, Park, Silver Bow, Stillwater, 

Sweet Grass, and Wheatland Counties.

Missoula Area Office ofc: (406) 829-3395

Extension 4

fax: (406) 3437

3550 Mullan Rd. Ste 106

Missoula, MT 59808

Serving: Granite, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, 

Ravalli, and Sanders Counties.

Kalispell Area Office ofc: (406) 756-2005

Extension 4

fax: (406) 756-2018

450 Corporate Dr. Ste 111

Kalispell, MT 59901

Serving: Flathead, Glacier, Lake, Lincoln, and 

Blackfeet and Flathead Indian Reservations.

Great Falls Area Office ofc: (406) 727-7580

Extension 4

fax: (406) 452-3806

12 3rd St. NW - Ste 300

Great Falls, MT 59404

Serving: Blaine, Cascade, Chouteau, Fergus, Hill, 

Judith Basin, Liberty, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, 

Teton, Toole, and Ft. Belknap and Rocky Boy’s 

Indian Reservations.

Serving: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, 

Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, McCone, 

Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, 

Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure, Valley, 

Wibaux, Yellowstone, and Crow, Ft. Peck, and N. 

Cheyenne Indian Reservations.

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/mt
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activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital 

status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, 

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(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means 

for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s 

TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-

9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federalrelay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.