No. 90-308 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

1990 

THE GALLATIN SADDLE AND HARNESS CLUB, 

Plaintiff and Appellant, 

4r-i Q 

RAMON S. WHITE, JANE JELINSKI, A.D. PRUITT, 5 c-. - -4 

Individually and as Members of the Board of 32- 0 

-.- IV -q cn -- County Commissioners of the County of Gallatin, r- . mr 

and THE COUNTY OF GALLATIN, 1' - ID w . - - I. 3 .. . 

Defendants and Respondents. ! 1-1 I 1 -1 CJ 

APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Eighteenth Judicial District, 

In and for the County of Gallatin, 

The Honorable Byron L. Robb, Judge presiding. 

COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

For Appellant: 

Timothy C. Bolton, Big Sky Law Office, Big Sky, 

Montana 

For Respondent: 

A. Michael Salvagni, County Attorney, Bozeman, 

Montana 

Submitted on Briefs: September 13, 1990 

Filed: 

~ecided: October 25, 1990 
Justice R. C. McDonough delivered the Opinion of the Court. 

plaintiff, the Gallatin Saddle and Harness Club (Saddle Club) , 

appeals from an order of the Eighteenth Judicial District, Gallatin 

County granting summary judgment in favor of the Board of County 

Commissioners of Gallatin County. We affirm. 

Both the Saddle Club and the County Commissioners raise 

numerous issues on appeal, including sovereign immunity, failure 

to join an indispensable party, eminent domain, constitutional 

issues, mootness and standing. We hold, however, that one issue 

is dispositive of this appeal. The issue is: 

Whether the County omm missioners have the authority to lease 

8.55 acres of the all at in County Fairgrounds to Bozeman Baseball, 

Inc., for the purpose of building a ball field. 

Gallatin County received the property, unencumbered, on which 

the g all at in County g air grounds is located from Syracuse University 

in 1914. Through the years the fairgrounds has been used for many 

purposes. One of the primary purposes has been the holding of an 

annual county fair. The property has also been utilized by other 

organizations, however. It has been the site for antique fairs, 

auctions, fraternity and sorority functions, and school athletic 

events. 

The Gallatin County Saddle and Harness Club is one of the many 

organizations that have utilized the fairgrounds. The Saddle Club 

is a private non-profit organization with a primary purpose of 

developing equestrian activities for its members who own, train and 
breed pleasure horses. In pursuit of this endeavor, the Saddle 

Club constructed a Hunt Course on the fairgrounds property. 

Apparently the Hunt Course is utilized several times a year. One 

of the events utilizing the course is the Bob Miller Horse Show, 

which is the largest horse show in the State of Montana. 

In January of 1989, the County Commissioners published a 

notice in the Bozeman Chronicle which stated that a hearing would 

be held to I1consider selection of a multi-purpose ballfield site.I1 

The notice further stated that the County Fairgrounds was under 

consideration as a site for the multi-purpose fields. 

Following this hearing, the County Commissioners appointed six 

individuals to develop a management plan for the ball field 

facility, which was to be located in the northeast corner of the 

fairgrounds. Apparently, this proposed site was located in the 

same area as the Saddle Clubls Hunt Course. 

Eventually, a management plan was adopted and a decision was 

made to lease the site to Bozeman Baseball, Inc. for the purpose 

of constructing a baseball diamond. The Saddle Club maintained 

that this action, taken by the County Commissioners, was arbitrary, 

capricious and in violation of Montana law. It therefore filed a 

lawsuit seeking an order enjoining the County Commissioners from 

entering into the lease agreement. It also sought a declaratory 

judgment that the County commissioners^ actions were in 

contravention of various sections of the Montana code. The County 

Commissioners moved for summary judgment on December 29, 1989. On 

April 2, 1990, this motion was granted and this appeal followed. 
The Saddle Club maintains that the County ~omrnissioners failed 

to comply with several statutory directives when they decided to 

lease the land to Bozeman Baseball, Inc. It states in its brief 

that all of the statutes relating to the lease of county property 

must be read together as one consistent whole. The Saddle Club 

therefore argues 88 7-8-2231, 7-8-2502, 7-8-2508, and 7-21-3407, 

MCA, should be applied in reviewing the decision of the County 

Commissioners. 

Expanding upon this argument, the Saddle Club maintains that 

before the County Commission could validly lease the fairground 

property, it had to first find that the land was not necessary to 

the county's business and that it could not be immediately sold. 

See S 7-8-2231, MCA. It further argues that the County 

Commissioners did not determine that the proceeds of the lease 

equaled the taxes which could be levied upon the land if it was 

privately owned. Therefore, the Saddle Club argues that the County 

Commissioners violated 5 7-8-2508, MCA. Finally, it argues that 

baseball is not an agricultural activity and that the lease 

therefore violates the mandate that the County Fair be held for 

agricultural purposes. See 5 7-21-3407, MCA. 

We disagree with the assertion that the County Commissioners 

were required to follow the mandate of these statutes. On the 

contrary, H 7-21-3409, MCA, specifically sets out their duty when 

they lease county fairgrounds property. This statute states: 

Boards of county commissioners . . . are hereby 

authorized to lease county fairgrounds and buildings 

thereon on such terms as they deem proper. Section 7- 

21-3409 (I), MCA. 
There is an obvious conflict between this statute and the 

general statutes cited above. For example, B 7-21-3409(1),MCA, 

grants discretion to the County Commissioners to determine the 

terms of the lease. Section 7-8-2508, MCA, on the other hand, 

imposes some of the terms of the lease. In interpreting 

conflicting statutes, this Court follows the rule that where a 

specific statute conflicts with a general statute, the specific 

controls over the general to the extent of any inconsistency. See 

Browman v. Wood (1975), 168 Mont. 341, 543 P.2d 184. The 

inconsistencies between these statutes lead to the obvious 

conclusion that the County Commissioners are required to follow 

5 7-21-3409(1), MCA, when leasing fairground property. There is 

no evidence the County Commissioners abused their discretion in 

carrying out this duty, nor is there any evidence that the baseball 

fields will interfere with the annual county fair. 

The order of the ~istrict Court granting summary judgment in 

favor of the County Commissioners is therefore affirmed. 

We Concur: