BILLINGS — Myrna Lastusky, a project manager for Beartooth Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), said this week it was pure coincidence that its Recharging Our Community's Economy (ROCE, pronounced, 'rock') took place right around the recent downsizing of Sibanye Stillwater's mine.
“On the one hand, it was, ‘Well, I don’t know if this is a great time to be trying to recharge Columbus’s economy, but on the other hand, it was like, ‘This is the perfect time,'" said Lastusky.
Watch the video of this story below:
In September of last year, Sibanye Stillwater announced it would be laying off close to 700 employees at its Stillwater operation in Nye, which took effect in November, leaving many residents with questions about the economic future of Stillwater County.
The ROCE workshops were funded by a $75,000 grant provided with the assistance of the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), the same nonprofit that assisted in the revitalization of Lewistown.
“We really consider Lewistown to be, as cute as it might sound, our ROCE-stars," said Amity Rembold, a regional field manager with the RCAC. “Their downtown area had a lot of empty storefronts. They expressed that there was a lack of hope about the future of the community.”
Among other potential projects in Columbus, five groups focused on infrastructure, youth retention, tourism, downtown beautification, and housing, have begun narrowing down revitalization to projects like murals and a new recreation center.
“If their projects do need funding, we will seek out different sources, whether that be some kind of capital campaigns or private donors, or state/federal/local funding," said Lastusky.
