After 15 months and a successful lawsuit, long-awaited hearing scheduled April 9-11
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
On Jan. 18, 2024, dozens of Big Sky and Madison Valley residents stepped outside into the cold, Virginia City morning sun feeling mixed emotions—some were pleased, others enraged, but likely all were confused—as a widely anticipated and well-attended hearing was over before it started.
To the dismay and puzzlement of many Big Sky’s Madison County residents who signed a petition to withdraw from the Madison Valley Hospital District, Madison County Clerk and Recorder Paula McKenzie declared that 219 of 242 signatures were invalid, and adjourned the hearing during its introduction. Months later, in August 2024, leaders of the Big Sky effort brought the matter to court.
Fifteen months later, on March 13, 2025, Madison County District Judge Luke Berger ruled in favor of the Big Sky plaintiffs, who sought a court-ordered mandate for Madison County to conduct the hearing through injunctive, declaratory and mandamus relief. Berger denied permanent relief, but granted preliminary injunction, ultimately ordering the Madison County Commission to conduct a hearing within 30 days.
The Madison County Commission scheduled the hearing, tentatively, for up to three days, April 9-11 starting each day at 10 a.m. in Virginia City.
“It’s really great to see not only democracy in action, but also the judicial system in action,” said Daniel Bierschwale, executive director of the Big Sky Resort Area District, a partner of the Big Sky Wellness Coalition.
Allison Bradac, executive director of nonprofit Wellness in Action, the leading plaintiff in the lawsuit and spearhead for the Wellness Coalition’s mission to create a Wellness District to support health and wellness care in Big Sky, provided a written statement to EBS.
“Wellness in Action is pleased and supportive of Judge Berger’s decision to require the commissioners to hold a merit hearing regarding the initial petition surrounding withdrawal from Madison County. As an organization and community, we understood that we had followed the legal process in preparing and submitting those petitions, and we are grateful for the Judge’s decision to allow Big Sky the opportunity for a hearing,” Bradac stated.
Beyond the immediate implications of the court-ordered hearing, Bierschwale emphasized that Wellness Coalition is leaning on the public’s support in the long-awaited hearing.
“While the court order was a small win for the community of Big Sky… what we’re asking of the Big Sky community—regardless of whether you live in Madison County or Gallatin County here in Big Sky—[is] to submit written comment to the [Madison] County Commission regarding your position on this particular issue. And for those who are willing and able, join us back in Virginia City for the hearing,” Bierschwale said.
Madison County Commissioner Bill Todd, whose area of jurisdiction includes Big Sky and Ennis, declined to comment for this story. Paula McKenzie did not return an email requesting comment.
The Wellness Coalition will host a meeting on Tuesday, March 25 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the BSRAD boardroom to inform the public about the upcoming hearing and prepare for testimony.
Berger’s decision
Judge Berger issued a detailed and complicated court order, addressing allegations and responses from both parties in a back-and-forth lawsuit.
Plaintiffs claimed that even following McKenzie’s methodology used in January—which reduced eligible signees to just 48 residents—Madison County was erroneous in its omission of two residents who did sign legitimately. Those two additional names were the exact number required for the petition to reach 51% and warrant the January 2024 hearing.
Although Madison County argued that past decisions cannot be corrected in court, Berger’s decision stated, “this Court is certain of one thing: the County cannot change the criteria for the petitions to meet the signature threshold and then argue Plaintiffs did not meet its requirements.”
The court denied Madison County’s motion to dismiss multiple counts of the lawsuit.
Berger’s order did, however, uphold Madison County’s motion to dismiss Count VIII, “a writ directing the Commissioners to immediately find Petition I meets the required threshold for signatures, hold a merits hearing, pass Petition I on the merits, and cease levying taxes on Plaintiffs.”
The court’s justification borrows language from a 1979 Montana Supreme Court case: “‘Whether this was an erroneous decision or whether it was accomplished through an erroneous procedure,’ the County’s decision was a completed act that is not reviewable by a writ of mandate.”
Even with Count VIII dismissed, the hearing must proceed in early April.
Madison County hosted a related hearing in January regarding hospital district withdrawal efforts by the Silvertip subdivision in Moonlight Basin. Commissioners voted 2-1 to reject the petition. Commissioner Bill Todd broke a 1-1 tie with his vote against accepting the Big Sky subdivision’s withdrawal.
The upcoming April hearing will be another opportunity for the public from Big Sky and the Madison Valley to weigh in on hospital district boundaries as both communities work to support their wellness services.
