Air Force officials attended the March 5 City Commission meeting to answer some questions posed by the city regarding the upcoming Sentinel missile upgrade project.

Col. Barry Little, commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, also told commissioners that the first of new MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopters that will replace the UH-1N Hueys at the base had arrived that day.

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The base is holding an event on March 9 to welcome the new helicopters with the commander of Air Force Global Strike and Sen. Jon Tester expected to attend.

Little said that they had received questions from the city and he had staff from the Sentinel program, many of whom had presented during the January town hall meeting in Great Falls, with him to address those questions.

Russell Bartholomew, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Sentinel acquisition program manager, said the first question the city asked was that knowing funding isn’t included in the Sentinel program for local public safety, how can the city and county plan for the influx of workers.

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Bartholomew said that they will communicate early and often so local officials know what’s happening.

The first Sentinel location is at F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming and their first workforce hub is in Kimball, Neb. He said during the January town hall that the Air Force would likely learn from that first hub experience.

Bartholomew said that the city’s second question was whether fire and emergency personnel at Malmstrom would be expected to perform services at the work force hubs.

He said that the hubs will have some emergency services on site and that there’s planning and discussion between the Air Force and the contractor, Northrop Grumman, regarding who will be providing other services.

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The Air Force detailed their analysis and anticipated impact of the project on a variety of local factors, including crime, in its environmental impact statement, which has been publicly available since March 2023.

In the report, the Air Force looked at existing crime rates within a 60-mile radius of Great Falls and the estimated increases as a result of introducing the temporary workforce.

The analysis doesn’t include any beneficial effects or offsets created by the two dozen mitigation measures also included in the report.

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For Malmstrom, there would be a 2 to 3 percent estimated increase in the Great Falls population during the construction phase. Individuals in the expected demographic of the proposed construction workers commit crimes between 1.7 and 2.1 times more often than the general public, according to the AF analysis.

With those numbers, the Air Force estimates that crime within 60 miles of Great Falls could increase by 3 to 5 percent for physical assaults and sexual offenses, and as much as six percent for property crime and crimes against society, based on U.S. Census Bureau and FBI data.

Among the mitigation measures included in the report are:

• establish a code of conduct to control and manage behavior in all proposed workforce hubs and project sites. The code of conduct would address work force hubs and project site access control procedures, firearms policies, disruptive or abusive behavior, alcohol use, smoking and fire safety policies, and criminal/illegal activities. All work force hub residents and employees must agree to abide by the conditions of the code of conduct or risk losing their residency and/or employment status
• screening for criminal histories
• drug testing
• provide enhanced policing and security personnel and policies specifically designed to limit criminal behavior associated with the workforce hubs
• monitor the regional crime rates and implement policies to limit the effects on these rates caused by project staff
• residents of the workforce hubs would stay at the hub when they are not at a work site, with controlled weekend bus trips to nearby towns

The city also asked how they should communicate their questions or concerns about the project.

Bartholomew said through Little, the Malmstrom wing commander.

The city asked if city departments would be included in the location and design of the workforce hub.

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The Air Force contractor will coordinate with local governments before selecting sites for the temporary facilities and obtain permits as necessary to meet local zoning requirements, according to the environmental impact assessment documents that have been publicly available since March 2023.

Bartholomew told commissioners that it’s written into the documents that Northrop Grumman and and Air Force will work with the localities on locations and use of the sites once the Sentinel project is completed.

He said they don’t expect a one size fits all scenario for the workforce hubs.

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For Malmstrom, the project includes establishing two workforce hubs, one in Great Falls and one in Lewistown.

Each hub will be 50-60 acres with 2,500 to 3,000 residents during peaks for three to five years, according to AFGSC.

The hubs will have their own dining facility, gym, recreation center and be completely contained within a fenced area. Northrop Grumman, the contractor, will provide security, patrol the area and control access, according to Malmstrom.

The Air Force will also establish construction laydown/staging areas in Augusta, Denton, Judith Gap, Lewistown, Stanford, Vaughn and Winifred.

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Those areas will be about 13 acres in size and in place for three to five years, according to AFGSC.

The Air Force contractor will coordinate with local governments before selecting sites for the temporary facilities and obtain permits as necessary to meet local zoning requirements.

Matt Dillow from Northrop Grumman, said during the January town hall that the workforce hub in Great Falls will have up to 3,000 workers. They’ll hire some locally, but will bring in others who will live at the hub and don’t tend to bring families, so they don’t anticipate much impact to school districts, Dillow said.

He said the hubs will also have their own basic healthcare clinics.

The city asked the Air Force about housing issues related to the Sentinel project.

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Bartholomew said that the hubs will house the workers but that the project could bring in about 1,000 secondary and tertiary people who might need housing, but that the existing market should be able to accommodate that.

He said that rental prices could increase during the construction period due to the increased demand.

Little said they recognize there are a lot of competing interests for housing in Great Falls and that there will be challenges with the growth.