Update: The squatter on this parcel is in all likelihood a former Ward I city councilman and a current appointee to the Miles City Zoning
Board.
I called City Hall today and learned that there is no lease agreement concerning that piece of property that has been extended by the City of Miles City to anyone. Therefore, whoever erected that fence and stocked that pasture has been occupying city property illegally for the better part of a year.
To put this matter into perspective, it's common for the city council to wrestle, sometimes heatedly, over encroachments of 2' or less onto city right-of-way by property owners. The former city councilman currently squatting on these several acres was among the most vocal critics of both keeping livestock within the city limits and right-of-way encroachment, often arguing about a dangerous precedents being set.
I'll be contacting my councilpersons, the mayor, and the deputy city attorney, Jeff Noble, to call for an investigation and encourage others to do the same.