Malta Town Council hears about fireworks, water leaks and trails

On Tuesday, June 10, the Malta City Council met for their first meeting of June and among the items discussed where fixed water leaks, fireworks and future plans for the Malta Trails.

During the Department reports portion of the City Council Meeting, Public Works Director James Brown informed the board that Luke Brown is continuing to sweep city streets, that the dyke has been mowed and weeded and the pool is up and running with clear water. Brown also reported that a water line leak on 5th Street West has also been repaired as well as a four-foot sewer line in town. Brown also reported that there are several old, illegal hook ups in town.

“There was a major sewer problem between the grade school and the house directly west of it,” said Malta Clerk and Treasurer Carolyn Schmoeckel. “So the city fixed it. The found an extra four-inch line and hooked it up. Back in the early part of the building of the city there weren’t any codes so pipes are running all over the place.”

Phillips County Sheriff Scott Moran told the City Council that inmate numbers are up and that the sheriff’s office dispatch received 710 calls for services such as law enforcement, ambulance and fire, citing statistics that cover the time period of January through May of this year. Moran said that the sheriff’s office will add another member to the force once a new deputy graduates from the Police Academy. Sheriff Moran said that his office has recently had trouble with transients and disorderly passengers on the Amtrak trains. Moran concluded his report by suggesting that since the Fourth of July falls on a Friday this year that fireworks be shutdown at midnight on the Fourth will no fireworks before or after the day. The City Council agreed.

“We have an ordinance against fireworks in the city limits,” said Schmoeckel. “We don’t really get mean about it unless (people) abuse it. The town also sponsors the fireworks down at the park and that is done by the firemen.”

Clerk Schmoeckel also informed the City Council that the city had received a letter from the Department of Environmental Quality stating the VCP-EA (Voluntary Clean Up Plan) at the old airport is complete and the next stage is the remediation proposal.

Schmoeckel said that the clean-up has been underway for a few hours and applications for grant monies to complete the project have been filed.

Mayor Shyla Jones told the City Council that the Planning Board will hold two public hearing on June 25 at 6 p.m. concerning the Malta Tire Center variance application and Wombold annexation and zoning designation.

During the New Business portion of the City Council Meeting, Laura Pankratz of Malta Trail displayed a map showing potential trail routes around and through the city. Pankratz stated that a future phase of the trails would include a tunnel/walkway under Highway 191 near the irrigation canal, connecting the current bridge across the canal. Pankratz told the council that the project is estimated to cost about $30,000.