Ordinance, resolution may lead to new looks in Malta

The Malta City Council conducted the first reading of an ordinance which would require City residents to keep their front yards free of some types of vehicles and also passed a resolution to assist the possible renovation of the Malta Opportunities, Inc. (MOI) building.

A public hearing was held at last Tuesday's Malta City Council meeting for the first reading of Ordinance 448 which would prohibit non-street legal vehicles and non-street legal recreational vehicles intended for recreational use from being parked or stored on any portion of a front yard or corner lot side yard within the City limits. The ordinance would also include four wheelers, snowmobiles, derby or bump and run vehicles, junk vehicles, discarded vehicle parts, any identifiable part of a ruined, wrecked or dismantled vehicle, including but not limited to fenders, doors, hoods, engine blocks, motor parts, transmissions, frames, axles, wheels, tires, and passenger compartment fixtures.

Malta Mayor Shyla Jones said that last summer, one the biggest complaint the council, Public Works and herself heard from Malta residents was about junk being left in the front yards of a number of homes around the City.

People found in violation of the Ordinance, if it is passed, could be charged with a misdemeanor and/or receive a fine of not more than $500 and, or imprisonment in the county jail for no more than six months. The City of Malta would also have the right to remove the offending vehicle or junk at the owner's expense.

"Everybody has a back yard," Mayor Jones said. "What we are trying to do is prevent all this stuff being out in front yards and in the streets."

Mayor Jones said that in the past when complaints have been made regarding the front of people's homes, the City sent the homeowner a letter asking that they tidy the property. She said the process of sending letters will continue but if nothing is done to rectify the situation, a citation could be issued, the sheriff's office contacted and the possibility of the City coming to clean and remove the items.

"We have to clean our town up, it is a mess in some areas," Mayor Jones said. "We already have ordinances that take care of these problems on City streets. This would be for front yards that are a disaster."

The Council voted 3-0 in favor of the ordinance (one council member missed the meeting because of sickness.) The second reading of Ordinance 448 will be had at the next Malta City Council Meeting on Tuesday, February 14.

Under the New Business portion of Tuesday night's meeting, Resolution 4557 was passed 3-0 by the Council members. The resolution allows CDBG monies to be released by the City to pay architects who recently completed preliminary reports on a possible refurbishment of the MOI building located on Central Avenue and South 3rd Street East.

Eryn Nissen, of Bear Paw Development Corporation, said that plans call for the building to be modified to increase the functionality of the space and allow the MOI Thrift Store better visibility and access for customers.

"They are also hoping to make it an open concept between the activity space and the dining area," Nissen said. "The rendering looks fantastic."

Mayor Jones said that some early plans for the refurbishment of the MOI building might have scrapped the laundry mat in the west corner of the building. The new design, however, would condense the laundry mat, but keep it open to the public. The tentative plan would move the door for the laundry mat onto the Central Avenue portion of the building and cut the number of machines and the floor space in half.

"Where the laundry mat is now is going to be the thrift store because they need more room for the thrift store," said Mayor Jones. "The laundry mat is going to be a lot smaller ... they are going to downsize it, but keep it open which is a great thing for our community because there are a lot of people that use it."

Nissen stressed that the changes to MOI are only in the planning stage and funds have not yet been secured to complete the refurbishment. She added that the estimated price tag of the changes total approximately $600,000 and she is helping MOI apply for more CDBG funds for the project.

During the correspondence portion of the night's meeting, Mayor Jones said the City of Malta received a letter from Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) stating the water system again failed testing. She said that Public Works Director Jim Truelove was to flush the water system the following day (January 25.)

"We have to flush the entire system in the entire town now because it is a looped system," she said.

Mayor Jones said that during flushing of the water system, water users might notice black or discolored water. She said the problems with water system stem from the summer's water project and the contractors doing the work not flushing at a high enough capacity following construction.

"Once again, they did not do their part," Mayor Jones said. "They did not do the proper flushing."

Mayor Jones said it is the City's number one priority to make sure the water system is fixed, adding that getting rid of the engineer who led last year's water project was also at the top of the list.

"He has been told he won't be back," she added.

During correspondence portion of the meeting, Council learned that a letter had been sent to a Malta resident asking them to stop throwing dog feces into the street in front of their home.

"We are talking about a lot of a feces," Mayor Jones said. "And it is right by the grade school, where little kids are walking, so we sent them a letter."

She said the incident took place on 7th Street East and the letter pointed to a City ordinance that makes such actions illegal, asking that the resident please put the waste in a bag and then deposit it into their garbage can. Failure to do so, she said, could result in a fine of up to $100.