Malta Council hears deer, one-way requests

An abundance of deer around the city and people driving too fast near downtown businesses were among the items discussed at last Tuesday night’s Malta City Council meeting.

A Malta resident, representing her mother, talked about the deer population in the City and spoke of how they had recently been eating many of her mother’s flowers.

“I know it was a hard winter this last winter,” she said, “but when (a deer) showed up in her carport and proceeded to kind of nest in there, I think something needs to be done. They are getting so domesticated … I don’t know what you can do, but I think something needs to be done.”

Councilman David Rummel told the complainant she was not the first to raise concern over the deer population and Malta Mayor John Demarais said that he has talked with a few game wardens about the deer around town, and he was simply told “they are wild animals.”

“It is an issue, and something needs to be done, I just don’t know what,” Mayor Demarais said. “I know of three people right now who are shooting them with paint(ball) guns, so if you see spotted dear, that’s why.”

Mayor Demarais said that he would officially talk with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Game and report back on what he learns at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 24.

In other public comment, Lucky Bullet Bar & Casino owner DoDee Oxarart attended the meeting to request the alley behind her establishment —which faces 1st South Street East — into a one-way thoroughfare.

“People come through that alley way too fast and I feel like it is becoming a problem,” she said.

Oxarart said she would like the traffic to be one-way, north, and added that about 80-percent of the time, that is the direction people drive, but the other 20-percent of the time, with vehicles heading south, the situation becomes somewhat dangerous behind the bar (other businesses on the street include Valley Drug and Phillips County Insurance.)

“Somebody is going to get hit and I just about did yesterday,” she added, “and let me tell you, I tried to get that (SOB) and I couldn’t catch him, but I was going to chew (his rear end.)”

Mayor Demarais and the Council asked Oxarart to talk with the other business owners in the area and make sure they are alright with making the alley a one-way and come to the next Council meeting. She said she would.

Under Department Reports, Mayor Demarais said that Helena Sand and Gravel (HS&G) are back in-town working on punch list items of things that need to be fixed after last year’s water project construction. When the firm does the work, engineers need to be on-hand to make sure it is being done properly. The engineering firm tasked with that work the last two summers overseeing HS&G said that they would oversee the punch list work currently going on around town for free, but Mayor Demarais declined the offer.

“They said if we have a long-term relationship with them, they will eat the cost,” Mayor Demarais said of TD&H. “I think we should pay for it because I don’t want any free work from anybody or have that hanging over my head.”

The City Council agreed and will add a motion to the next Council meeting’s agenda. The total for the oversight will be approximately $3,500.

In Public Works Director Jim Truelove’s report, he said that the storm gate in front of the VFW Club was fixed and a recent pool inspection by the State of Montana went very well and no major issues were found. Director Truelove said the street sweeper is back out and cleaning — it started in the Hillcrest area last week and will move to the east side of town — and dura-patch asphalt work will start on City streets very soon.