Malta City Council talks walk-path

Malta’s Mayor John Demarais hopes to strengthen the bond between the City of Malta and the Phillips County Commissioners.

The City Council held its scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 9, and decided to discuss a possible new walking-path that will involve the City and County Commissioners, who hope to work together for once in a long time, if ever, according to Mayor Demarais.

Mayor Demarais revealed that Malta Trails, the City and the P.C. Commissioners are working together to possibly expand a concrete path from the corner of 9th Street and Highway 191 South (formerly Packy’s and Tulips and Treasures) to Wagner Road.

“Nothing is going to happen until 2023, but they would like to see the process started and also want to know who is going to maintain it,” Mayor Demarais said.

Initially, one commissioner wanted to push the upkeep responsibilities, which includes maintenance, on Malta Trails, but knowing that would be tough on Malta Trails, Mayor Demarais made a statement that two Commissioners agreed upon.

“I sat there and listened and then said, you know it’s time we opened the doors for us to start doing things together,” he said. “Two commissioners shook their heads yes and they think it’s a good idea.”

There hasn’t been a price named in the project, because of how far away the project is.

“I think this opens the door so that the City and County can hopefully work together again, or for once,” said Mayor Demarais. “There is no money involved until the project goes and that is four years down the road.”

The project will require several public hearings before it would be started in 2023.

“We have to have an agreement in place between the city and county, and then the county and highway department," Mayor Demarais said. "If you would like me to proceed with that, I will go ahead and if you don’t want me to do it then we won’t do it.”

The mayor also emphasized that there will be a small bridge involved in the project, though it will be unlike the new bridge recently added to Highway 2.

The council tackled several other topics in New Business included an opportunity for the council to purchase a 50 x 140 lot of land beside the City Hall Building for the amount of $27,000.

“It will go 50-feet to the west and 140-feet wide,” Demarais said. “It doesn’t look like much but when I saw what was there, it was quite a bit.”

The space will allow for extra parking outside of the building. The purchase may include a replat of the land, which would cost an additional $800-$1,000.

Mayor Demarais also revisited a topic brought up earlier in the meeting by Public Works Director Jim Truelove, in which the Council accepted a $20,000 payment from Target Lodging, a group associated with the Keystone (KLJ) Project.

The money will go towards updating a payment system, in which the water pump station will accept coins, bills, and cards for payment, as well as any other needs the station may have to prepare for the work camps that will utilize Malta’s water while the pipeline is being built.

“It won’t cover all of it, but it will cover a lot of it,” Truelove said.

In the Committee Reports, Truelove, was appreciative that Mayor Demarais and The City Council allowed him the opportunity to attend a recent Montana League of Cities event in Helena.

“There was a lot of good information,” Truelove said. “The Public Works Directors’ Meeting is always a good one to attend.”

Truelove also reported that all of Trafton Park’s sprinklers have been blown-out and almost every bathroom has been winterized minus the restrooms on the south side of the park.

Truelove also shared that the City’s leaf truck is running.

Lorie Bond, Malta’s City Clerk ,announced that DNRC Floodplain received funding for a “Flydar,” a form of technology in which planes mark land with lasers to measure distance by laser light.

“So, if we get reports out on the Milk River about planes flying back and forth that is them,” Bond said. “They did hire a crew that will be on a boat. They shouldn’t go on land, but they will be measuring the river bar.”

The next regularly scheduled meeting for the City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, October 23.