Malta City Council Meeting Recap

Heavy winds last week in Malta will likely keep Malta Public Works crew member flush with cookies this week as he is, once again this year, tasked with running the City of Malta leaf-sweeper.

At last week’s Malta City Council meeting, Public Works Director Jim Truelove gave his bi-weekly report and told the Council DaveWilkes was hard at work — and reaping the fringe benefits.

“Dave is out vacuuming leaves and getting fatter everyday doing it,” Director Truelove said, “this is kind of his favorite time of year.”

Malta Mayor John Demarais explained that some people who are particularly happy with having their leaves vacuumed from in front of their houses — a service the City of Malta provides for free as long as the refuse is raked into the front street gutter — and as payment, Wilkes is sometimes gifted cookies.

“And they aren’t little cookies this year either,” Director Truelove added. “He is taking care of business and nobody does that job better than him and people really appreciate it.”

Trueleove said the leaf retrieval will continue as long as weather permits.

In other City Work news, Director Truelove said the City has been blading alleys and streets, some new street signs (these ones green) have replaced old, faded signs in parts of the Hill Crest Subdivision, and finished by saying that a new chain link fence had been installed around the cardboard corral behind Malta Opportunities Inc., replacing the old wooden fence that had seen better days. Director Truelove concluded by saying the City of Malta Landfill will head back to winter hours around the midway point in November.

Mayor Demarais said he met with representatives from the Montana National Guard, the military organization which is having a new building built near the Phillips County Hospital on the eastern side of the city. Mayor Demarais said the meeting followed several complaints from local residents about how the road was left after contractors concluded their summer work (namely potholes and a lack of gravel.)

“They said they have to get their money from Washington (D.C.) and that it is not like going to Helena,” Mayor Demarais said.

Since the City Council meeting, efforts have been made to improve the road in question, the PCN learned Monday morning, and those efforts will continue as need be.

In a final bit of news from the night, it was once again announced that there will be a public meeting on the topic of a proposed sewer rate increase enacted by the City of Malta. That meeting will take place at the Malta City Hall on Tuesday, November 12 at 5 p.m. ahead of the Malta City Council Meeting.