Clean Up week, this week, says Council

The Malta City Council held its first meeting of June on Tuesday, at 5 p.m.

Attending the meeting were councilpersons William Hicks, James Sintler, and Dave Rummel. Also in attendance were City Clerk/Treasurer Lorie Bond, Department of Public Works Director Jim Truelove, and Phillips County Sheriff Jerry Lytle.

Mayor John Demarais was absent due to illness. Councilperson Rummel ran the meeting in his absence. Councilperson Bonnie Weiderrick was absent due to being out of town.

The meeting was called to order at 5 p.m.

The council first took care of approving the minutes of the last meeting and the agenda for the nights' meeting. The council also approved the payment of claims and the May payroll. All of these were motioned, seconded, and passed by unanimous vote.

The next item on the agenda was Department and Committee reports.

PWD Truelove gave his report on the city.

He reported that the City Pool is now open and that Pool Manager Kelly Cederberg was doing a great job. Truelove said that the swim team has been working out in the morning, followed by swim lesson classes. He also said that there were a large number of kids this year for swim lessons and that one or two classes had to be added.

PWD Truelove then told the council that he is looking into purchasing a set of stairs for the pool that are ADA compliant and would make it easier for grandparents to get into the pool. He explained that the stairs would be anchored to the concrete deck and would cost around $8,000 versus putting in permanent concrete stairs that would cost much more and would cause the pool to be closed for most if not all of the summer.

Truelove then informed the council that the city crew had started spraying for mosquitos. He added that he is looking to get one other member of the city crew certified to do the spraying so that one person doesn't have to do it every night through the summer.

PWD Truelove then reminded the council that the week of June 14 is the city-wide clean-up week. He said they would do it as long as it takes and that if anyone needs any help removing anything, they just need to call.

City Clerk/Treasurer Lorie Bond then gave her report.

She handed the council the May financials report, the current check register, the current shut-off list, the May payroll, overtime, sick leave, and vacation report, and the revenue vs. expenditures budget vs. actual report.

Bond then told the council of an email that she had received from a lady that had stayed overnight in Trafton Park. The email thanked the City of Malta for investing in the city. She was very happy with the park and would definitely return.

Bond then told the council of an open house that the Montana Department of Transportation is holding on June 15 and the Milk River Pavilion from 4:30-7:00 p.m. for public discussion on the Highway 191 South Project.

Clerk Bond then reported to the council on her meeting with the flood plains representatives.

Bond said that as far as replacing the bathroom in Trafton Park, the city would need to apply for a variance which would then have to be approved by the council. The representatives then gave her a list of items that would have to be done to get it built.

Phillips County Sheriff Jerry Lytle was next to give his report.

Sheriff Lytle handed out a report that showed the total number of calls that the Sheriff's Department had received and compared that to the number of calls that came from just the City of Malta. The chart showed that the department had received 1,596 calls through May. A little over half of them (864) had come from the city of Malta.

The chart also broke down the total calls into more specific types of calls. All to keep the council informed on what was happening in the city and county.

Sheriff Lytle also informed the council that the department would be hiring in the next month or two. It's a matter of finding someone with the right determination and right personality for the job.

After the Department reports, the council moved on to new business.

The first item was to sponsor the Fourth of July fireworks. A motion was made to sponsor them. It was seconded and passed with a unanimous rollcall vote.

The second and last item of new business was to transfer funds from the cash R&D sewer fund to the unrestricted cash sewer fund to reimburse for repairs to the sewer infrastructure. A motion was made to transfer the funds. It was seconded and passed by unanimous vote.

The next City Council meeting will be on June 22, in the Malta City Hall at 5:00 p.m.