One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
At the last City Council meeting, February 8, the council got a visit from Barry Damchen. He reported that the landfill is looking good. There is a problem with litter from the landfill. He suggested that the city look into shutting the landfill down on days that are supposed to be really windy. Much of the litter that gets airborne happens when the trucks are dumped while it is windy.
Mr. Damchen introduced Mary Louise to the council. She is a sub-contractor that is working with Mr. Damchen now that specializes in groundwater monitoring. The council approved the use of Mary Louise as a sub-contractor under Mr. Damchen by rollcall vote.
It was also time to renew Mr. Damchen’s contract with the city. He informed the council that it had increased the usual three percent to cover the increase in fuel cost and travel expenses. The council passed the new contract by rollcall vote.
The council had a long discussion about the purchase of a small piece of land in the Trafton Park Arena area. It is right next to another small piece of land that the city already owns. The council talked with Jerey Mcewen about possible uses for the arena. Mcewen said that it could be used for parking during events. The council agreed to move forward with the purchase of the land and Mcewen would clean the area up for use during events at the Trafton Arena.
For public comment, Virgil Taylor addressed the council with concerns about the cardboard box bin in town. He has two properties to the east of it and he is constantly picking up cardboard in them. Mayor Demarais said that they would look at other options, possibly putting extensions on the fence. Public Works Director Jim Truelove said he would work on keeping it cleared out more.
In other new business, the council agreed to pay the dues of $100 for the Highway 2 Association 2022 Membership. They also passed Resolution 1310. A resolution relating to up to $3,5000,000 sewer system revenue refunding bonds, series 2022; Authorizing the issuance and private negotiated sale thereof.
Delsi Witmer visited the council on behalf of RCAN and the Cattlewomen asking for use of space in the Malta Event Center Outbuilding for freezers. The associations are looking for space to store beef in to get local beef into the school. The council passed by rollcall vote to move forward in helping the associations with their plans.
Scott and Gina Simanton visited the council. They are applying for a Montana Community Development Historic Preservation Grant for improvements to the historic building located at 101 South 1st Street and needed to have a public meeting as part of the grant application, asking for public input on any environmental issues with moving forward with improvements. The council meeting meets the requirements for the application. The council and public present didn’t see any issues with the plans moving forward.
In the department reports, Public Works Director Jim Truelove said that now that the ice has melted, the sanding truck is fixed. Good timing there.
He reported that there was an issue with the Robinson Lift Station. It was a low-level alarm that it kept throwing. A new controller was needed. It had arrived that day and Luke Spencer and Eric Witmer were putting it in.
Truelove also reported that he had two more vehicles tagged in town to be towed. It would be the next Monday when they would be moved, and he had written one citation for abatement of a yard. He told the council that he would concentrate on the yards and vehicles around town.
Truelove informed the council that the city crew had started a project in Trafton Park in the location of the new lift station. It was called a pre-load. An area was dug encompassing the perimeter of the new building for the foundation. It needs to be filled with pit run and has to sit and settle for a few months. He told the council that this was in conjunction with Great West. It’s an area approximately 50 feet by 60 feet.
City Clerk and Treasurer Lorie Bond gave the council their usual financial reports.
She then informed the council that she and Truelove had been in phone conferences with Great West about the levee. Bond said that the city is expected to be at the preliminary data and public comment stage in late 2025.
She informed the council that a representative from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told her that it would cost between $250,000 - $750,000 to do the risk assessment on the levee. That prompted her to get a hold of Johnathan from Great West. He said they had done the same report for a couple of other cities for much less.
Bond said that they had a meeting with Great West and was told if they were to do the Levee Accreditation Feasibility Study, it would cost $50,000 and they could put in for a CDBG Grant in which the city would end up paying a match of $12,500 for that.
The council discussed and decided that it would cost the city much less to go with Great West to conduct the Levee Accreditation Feasibility Study. A motion and a second were made and passed 4-0 on a rollcall vote.
The next Malta City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, February 22, at 5:00 p.m.
Reader Comments(0)