City Council Hears of PWD Losing Foot Race in a Prickly Situation

Closing in on the year, the City Council met Tuesday, December 13th in the chambers of the city, opening with the pledge to the flag. The council approved minutes from the previous meeting and the agenda for the meeting; claims were approved by the audit committee.

Mayor Demarais stated in his opening remarks that he had received a call from a concerned citizen that had heard the Phillips County Hospital was closing and wanted the Mayor to do something about it. Mayor Demarais stated the City has no control over the hospital. The mayor also informed the council he would be traveling to Washington, DC, in February as a representative of Montana Rural Water.

Public Works Director Jim Truelove responded to an inquiry as to the cost of rims for the sander, stating the price was correct and finding rims is difficult.

Truelove told the council the goal of getting dogs licensed and vaccinated is ongoing, and he is continuing to issue citations. With the holidays coming up, he is now writing court dates in January. He stated he even had a porcupine call last evening. Well, a porcupine didn’t “call”… a resident called about one running at large. PWD gave pursuit to apprehend it, but the porcupine won the race and escaped.

PWD Truelove reported that the City was regularly jetting the sewer lines on the side because grease is being dumped into the sewer system. He reported that the City would be purchasing a degreasing product to put in the sewer line and he would be working with the two businesses using the sewer line to eliminate the grease build up in the sewer line.

The next item addressed was the skating rink project. Ice skating appears to be in popular demand, and filling the rink is proving to be a challenge, as the gopher holes are abundant and causing issues in getting the rinks ready. Due to soil conditions and unfavorable temperatures it was unsuccessful in attempting to use to 50,000 gallons to get the rink filled. The Council agreed to try different options next year.

Mayor Demarais brought up a topic from Facebook and the council discussed the possibility of bringing back the tradition of erecting a large pine tree in the Veterans Park. It seems to be missed by quite a few. The council discussed other viable options of paying for the replacement of the decorations that were destroyed in the fiasco caused by wind that year. The lighting of the “TREE” seemed to meet with the general approval of the group. The project will be visited next year; the council considered groups making donations and applying for grants to make it a reality.

The reports on the blood draw and the use of the Event Center were positive and Clerk Lorie Bond had told the Red Cross they were welcome to use it in the future.

The council heard an update on the Lift Station; locally everything is done~the project is waiting for NW Energy. The project is ahead of schedule and looking good.

Kelly and Colleen Murray had applied to appeal the decision of the city planning board in regard to changes they had requested through a variance application. After discussion, the Council voted to allow the Murray’s to build the steps off the front of their deck by unanimous decision.

Mayor Demarais presented the Council with an amended plat proposal offered by Melissa and David Dunbar, to amend the three lots into two. Motion was made by Councilmember Wiederrick, seconded by Councilmember Sintler and passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was the selection of business to purchased fuel from. The next name on the business rotation list is the Equity Co-op. Diesel is purchased from Ezzie’s or Horizon Resources due to the rate at which the gravity fill at Equity fills tanks. Motion was made, seconded and passed unanimously.

The Council held discussion on the Phillips County-City of Malta Sidewalk Agreement. After discussion, the motion was made by Councilmember Wiederrick to sign the agreement, seconded by Councilmember Hicks, motion carried by unanimous vote.

On the agenda was a Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss for the Old Trafton Park bathroom that was damaged and had to be removed. PWD Truelove reported MMIA would pay the City $4,898.68 this calendar year and the remaining replacement cost of the new bathroom after the construction of the new bathroom was completed. He stated he had not found a contractor who would commit to rebuilding the bathroom. He had contacted MMIA to verify a few things and had yet to hear from them. Councilmember Rummel made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Hicks to table decisions until the next meeting; motion passed unanimously.