Malta City Council Had Full Agenda on Valentine's Day

Members of the City Council postponed any plans they had in celebration of Valentine's Day, as duty called and the first meeting of February happened to fall on Feb. 14th. All members of the Council, City Clerk Lorie Bond, Fire Chief Josh Neuman, Sheriff Jerry Lytle, Undersheriff Gerald Has The Eagle, PWD Jim Truelove, City Landfill Engineer Barry Damshen and Mary Hendrickson were also present.

Following the pledge to the flag, the meeting opened with the approval of the last minutes, approval of the agenda and approval of claims.

Public Works Director Jim Truelove addressed the council with updates. Spencer Electric is looking at some updating and retro fitting at the Event Center.

Plowing has been going on. The crew was working on the west side of town in preparation for the tournament; the going has been rough, sanding has also been going on.

The crew had a dig at Heritage Manor-Murray Trailer Court area. That particular area is always an issue, both PWD Truelove and Mayor Demarais noted.

PWD Truelove had a meeting with the Compliance Manager and the City Attorney, who will get back to them as to the laws on how long after being fined and given notice for noncompliance that the Compliance Manager can begin action. The Mayor stated he is beginning to get static from about three residents, stating "...it's a sore spot in some people's side and it's starting to become one of mine now."

The Mayor inquired as to the number of deer that had been hit by the railroad, and PWD Truelove stated there were nine, the railroad has been contacted and the bodies were being removed. Due to some being frozen it might be later.

Clerk Lorie Bond gave her update and stated Terry Hotchkiss is now in charge of the Blood Drive, replacing Jan Abrahamson, who recently passed away. The Blood Drive would be held at the event Center each month, except July due to no air conditioning in the Center.

The Council approved Clerk Bond and Deputy Clerk Laurie Barrett to attend training in Bozeman on May 1-5th.

Clerk Bond also asked if an agreement could be made to make users of the Event Center aware of the need to clean up after use, including dumping garbage cans, etc. The Council agreed to the proposal and one will be made available for Council approval.

She stated that Logan, with JKL Associates, had contacted the office and was inquiring if they could bring in the tires they would be removing from a project they have with Triangle Telephone. This would include approximately 600 tires, from pickup size to truck size. It was the consensus the city landfill would not have enough room, and it would be a matter for the county dumps.

Fire Chief Josh Neuman gave his report and showed the council the new gear that was recently purchased. He stated that City 1 was down for two weeks, due to a module that went down. After an extensive and major work session and the assistance of an individual from Big Timber, it is up and running.

Sheriff Jerry Lytle introduced Undersheriff Gerald (Roger) Has The Eagle, who shared his background in law enforcement. He stated that Roger is ambitious and between him and Taylor (Matthews) the area is getting a workout; they are getting a lot of seized cars – so much that they are going to be storing them at the county shop.

Sheriff Lytle said they are working on vehicle stops, stating many (drivers) have not realized what a STOP sign means yet, but they are learning. One of the biggest issues is the change from yield signs to stop sign on 5th Ave, E., and the one-way streets seem to be an issue as well.

Sheriff Lytle continued, stating, "(of his officers) they are really starting hitting the drugs hard...even though it's like trying to put a forest fire out with a glass of water, every little bit helps and the more drugs we get off the streets before they get to the dealer it's that much better." Fentanyl, cocaine, heroin are all coming in...marijuana not so much, and meth is still number one...that is the candy of choice.

They (law enforcement) are starting to see bigger loads, one half pound and larger. The current task force (Havre) is in the process of teaming up with additional task forces to make a difference. A lot of the drugs come up from Billings. While a lot of the drugs are coming from Chicago, the junction of Highway 2 and 191 (Malta) makes for a constant flow of drugs. The three local agencies, Sheriff's Office, Border Patrol and Homeland Security, work together.

Josh Neuman (as Border Patrol) stated that there are times when they are just 10 minutes off from being in on the action – but that they are able to locate phone numbers, connections, ledgers, transport vessels, distribution chains, etc.

Sheriff Lytle said, "...it is so easily accessible that people aren't even attempting to cook it themselves anymore; there's no sense in tempting fate to blow your house up when you can just call up your dealer and tell him...yeah, this is what I need."

Motel staff are really good about reporting any suspicious activity and calling it in. A search warrant can be issued to seize any evidence.

Josh Neuman stated, "...on a national sense you're not going to see much manufacturing on a small time and places. That has become a centralized thing for businesses and if you get caught manufacturing, you will be killed."

He continues, "We will be seeing a lot more distribution and trafficking; backs wood manufacturing you're not going to see as often."

It was stated that along with the drug trafficking and business one will see violence; a good deal of the recent shootings across the state are drug related. It is always a threat when making a traffic stop.

Money seized goes into a fund for distribution between the agencies, vehicles seized are either used for undercover work or sold. Some can't be sold due to the number of voids in it. Lytle said. "Like the one (seized by locals) I don't think there is enough "Bondo" in the state to fill the voids on that one."

Mayor Demarais thanked Sheriff Lytle and his staff for their help in making it safe for us.

There was no one at the meeting for public comment.

Barry Damschen and Mary Hendrickson (Landfill Engineers) gave a report on the landfill and upcoming plans. They provided an update on trust account.

In new business the council approved out of city garbage service for Char McCready on the golf course.

They voted to pay 2023 membership dues to the Highway 2 Association.

Under further new business the council voted to pay Draw 8 on the Trafton Lift Station.

Item 5 was Resolution 1324 – Resolution Approving the Revised City Hall Gymnasium Weight Room Membership Agreement which was discussed at great length. This had arisen due to the recent vandalism in the gym. The Resolution was approved by the council.

The council voted to approve Resolution 1325 regarding the numbers of individuals allowed to carry pepper spray. A unanimous vote approved the applying for a planning grant for Professional Engineer Report.

A motion was made and approved to use ARPA funds to complete the final phase of the lagoon outfall line.

The final item on the agenda was the approval of pay Draw 9, $118,926.06 for the Contractor Pay 7, which passed unanimously.

The next council meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 28th at 5 pm.