New Week…Same Ol' Story

Members of the Malta City Council met on June 13th with all Council members present. Following the pledge to the flag, Mayor Demarais stated that the two vacant positions had been filled. John Wright has been hired as Compliance Officer; Matt VanWinkle has been hired as a laborer. A motion was made to approve the minutes of the previous meeting, the agenda, the claims, and the payroll; it was seconded and passed.

Public Works Director Jim Truelove provided a report on several matters. The City crew had been busy with two digs, one at the Villa and one at the Veterans Park, where a valve was replaced. This proved to be more extensive than planned.

The City Pool is open and operating.

Truelove stated that the sweeper is down due to a conveyor not working; when parts arrive and are installed sweeping will resume. The focus now will be geared toward getting the chopper around town for branches. General cleanup by the City and citizens has started and it is hopeful the momentum will continue. As of the meeting, they are still waiting on concrete to complete the sidewalk at the Villa.

The new pump at the underpass appears to be working, Truelove said. When the City received over an inch of rain in a torrential downpour, it was tough for the drains to keep up; one can only do so much with the deluge that came down.

Mayor Demarais inquired if the alley behind the GN had been bladed; Truelove said it had and Mayor Demarais instructed him it needed to be done again.

City Clerk Lorie Bond said there are several bills affecting the City that will be in effect from the recent Montana legislature. She had enclosed a thank you note from the Girl Scouts for waiving the fee for the use of the Event Center earlier.

With the new Compliance officer now at work, it was decided that the tall grass would be first on the agenda for getting things cleaned up. Things will have to be prioritized to make spring cleanup work with the most efficiency.

Once again, same song, second verse…the restrooms have been vandalized. The damage is costing taxpayer dollar dollars. Discussion was held on how best to address the matter.

There were no reports from the Compliance Officer, Landfill, Safety Committee, Fire Chief, Law Enforcement, Planning, or Parks & Recreation. Mayor Demarais reported that the Event Center had been booked for the MOI dance; he said Havre and Glasgow brought clients to enjoy the dance and that it went well, everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

A discussion was held on the day limit for parking in Trafton Park. The park was never designated to be where individuals can “park” there, with no plans for moving on or finding a place where they can “park” for an extended amount of time. There have been a “fair amount of complaints,” said Mayor Demarais. It was agreed these are valid concerns about safety issues in using the park for those reasons.

Councilperson Wiederrick stated that City Attorney Pekovitch thought that the City needed to put a limit on how many days people can camp in Trafton Park.

PW Director Truelove reported that the fence was up around the new Trafton Lift Station. At this time, he is waiting to do a walk-through and to go over the punch list with the engineer.

Under new business, DoDee Oxarart had requested to be placed on the agenda regarding Gym/Weight Room Membership reinstatement. Since Mrs. Oxarart was a no-show, no action could be taken as per Resolution 1324.

Mayor Demarais presented the Council with a request from the National Guard and other related entities requesting to use the Event Center to facilitate the group between August 6-11th, and 13-17th. Following discussion, it was voted on to charge the standard rental fee of $100/day.

Mayor Demarais provided the Council with the 2023 TruGreen quote for herbicidal/fertilizer. A new quote is needed due to the absence of Levi Tatafu with Big Sky Turfworx. TruGreen submitted a bid of $3,744 and Mayor Demarais would like it done twice for a total of $7,488, the price could vary due to locations being added to the base; a motion by Councilperson Wiederrick was seconded and passed.

The next order of business was a request to sponsor the Fourth of July fireworks. A motion to sponsor the celebration was made by Councilperson Hicks with a second by Councilperson Sintler, and the motion carried.

An agreement with Lane and Associates for drug and alcohol testing was presented by Mayor Demarais. Following discussion, a motion was made, seconded, and carried.

In the open forum for comments, Councilperson Wiederrick asked about the written complaint about a person living in a camper in town and discussion followed about the many people living in camp trailers in town

The next meeting of the City Council will be Tuesday, June 27th at 5 P. M.