Council Talks With River's Bend, Fire Chief, Great West

The first meeting of November for City Council began with the pledge to the flag, followed by motions being seconded and approval to accept the minutes from the last meeting, approval of the agenda for the current meeting and approval to pay claims submitted. Attending the meeting were PWD Jim Truelove, Marilyn Taylor, Laura Pankratz, Tony Simonsen, and Jonathan Weaver of Great West Engineering. At a later point in time, Josh Newman, Fire Chief, joined the meeting.

Clerk Lorie Bond explained that some ordinances would be reviewed and updated, such as dances where alcohol is served, minors in pool halls, and no hypnotists in town; the Montana Code Annotated was followed to bring the local ordinances to date.

PWD Jim Truelove began his report with letting the Council know there had been a dig since last meeting; it was a service line due to a dig when (they) were boring.

He reported on the DEQ deficiency on the 176,000 gallon tank, a response is required within 30 days. Mayor John Demarais stated he would be making calls regarding it and let them know the City plans to replace the tank, however; it isn't going to happen overnight, a plan needs to be in place. His plan is to get a grant and with due diligence it will be completed. It will take about three years to complete the update; as of now there is a patch on the inside.

Councilmember Jim Sintler asked, "Will the patch hold that long?" Truelove replied, "Maybe that, but no more." It is a project in the works that will take both time and money, and there are no guarantees what will happen with the patch that is on now. Every panel on it is aged, and no one can make positive guesses on how long it will hold together.

Councilmember Rummel inquired if a new tank would be built in the same place; Truelove stated that is possible, although the City does own more property, it can be higher or underground. There are several options available. All agreed it will be a long drawn out process.

Truelove said there will be some work on the hill, as two new pumps are being put in. These changes will happen at night, water will be shut down about 11 p.m. for about an hour.

Truelove said with the weather cooperating, the leaf pickup project is still ongoing and the sweeper has been going and will continue as long as they can get around.

There is some more patching to be done; and that will be done according to weather.

Trafton Park will be closed the day after hunting season closes. The crew will then begin putting up the lights and Christmas decorations.

Gary Damson was up to check the landfill and all is going well.

Lorie Bond provided her reports; Mike Morser has asked to use the gym for Border Patrol training, the schedule would be worked around the City Rec Department schedule; this met with the council's approval.

Bond has been doing a fair share of zoom meetings. She had also attended a Local Emergency Planning (LEP) meeting and met the new Disaster Coordinator, Amanda Anderson.

Bond stated she and Councilmember Wiederrick had looked at pricing of dog care stations for Trafton; some were found for $210, they are all metal and it was agreed to get two at that price.

Bond also stated that John Wright had called and would not be available for the meeting tonight.

The Event Center was discussed, Councilmember Rummel said the craft fair had gone good and the women were so extremely happy with the kitchen and new appliances. Mayor Demarais stated the handicapped sign has to have "permit required" on it to be valid; Truelove said he will take care of that detail.

Laura Pankratz appeared during public comment time. She has located several sites that will provide equipment through grants for the walking trails that she would like to pursue. Another site would provide for upkeep and paying for an employee. The match in funds varies from 10 to 20%. Mayor Demarais said he and Truelove can work with her to get the grants completed. The Council gave their approval for the project.

Tony Simonsen appeared before the Council, he and his wife purchased the former Hi-Line Retirement Center, now called the River's Bend Assisted Living facility. He addressed the water and sewer bill; the water is metered and runs about $112 to $160 per month. The sewer runs $513 a month. The facility is licensed for 12 residents, until they grow. The sewer is based on the number of rooms within the facility. He came to ask that the billing be changed to be billed for the amount of rooms they are licensed for.

Mayor Demarais said, "I want this building to work, but I also said these are written in stone. There is a way to change it but it will take a bunch of hoopla. When we passed the last (part) I read on there, and I just re-read it; it said we were supposed to look every year at the rates and see if they are covering the amount of money we are spending to cover the cost to run our sewer. Then to do it we have to jump through the hoops, that's when we have to notify everybody who has a sewer account, and it can be done. We will have to see what we can do to fix that. I don't know. It is the Council's decision, I am firmly behind you 100%, don't get me wrong, but we have to jump through the hoops."

Simonsen said he wasn't asking to change the rates, just the billing according (the multiplier) to the number of occupied rooms.

Demarais further explained "that they have to go through their attorney to change anything on the multiplier...some things make sense and some don't."

It involves notifying every user, there has to be three public hearings, everything has to be changed, including the resolution setting the rates, etc.

There was a lengthy discussion with input from all those present. Simonsen is paying $513 a month for sewer, the monthly rate is $939 a month for these utilities.

"I am just trying to make this work. This thing is a mess; I walked into a bigger hornets' nest than I knew," Simonsen added. "I am working through it but it seems like I have to fight every battle."

"I haven't touched one fixture that I haven't replaced because of water quality...you can come over and see what it looks like after it has been sitting for a year! I bet I have spent $5,000 just on faucets!"

"I would be open to any suggestion; I don't want to make it a big deal for the whole community but if you're supposed to review this every year then you should review it anyway."

He shared that his two other facilities take Medicaid; with this building the State looks at it as one big building. They have 30 days to look at whether they take Medicaid; he asked for a letter of support, which the City agreed to provide.

Simonsen said the River's Edge is now serving senior meals at $5 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays since the Meat Market stopped serving. They serve soup and salad on Monday and Wednesday; they currently have four employees at this time and are looking to expand to 15 at some point in time.

Josh Newman gave a report from the Fire Department. He explained some of the bills that were in the claims. They included personal gear and attire, a new chainsaw, and other job related equipment. He said the training had gone well earlier this fall. Discussion was held on ideas for possible trainings, including basement fires, hot water and heater fires. He discussed the training his team has and what they are looking into for additional exposure to situations.

Jonathan Weaver of Great West Engineering, presented the draft of a study he had prepared. This was in connection with the flood levy. The levy, built in 1997, is the newest in the state. Discussion was held on the dike around the railroad track and the old dike, "built by farmers in 1956 and is doing pretty good."

Ordinance 457, was read, a motion made and a second to accept the same was voted unanimously.

The matter of old uncashed checks was discussed; checks were from 2019 to 2021. A motion was made to reissue one check to the Fire Department and cancel the remaining; it was seconded and passed.

Councilperson Wiederrick made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded and passed. Members will meet on Nov. 28th for the next meeting, starting at 5 p.m.