Council Talks City Landfill, Crime in Fourth Quarter of 2023

After opening the meeting with the pledge to the flag, Mayor John Demarais thanked the council for their support during his recent hospitalization. He stated he is doing well following his pace maker operation in Billings, and was overwhelmed by his support on Facebook as well. Present along with the council members and Lorie Bond, Clerk, were PWD Jim Truelove, Sheriff Jerry Lytle, Mary Hendrickson and Barry Damschen (Landfill Engineer).

A motion was made to approve the minutes from the last meeting, the agenda for the current meeting and claims; following a second to each motion, the motion passed unanimously.

PWD Jim Truelove gave his department report, he said the last cold snap took a lift station down. Stating it was low maintenance for the most part, until the -40 to -50 degrees hit, he said it caused two valves to freeze up, by Monday the crew had it up and running.

Truelove said the bladers are out and will get things lined out, sanders will be out working soon.

Truelove said employee Nick (Cilz) is working on two kiosks for the trails; “I am telling you, this guy is impressive, the work he does! He’s a perfectionist.”

Clerk Lorie Bond presented the council with a reminder of the packets they each had, which included a copy of the check register and current shutoff of water services.

Bond stated the Cattlewomen had stated they would rather have the city hall for Ag Day, vs using the Event Center.

She stated that in December at a council meeting, Mark and Tana Oyler had discussed with the council about the water charges connected to the house they recently purchased. It was to be noted that the charges in question connected to the house, $1,681.00, that had been delinquent, were a result of the previous owner not paying the fees and the amount was then turned over to the Assessor’s office. The delinquent bill was not the Oyler’s bill for non-payment. It was a lien against the house they purchased.

The next report on the agenda was from Sheriff Jerry Lytle. He stated the quarterly reports show they had 1,040 calls to end 2023. The calls were about even through the county calls and city calls.

He provided a breakdown of cases and stated in the 4th quarter, some resulted in arrests. There were 25 arrests in the quarter, with 60% being in Malta and the rest were county-wide. Traffic stops were at 226 in the Oct.-Dec. time frame, 127 were in Malta and 99 were county stops.

His officers attended 80 hours of training. On April 10th and 11th there will be a search warrant class to be held at the new Armory, this will bring about 40 officers from around the state in attendance. It will emphasize proper techniques, and what can be seized in a search warrant; from a recent drug bust, since it went to federal level, the local Sheriff’s office can sell the car seized during the transaction, or use it.

He was unable to answer the question posed to him if they were getting good support from the courts, stating that the disposition goes to his administrative assistant. He is pleased with the courts, stating he prefers jail time for “frequent flyers” vs a fine. Lytle said the jail time has proven to be more of an impact on the individual than coming up with the cash. “The revenue is nice, but I like to cut down on the recidnism.”

Lytle said Jed Crittenden is going to be attending the academy in April.

He briefly shared issues with the freezing ice and wrecks over the weekend.

The council members thanked him and his department for all they do, Lytle responded, “…we just keep plugging away.”

Under new business, Barry Damschen and Mary Henderson, of BD Consultants were introduced, the firm that controls the dump and burning process. They had spent some time at the city dump with Levi (Sandvick), and Damschen said, “He is doing awesome. I’m impressed, he’s doing a good job. He’s one you want to keep if you can…he’s a real deal...we’ve gone through some good ones, and some not so good ones and he’s right there at the top.”

He reported that the city has had the same amount of garbage as last year. He had discussed with Sandvick on several things that he was uncertain of. Truelove stated he will bring in some loads of dirt to get hauled to the dump.

Damschen gave his statement for his contract for the year and the estimated cost, which is about $15,000 to $20,000. The work will be done after July 1st. That will include putting down some bentonite pellets; all necessary burn permits will be in place. Local fire department support will be in place. A motion was made, there was a second, and unanimous vote to accept Damschen’s bid for landfill services for the year.

Discussion was held on Resolution 1341 – a resolution of the City of Malta, Montana, calling for an election on the question of conducting a Local Government Review and Establishing a Study Commission to do so. Councilmember David Rummel made a motion, which Councilmember Bonnie Wiederrick seconded, and motion carried.

The final business on the agenda was whether to continue with the MMIA Employee Benefit Plan; with a motion to continue services from Councilmember Wiederrick, Councilmember Hicks seconded the motion and with a unanimous vote, the motion carried.

The next council meeting is scheduled for Feb. 13th at 5 p.m.