City Council Minutes | January 9, 2020

Thursday, January 9, 2020 @ 7:00 PM
Big Sandy City Hall at 115 Johannes Ave Big Sandy, MT 59520

Mayor Schwarzbach called the meeting to order.

Council President Colby Baumgarn swore in Shaud Schwarzbach as mayor. Mayor Schwarzbach swore in Jon Sheehy, Darin Ray and Rich Jespersen as council members.

Council members present Rich Jespersen, Jon Sheehy, Darin Ray and Colby Baumgarn.

Staff Present: Tim LaBuda, PWD, Wendy Kleinsasser, clerk, Larry Geyer, PW

Public: Lorrie Merrill, Joanne Kibbee, Raymond Courtnage, Samantha Chagnon, Rhonda Works and Shane Ophus. Luke LaLiberty and Dan, a colleague from KLJ attended as well.

Approval of Meeting Minutes: Darin Ray moved to approve the minutes from the December meeting, with the date being edited. Colby Baumgarn seconded. Motion passed.

Sheriff’s Report None.

Public Comment: None

Pivot: No action

KLJ: Luke reported on the progress on the PER for the walking trail. They would like the Rotary to approve the task order officially, then Shaud will sign it. Please see below.

North Central Water: Dan updated the council on the water project. Our current system can be updated to covert to chloramine at a cost of about $10,000.00. This cost could go up if DEQ requires a mixer. The Town’s SCADA system is nonoperational and needs to be upgraded. This will cost in the range of $50,000.00. This is necessary in order to be compatible with North Central.

Storm Drain PER: The council was given three options:
1. Do nothing
2. Install a median with drainage in the center of the street
3. Crown the street so everything drains to the edges. This is the most expensive option.
The work had been done with the idea that it would extend from the highway east two blocks. The council asked that they change that so it extends to Fourth Street. Timeline: There will be no TSEP funding until the next legislative session. CDBG grants will be looked into as well. Plans will be put in place for a public hearing in late February.

Bear Paw Development:

Walking Trail: KLJ put together a task order that states that they would put together the information needed for a grant application for Bear Paw to do on behalf of the town and the Rotary at a cost of $9000.00. Since the Town is acting as a pass through agent for the Rotary, it was decided that the Rotary needed to officially approve the task order at the next meeting. Sammie also brought a letter of support for the mayor to sign. Rich Jespersen moved that the mayor sign the letter once Rotary had officially approved the task order to move forward. Jon Sheehy seconded, motion passed. Preliminary costs of the project were discussed, but since the surveying had just been completed the day before the costs could not be very detailed. KLJ will try to put together costs based on linear feet. Sammie explained that the standard grant would cover $70,000.00 and the expanded grant would cover $100,000.00. This is a reimbursement based program, which means the cost will have to be incurred before any funding takes place. There is about a two week lag time between sending in the invoices and being reimbursed.

New Business

Homecoming ad: The clerk will work with the committee to determine what picture or pictures should be in the town’s ad.

Shane Ophus: an underground line that Vern Richter installed to get power to the horse pasture on the east edge of Fifth Street was severed during the water project. Shane has spoken to NorthWestern Energy about installing a meter on one of the town’s power poles in order to restore power. This meter would be in Shane’s name. He was told he needed approval by the council to proceed. Jon Sheehy moved to provide that approval. Darin Ray seconded and the motion passed, with Colby Baumgarn voting nay.

Darlene Cavitt: She would like to hook up the water in her shop and would like it to be a combined usage account. Colby Baumgarn moved to approve the request. Rich Jespersen seconded and the motion passed. The Clerk will send her a letter explain that it is her responsibility to purchase a meter and pay for the installation and that in time the water ordinance may be changed to disallow combined usage accounts.

Old Business

Water Ordinance: A meeting is planned for January 30, at 7:00 p.m.

Edwards Easement: Ms. Edwards has approved the easement/99 year lease. The Clerk will get the liability issue taken care of with MMIA and make sure the dates are current.

Joanne Kibbee: Due to apparent shifting of the line at the connection point where system ties into the main sewer line, she has experienced issues at a substantial cost. This needs to be corrected and will be when the ground is not frozen. In the meantime the Town accepts responsibility for any further problems. Ms. Kibbee is requesting reimbursement for her expenses. Darin Ray moved to have the town reimburse her $600.00. Rich Jespersen seconded. Jon Sheehy asked that the motion be amended to read that the Town reimburse her for half of the expenses, which would be $687.50. The motion was not amended and failed to pass. Jon Sheehy then made the motion to pay half. Colby Baumgarn seconded; motion passed

Committee Reports: None

Mayor Report: The mayor had previously given an update on the regional water project.

Public Works: Public Works would like to order the pumps for the pool.

Clerk:
* The shut off list was distributed
* The correspondence was distributed.

Claims: Colby Baumgarn moved to accept the claims. Jon Sheehy seconded and the motion passed.

General Journal Voucher: Colby Baumgarn moved to approve JV 2020-06, Rich Jespersen seconded; motion passed.

Any Business to be brought before the Council: Public Works will send in a list of streetlights that need to be replaced. The next meeting will be held February 12. The Town Christmas party will be held February 7.

Darin Ray moved to adjourn, Jon Sheehy seconded. Motion passed.