CITY OF TOWNSEND

City Council Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, August 1, 2023, 6:30 p.m.

CALL TO ORDER:  Mayor Evans called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

Present:   Mayor Evans, Vickie Rauser, Matt West, Ken Urich, Angie Wintrow, Nate Brown, and Christina Hartmann.  Also present were Tim Ravndal, Peter Simon, Jenny Barnett, Tim Rauser, Kirk Flynn, Vivian Boaz, and Kari Williams

Public Hearing on FY2024 Budget: 

Vickie asked Kari if there was anything to point out regarding the budget;  Kari stated that there is a negative number in fund 3420 SID #6.  Matt stated that he’s concerned about the Tree Board and that $15000 is excessive for watering trees especially when he’s watering trees on private property.  Currently the $15000 is ear marked for water and irrigation, so $5000 needs to be re-allocated for purchasing trees for the school’s Ag program.  Kari will correct that so there is $10,000 for the Tree Board’s irrigation/water for trees; $5000 will be for purchasing trees for the school’s Ag program.  No change is the dollar amount to Tree Board—just the allocation of the funds. 

No further comment on the Budget; the Public Hearing is closed. 

MINUTES:  Vickie Rauser made a motion to approve the minutes of 7.10.23; Matt West seconded the motion; all in favor, motion carried.

Vickie made a motion to approve the Budget Amendments of $150 for fund 3420 SID #6; $41.87 for fund 3410 SID #5 and $9000 for fund 2400 SLD Light Maintenance.  Christina Hartmann seconded the motion; all in favor, motion carried. 

Airport Lease Agreements:  Angie spoke on the lease agreements. One is for Seth Wolfgram, and he will be building a new hangar on one of the two lots available.  The second agreement is for Daniel Finey & Sharon O’Leary who purchased Al Irvin’s old hangar, and this is a new lease agreement.   Ken asked if Seth Wolfgram is from the Townsend area; Angie stated yes and that he’s on the Airport Board.  Ken asked if the leases haven’t increased for quite a while.  It was 11 cents per sq foot; and it’s now 11 ½ cents per sq foot. Vickie made a motion to approve the airport lease agreements, Angie seconded the motion; all in favor motion carried. 

Peter Simon:  Spoke on the letter he submitted a couple of weeks ago regarding his current contract.  He would like to explore the idea of staying on and continuing his civil duties but would like to step away from the criminal side/prosecution.  He’s open to resigning if the city doesn’t think it’s feasible to have two different attorneys for different duties.  He stated that his private practice has been busier, and his family life is also busier, as the reason for wanting to reduce his duties with the city.  He also said that he’d sign a short-term contract, if need be, until the council can hire an additional attorney or a replacement attorney.  Peter thanked the council for the opportunity to get established in Townsend. 

Vickie suggested that a committee should be formed to discuss the attorney position.  This committee will consist of Matt, Angie, and Vickie to determine the best route to take regarding Peter’s contract.  Tim Ravndal with Broadwater Co News asked if there’s a timeline when a decision will be made.  Vickie stated prior to the end of September, when Peter’s contract is due to expire. 

Law Enforcement contract:  Peter spoke on the changes to the original contract.  Changes include:  General Law Enforcement services defined;  Effective date, term renewal and fiscal period states the agreement is effective for 4 years; After the expiration date of the initial term, the Agreement shall automatically renew on July 1, 2027 for two consecutive 1 year terms unless a new agreement is executed;  Finances & Budget stating the City of Townsend shall pay the County $355,513.89 in 2023 and for each subsequent fiscal year under the Agreement, the amount will be increased by 3%.  Also, prior to the expiration date, the review shall begin for future contracts no later than January 1, 2027, and include a budget for compensation, labor, patrol car costs, overtime adjustments, workload increase and ability of the Cit to fund the recommended increase.  Christina asked if it would be difficult for the city to complete the budget that early;  Vickie stated that it shouldn’t be a problem as we use the prior year’s revenue estimate to provide the baseline for setting the budget.   

Vickie made a motion to approve the interlocal law enforcement agreement with the provision that Exhibit A gets attached to the Agreement . Christina seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.  Tim Ravndal requested the original contract to see the baseline and current dollar amounts of what the County was receiving from the City. 

Swimming Pool Liability email from MMIA; There needs to be a form that parents/guardian’s sign with contact information for kids being dropped off at the pool.  This resulted in a lengthy discussion on how to proceed with kids when the pool closed early due to the weather. 

Broadband:  Angie spoke on this as she attended an informational meeting at the Flynn Building.  Angie explained that the city may be interested in a “Right of Use” permit as Blackfoot recently laid cable for commercial services.  More to come on this topic.   

Guests/Correspondence:

Kirk Flynn spoke and handed the council a drawing of the property behind his own property on Elm Street.  He would like to get permission to move forward with a survey on the property, as the owners, (Sitton’s) have given Kirk permission to purchase a small portion of that property that would give him access to his backyard/garage from Kolczak Ln.  The council did not see a problem with doing a boundary relocation, however they would like to run this by the zoning engineer, Jeremy Fadness to make sure there isn’t a zoning regulation that would prohibit this.   Jeremy was called the next day, and he stated it would only be a boundary relocation and would not be a problem.   

Correspondence from RPA on Copper Springs. Engineering questions to Copper Springs.  (Information Only)

American Legion Street Closure request for September 10^th for a 9/11 parade.  Christina made a motion to approve the street closure, Nate seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Townsend Airport Meeting Notes:  Angie spoke about this as she attended the meeting.  The meeting notes Shows funds, capital improvement plan,  and information on the timeline of their construction.

Budget:  Vickie made a motion to approve the 23-24 budget; Angie seconded the motion. Yay was Angie Wintrow, Vickie Rauser, Nate Brown,  Matt West,  and Christina Hartmann.   Nay was Ken Urich.  Motion carried. 

Round Table

Nick Rauser spoke and said it’s been busy criminal wise in Broadwater County. 

Peter—stated he would like to meet with the Penalty Revision Committee to set a date for a future meeting; Also questioned the Employee Policy Manual being on the agenda as pending business. It was decided that it doesn’t need any further review, so Kari will remove it from future agendas. 

Matt—

Vickie—

Ken—

Christina Hartmann officially gave her resignation as a council member since she sold her house in town so cannot remain on the council. 

Nate—Told Tim that the alleys look good and other areas where the city crew has patched. 

Angie—Two more lease agreements will be coming forth; The Airport Board recently adopted an application process that is first come first serve, local residents first and then move to others second. 

Claims:  Ken made a motion to pay the July claims; Nate seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.

Adjournment:  Ken made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Nate seconded the motion.  All in favor.  Motion carried.

Next Meeting:  Tuesday August 15^th at 6:30 p.m.