October 17, 2023
CITY OF TOWNSEND City Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Evans opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. The pledge of allegiance was recited by all. Council members attending the meeting were Vickie Rauser, Angie Wintrow, Valerie Baraza, Nate Brown, Ken Urich, and Matt West. Also in attendance were Peter Simon, Eric Crusch, Kari Williams, Nancy Marks, Vivian Boaz, Cliff Wrobetz, Heather Healea, Gary Bauman, Susie Hedalen, Jason Noyes, Christina Hartmann, JB Howick, Doug Brecker, Doug Sitton, and Jenny Clouse.
MINUTES: Vickie made a couple of corrections to the minutes. Kari has fixed the mistakes. Vickie made a motion to approve the minutes with the corrections from 10/3/2023. Angie seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
City Attorney Contract: Peter spoke about his contract and said it was largely unchanged from the original contract, but it’s half the salary from his original contract to perform civil duties for the city. There is a slight increase for “non-standard” service rates such as trials and other things would not be considered standard services. He asked if the council would approve it for the remainder of the fiscal year. Vickie made a motion to accept and approve the legal services contract between Peter Simon and the City of Townsend for legal services. Valerie seconded the motion. Vickie, Angie, Matt, Nate, and Val voted in favor. Ken Urich abstained from voting, and when asked why he stated that he doesn’t think we need two attorneys on the payroll. Motion carried.
Public Work’s Director position: Mayor Evans asked about opening the position internally first. Peter stated that he hasn’t found any reason why the position cannot be posted internally first. He stated that the city’s policy manual allows for it. Val asked if we ever have to open a job up to the public, and can we just open all jobs up internally? Ken asked why we don’t open it up to the public and stated that he thinks that the position should be posted to the public just like the clerk’s position was last year. What’s the difference? He stated that we should accept applications from both internal and outside applicants, that way we can select the best candidate for the position. He then stated that we are an Equal Opportunity Employer. Valerie agreed and made a motion that the Public Work’s Director job description be updated and posted to the public. Ken seconded the motion. Mayor Evans called for a vote, and Vickie said we need to discuss this first. Vickie stated that she thinks the job should be posted internally. Matt stated that he understands that we want to take care of the existing employees, however it doesn’t open itself up to other ideas and people. Maybe we are passing on someone who has more experience. Val stated that by opening it up, we’re taking in all the information we can get from everyone, and that obviously a person that has been here for years is going to have more experience. But to be fair to anyone else interested in the position and to see who’s the more qualified person, it should be open to the public. Nate stated that he thinks to keep it internal first. He said that the guys know each other, and they know the city and the ins and outs of the town. Even though there may be someone out there who is more qualified, that doesn’t mean they are right for the job. Angie stated that she agrees that the position should be opened internally first. Mayor Evans said that’s what he’s for too. The motion on the table to update the job description and post the position to the public was voted on. Matt, Valerie, and Ken voting yay, and Vickie, Angie and Nate voting nay, as well as Mayor Evans. Motion failed. At this point there was a public comment made by JB Howick stating that whatever position the city thinks is easier to hire, open that one up to the public. If that’s the Director’s position, open that position up to the public. If it’s a lower position that the city thinks is easier to fill, open that one up to the public. There will be less people who are qualified for the Public Work’s Director position. At that point Vickie made a motion to open the position internally. Vivian Boaz asked how many of our internal employees who may apply are close to retirement. Vickie stated that is a personnel issue and not up for discussion at an open meeting. Heather Haelea spoke and asked what would stop the internal candidates from applying for the position if it’s opened to the public? Would it benefit the town more to have more options? Ken stated that in the long run we’re going to get more candidates, because we’re going to lose Tim and we’re going to have to put out an ad for another position anyway. Heather Haelea stated, “What if I wanted to apply for the Director’s position, but I’ve only lived here for two years?” “I’m qualified for it with my background and resume, and I know there’s a position out there, but if I wanted to, I couldn’t throw my hat in the ring, because you’re only going to consider the internal candidates.” She stated that she knows the internal employees have been here and done the work and are grandfathered in, but that she may be more qualified. She asked why not open it up and start sifting through the resumes? Matt stated that’s exactly what Ken has been saying. If the present employees are qualified, they will get the job. Otherwise, we’re just showing “friendship and favoritism” on the job. Mike stated he’s not doing that, and that the guys have started from dirt and deserve a shot. Matt stated that Heather Haelea has a valid point that we’re blocking the public from having a chance to apply to the city. Nate said that maybe no one would apply from the public anyway, and Matt stated that’s irrelevant. Nate said that maybe there’s another person who is more qualified, but that doesn’t mean they would be best for the job. The council went back to the motion on the table for opening the position internally. Angie seconded the motion. The vote was held for posting the position internally only first. Those voting yay were Vickie, Angie, and Nate. Those voting nay were Ken, Matt, and Valerie. Mayor Evans broke the tie and voted yay. Motion carried to post the position internally first.
Broadband: The Right of Use Committee met on Monday, Oct 16th to go over three different ordinances from like-minded cities. Peter spoke about this and let them know that there needs to be a process for having the franchise sign an agreement on how they use the property, when laying the fiber optics for example. Bridger, MT has an ordinance that they adopted on Sept 5th, so Peter is going to call them and ask them why they decided on this ordinance.
Penalty Revision Committee: Peter spoke on this as well. The penalty revisions were slightly delayed, but we’re good with where it’s headed, and the Solicitor’s Ordinance has finally been updated and approved in Muni Code. He’ll finish completing the penalty section and will be complete by the end of this week, to have another meeting next week to review.
Townsend Chamber of Commerce attended the meeting to request a Street Closure for the Ghost Stroll on October 31st from 4-6:00 p.m. This was not on the agenda to vote on, so a special meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 24th at 6:00 p.m. to approve the request.
Heather Healea stated that they had a sign made that reads, “Tricksters are Out” so hopefully traffic will slow down on the East end of Broadway during this event. She will donate this to the city for future use on Halloween.
Fire Dept report—moved to November 7th.
Townsend School Superintendent, Susie Hedalen spoke from Townsend Schools regarding a baseball program at the school. Townsend School District is looking into a baseball program, and one of the requirements is having a field to utilize. Gary Bauman stated that a lot of towns run into the situation that there is not an available space/field for a baseball team. There are currently 25 teams signed up through MHSA. Each community plays approximately 15 games, and Townsend would have to travel quite a way for the out-of-town games. They are requesting to use the city fields for this sport. Mike asked if this would interfere with the little kids who play t-ball and baseball in the spring. Gary Bauman stated that it would make things tight, however they could use Connor’s Field as an overflow. Connor’s Field needs some work and re-vamping. Gary stated that they have portable mounds, so that helps. Vickie asked how the new program will be funded. Susie stated that that’s a big question mark as of right now, as the budget is tight. There are over twenty students who have stated that they’re interested in playing baseball, so they will look at the resources available. Bus drivers would be something to consider. Gary and the students and parents are dedicated to fund raising and exploring avenues to get the funds available to get this sport going. Mike said he’d have to talk with the public works crew to see what the maintenance would look like. Matt asked how much the parents and coaches do to run the fields. Gary stated that they do a lot. So, the maintenance would fall between the parents and coaches and the city crew, but it was stated that very little maintenance would fall on the city crew. Valerie stated that she’d like to see a schedule that shows that the high school baseball team would not interfere with the smaller kids’ baseball schedule in the spring before moving forward. Ken asked when the program will start. Susie stated that the sport would start either this spring or next spring, but most likely the spring of 2025. Jason Noyes stated that it’s probably too many questions to get answered and hard to get everything going for this spring, but MHSA is willing to accept them if they can get everything to fall into place. Susie thanked the council and mayor for their consideration and support, and they will bring back more information as it evolves.
Guest JB Howick: He stated that he could use some help. He said it hasn’t rained as much here since 2019, and he didn’t realize how much the alley was continuing to the flooding of his business. His business has flooded three times in the last three weeks. He said it takes a lot to get all his products moved so the water can get cleaned out, and it’s resulting in damages. He said what’s causing this is that fifty years ago when the alley was asphalted, rather than building the road at the original level with asphalt, there was just ten inches of road base down and then put asphalt on it. He’s at the point to figure out what to do. He would like the city to take up the asphalt and fix it. He has drainage problems, road problems, and traffic hitting large potholes. Matt asked how difficult and at what depth it would be to take the asphalt out. JB said that if all the city did was take up the asphalt which appears to be a two inch lay of the asphalt that would help and it would allow him to fix it himself. He said there should not be an infrastructure risk doing it. He had a long talk with NW Energy, and they don’t know how deep the pipe is set. Matt asked if the two inches will just be a stop gap, and JB said possibly, but it would allow him to grade the alley and hopefully fix the issue. Matt also asked if neighboring businesses are at risk. Matt asked city crew member Eric Crusch how much work it would be to take the asphalt out. Eric responded and said that it would probably only take about a day. However, where does the asphalt have to be taken? And Eric stated that we don’t know what’s under that asphalt, so that could open up another problem. Matt thinks that the city should take responsibility for the alley since the alley is the city’s infrastructure and make the necessary improvements. JB stated that he is willing to help contribute assistance keeping the roadway behind his business graded. He just needs the asphalt removed first. Matt stated by doing nothing, the business will continue to have flooding problems, and that doesn’t sound like a good option. Valerie asked if there’s any way to just take a smaller section out to see what’s underneath the asphalt. JB said that NW Energy will be doing that when putting in a buried power line. He offered to call the city when this happens so they can see what is there. JB said that he’s not expecting the city to do something asap, however freezing temperatures and snow is coming. It would be great if it could happen before Winter, but he’d be happy if it could be done by next Spring. Vickie stated that cost will be considered. JB said that the asphalt is coming up one way or another all by itself. Vickie said that when and how it’s financed will be an issue, and if there’s enough money in the budget to fix it the right way. JB said that he could start sending the city the bills for the damaged products that this issue has caused, instead. Vickie stated that they need more information so that the city can plan to meet any financial obligations that come up. JB stated that he’s not complaining about that at all. The alley will be looked at next week to plan what needs to be done.
Round Table: Valerie Boaz asked if the Fire Department is supposed to block the streets for the Ghost Stroll. Mike stated that the request should have come from the Chamber of Commerce. Valerie stated that the Fire Department doesn’t have a lot of members.
Vickie: She attended the National Convention of Leagues and Cities last week and spoke about the various classes she attended.
Matt:
Ken:
Valerie:
Nate:
Angie:
Matt was congratulated and thanked for 17 years of service to the City of Townsend. Tonight was his last meeting. Thank you, Matt!
Adjournment: Valerie made the motion to adjourn; Nate seconded the meeting. All in favor, motion carried.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, November 7th at 6:30 p.m.