April 2, 2024
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 2, 2024
Mayor Rauser called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all. Council Members present were Nate Brown, JB Howick, Vivian Boaz, and Doug Sitton. Angie Wintrow and Valerie Baraza were absent. Also present were Eric Crusch, Kari Williams, Jeff Langlinais, Diane Brown, Nick Rauser, Cliff Wrobetz, Linda Kent, Georgia Wilde, Suzie Conroy, Kailyn Hager, Savannah Voigt, Joe Nelson, and Alan Wright.
Minutes from March 19, 2024: JB moved to accept the minutes; Vivian seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
Public comment:
Jeff Langlinais with Townsend Rotary spoke about Fall Fest, Slice of Summer, and Solicitor Moratorium. The Rotary would like to reserve Heritage Park on October 4-6, however event set up may begin Thursday October 3rd and cleanup may extend until Monday October 7th. They would also like to request street closures on Pine Street from C to 2nd Street on October 4-6, as this is where the vendors will be located, and the car show registration takes place. Also closure on B Street from Front Street to the alley between S Pine Street and Spruce Street October 4-6, as a few vendors are located here, and also where bands will load and unload their equipment. Also closure on Broadway Street (Hwy 12) from Front Street to Walnut during the Car Show on October 6th. Rotary will also work with the Department of Transportation for the Broadway (Hwy 12) closure. Other items that Jeff brought up to the city council was approving a moratorium to prevent vendors from setting up in the city limits during the weekend of Fall Fest unless the vendor applied and was approved through Rotary. This would not restrict or prevent businesses from setting up on their own property. Rotary would also like to have a “no dogs allowed” policy (except service dogs) enforced at the Fall Fest. Mayor Rauser asked if there were any questions from the council. JB stated that he had several questions regarding the moratorium, stating that the moratorium is a broad request and as worded implies there can be no other event in Townsend that weekend. Mayor Rauser stated that they are working on an Events Ordinance because the most recent ordinance allows solicitors to pay an annual fee, which has made the moratorium more complicated. She also stated that we need to ask the animal control officer and the sheriff to shed light on the “no dog policy” at Fall Fest. JB made a motion to accept the Rotary’s proposal for Fall Fest, with exception of further discussion on the moratorium and the “no dog policy” at Fall Fest. Nate seconded the motion. JB, Doug, and Nate were in favor of the motion, Vivian opposed the motion. Motion carried.
Jeff also spoke about the Slice of Summer and requested Heritage Park on July 18 and August 15th. The Rotary has proposed a fixed fee for open swim on that day. JB made a motion to approve the Rotary’s request for the Slice of Summer. Vivian seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
City’s Website: Mayor Rauser stated that it is currently managed under on contract with the city, and the administration of that contract is the responsibility of the Executive Branch (Mayor), so any contact with the contractor by individual council members, is inappropriate. JB requested that the mayor and council re-visit the website and what is included in the contract. JB stated that the city website has been fairly static, with the exception of posting minutes and agendas. Information of any kind that needs to be posted to the website has to go through the contractor, so JB’s concern is that effort to try to maintain the website and keep it up to date is going to become more difficult with growth and more happenings within the city. JB made a motion to have the mayor and city staff review the City’s Website for its functionality. Vivian seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
Public Comment: Alan Wright asked if the zoning ordinances were removed from the website. Mayor Rauser stated that the current ordinances are on the website.
City’s Fireworks Ordinance: Mayor Rauser stated that council member Howick received some comments from a concerned citizen regarding fireworks in city limits. JB stated that the citizen is concerned about fireworks being set off in the middle of the street, and too close to the person’s propane tank. JB said that he reviewed the current firework ordinance, and he feels that there are some safety improvements that can be made without compromising the enjoyment that fireworks bring to the community.
Public Comment: Eric Crusch stated that one of the items he ran into as a compliance officer for the city is the deadline on how early/late people can set off fireworks. Currently, the ordinance does not address time restrictions.
Mayor Rauser stated that the first step is to receive a motion for the council to create a Fireworks Ordinance committee. JB made a motion to have the council create a committee to review the Fireworks Ordinance; Vivian seconded the motion. JB, Vivian, and Doug were in favor of the motion. Nate opposed the motion. Motion carried. Mayor Rauser stated that she would like to see public get involved and be a part of this committee because there are a number of stakeholders who have an opinion on this topic. Mayor Rauser would like to see at least one council member from each ward and at least two members of the public from each ward. Vivian stated she would sit on it for Ward 3, JB volunteered for Ward 1, and Doug for Ward 2. Mayor Rauser stated that before the next meeting that the council members contact residents from their Ward and ask if they’re interested in being on the committee.
Proposed Cat Ordinance: Georgia Wilde, the city’s animal control officer spoke about this, and handed out some information on the cat population in Townsend. There are a large number of feral cats in town. Suzie Conroy was introduced as Georgia’s partner on this subject, as she is a local citizen and advocate for the cats in town and has personally spayed, neutered, and adopted over 150 cats in the last two years and believes there are hundreds less cats around town because of her efforts. Georgia’s suggestion is to get permission to allow her role with the city to mediate between the public and various resources to help reduce the number of cats in town by trapping, neutering/spaying, and releasing the cats. She would like to have this project funded through donations to animal shelters who help spay and neuter cats. Citizens have started taking the cat problem into their own hands by poisoning, shooting, or putting hound dogs on the cats to kill them. This is against city ordinance because it’s animal cruelty. Discussion was held and questions were asked. And it was stated that this would require an ordinance.
JB asked what she’s asking the council to do. She stated that she’d like to have a role within her position to deal with cats. Eric stated that she needs an ordinance or some kind of authority to deal with cats as the city’s animal control officer.
Public Comment: Suzie Conroy stated that this is a big problem, and we need an ordinance. Citizens are dumping their cats and people need to be held accountable. Savannah Voigt stated that a possible spay and neuter clinic within the city would help and start an awareness. Georgia Wilde stated that some areas are not part of the city, however some of cats from out of the city limits come into town. There is a group, Spay Montana, which would allow citizens who want to get their cat spayed or neutered to have access to the spay and neuter clinic and can get this done for a lower cost. Council member Vivian Boaz asked how we can hold people accountable for being cruel and dropping off their cats and kittens. What about game cameras? Georgia stated that there is an “abandonment” ordinance within the city ordinances. Mayor Rauser stated that there are a few options, one being authorizing the mayor and staff to work with the council to draft an ordinance to address at a minimum a facilitator or mediator of resources. Second option is to continue as is with no changes, or third option is to defer action to a later meeting.
JB stated that he is sympathetic, but it’s not as easy as just coming up with a cat ordinance. To do this right, it would be looking at all an ordinance for all animals and that the departmentalization is correct with foresight that the result covers everything so it wouldn’t have to be re-visited for a number of years. He would agree that tabling this would be a good option. Georgia stated that the biggest problem with waiting is that she’s concerned that people will deal with the cats on their own, and not comply with the animal cruelty ordinance.
JB asked Sheriff Rauser what he thinks about having a city ordinance on cats. Sheriff Rauser stated that they don’t get a lot of calls about cats specifically, however, there have been a number of animal cruelty cases.
JB made a motion to table this topic until the next meeting. Doug stated that he commends the people who are concerned and passionate about the cats, and the problem will only get worse before they get better. Tabling this topic until the next meeting makes sense. Vivian seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
Georgia stated that she left her phone number and email on the handout to the council if they have any further questions prior to the next meeting. There’s also a website to visit that gives a lot of information on this topic. https://www.alleycat.org/
Sheriff’s Quarterly Report: Nick Rauser stated that the report for citations was 65 for the quarter. There’s been a number of issues ranging from dui’s, domestic violence, and warrants. There was also a stolen vehicle and the charge of two individuals with setting fire to the truck that was stolen. They are getting ready to move into the busy season. Nate asked if he sees a pattern with people getting into trouble. Sheriff Rauser stated that it’s ongoing, however summer tends to be busier. JB stated that the tour of the jail was very educational and recommends that everyone takes advantage of the tour offered by the Sheriff’s department.
MMIA—Employee Benefits: Mayor Rauser stated that what we need to do tonight is to continue or not with the same plan that the city employees have had for a number of years. The Madison Plan is the mid-tier plan of the three available plans. The rates are only going up by $12.16 per month for the Madison Plan, which is only a 1.6% increase, so the recommendation from the mayor and the city staff is to stay with the Madison Plan for the health benefits. Vivian made a motion to continue with the Madison Plan for the next year. Doug seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
Tree Board—Watering Contract: Mayor Rauser stated that there are a few minor changes to the contract regarding the compensation to the contractor’s personal vehicle use to cap at $350 per month. JB moved to approve the contract as amended; Nate seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
Joe Nelson Ag Lease: Mayor Rauser stated that she understands that Joe Nelson is interested in renewing the contract. Joe stated that he currently pays $5000 per year to the city, and he’s willing to bump that amount up to $7500 per year. Joe stated that he’d like to have a ten-year contract but he’s willing to do whatever the city wants to do. JB stated that he’s concerned that the council hasn’t had time to review the lease agreement and allow the public to hear and comment on this. Mayor Rauser said that she can work with the city attorney, and it will be publicly noticed. He asked if it would be possible to extend the contract to a month or two, and then move forward with the lease agreement. Joe stated that the short-term contract will have to be a minimum of one year as he’s ready to put fertilizer down asap and it’s his growing season.
JB made a motion to proceed with the review of the Ag Lease with Mr. Nelson and table it until the next meeting. Doug seconded the motion. All in favor motion carried.
Pool Committee: Mayor Rauser stated that by next week we will have interviewed five applicants for the Pool Manager position, so will be prepared to make a job offer to one of the.
Montana Internet: Would like to re-negotiate the contract for the equipment they have on the city’s water tower.
Clerk:
Public Works: Eric stated that they are working on the allies to make sure there as smooth as they can be, and they are working on sweeping the streets. The garbage cans on Broadway are getting abused and people are putting their household garbage bags in the cans. The cans along Broadway are for random cans, cups, paper, etc. Eric stated that he wants to be sure he has the proper steps for replacing the swing set equipment at Heritage Park because they are currently being used a lot and doesn’t want to take things down without a plan to put new ones up. Doug stated that there is a goal date of May 1st as he attended a Parks & Rec meeting last week. JB asked what Eric proposes we do about the garbage cans on Broadway. Eric stated that he proposes that the business owners take responsibility for the cans, because the city doesn’t have time to police the trash cans. JB suggested that we put this subject on the agenda for the next meeting. Trash talk will be on the agenda for April 16th.
Round Table:
Vivian-Fire Department Update. The company that they ordered some new equipment from, some of the order was incorrect, but they are getting it squared away and should receive the correct equipment soon.
Nate-
Doug-
JB-
Mayor Rauser- The council has briefly talked about Zoning and Permit Fees when citizens choose not to get their building permits in advance. This will be put on the next agenda to talk about this again. Public Works job applications close this Friday, April 5th at 5:00 p.m. Mayor Rauser would like to have one council member on the interview team. Vivian volunteered.
Mayor Rauser stated that she received an email from FEMA that we need to update our flood plain ordinances. WWC has drafted an ordinance to accommodate the update, and she’ll forward that to the council
March Claims: Nate made a motion to approve the March Claims; JB seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried.
Adjournment: JB made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Nate seconded the meeting. All in favor, motion carried.
Next Meeting: April 16th at 6:30 p.m.