City of Townsend

Public Hearing & City Council Meeting Minutes of June 18, 2024

Attendance:  Mayor Rauser, council persons Angie Wintrow, JB Howick, Nate Brown, Vivian Boaz, & Doug Sitton.  (Valerie Baraza was absent) Also in attendance were Peter Simon, Eric Crusch, Georgia Wilde, Diane Berglind, Kari Williams, Jim & Darlene Beck, Duane Holom, Jon & Lisa Hoffa, Louann Rogers & Lowen Nunn, John Shuler, Connie Shindoll, Tom Shindoll, Linda Kent, Tim Pool, Roger Williams, Bonnie Olsen, Sharon Borer, Rebecca Mitchell, Cheri Tarbet, Ron Moyer, Lisa Larson, Sheila Heaverland, Jerry Solway, Amy Peters, Bill Malone, Sarah Holland, Deb Randolph, Cliff Wrobetz, Chase Ragen, Larry Kemp, and Shawn Simon. 

Public Hearing on Water Rates: Mayor Rauser opened the meeting with  an apology stating that the letter that the public received did not include the necessary information required.  She also stated that some of the information that came to her today from the loan/bond council suggests we can increase the rates in three phases instead of two.  Mayor Rauser asked for  Public Comment on the rate increase. 

John Schuler- Thanked the council for the notice that was sent to the public and also thanked them for their service to the city.  He stated that residents have seen several increases in the past, and asked if the rates will be lowered after this initial increase in rates.  Mayor Rauser stated that the funding for the sewer lagoon and the water system consist of several grants, but the most of it is from loans.  The payments that the public is making is to pay the loan payments and to cover repairs through reserves.  With this increase, we are looking at estimate costs.  Will go out to bid in late July and August, possibly start some work this fall, finish the majority of the work by the end of 2025, and put the new system into operation in 2026.   Mayor Rauser stated that what prompted the City of Townsend to get a new water storage system is the fire that happened in Denton, MT in November of 2021. The amount of water we have in storage is 250,000 gallons.  DNRC recommends having 1,000,000 gallons in storage for a community of our size.  We also have water pressure issues and that is what led us to the preliminary report, and the costs have grown from there. 

Sharon Borer-If the bids have not come in for the water system, why is the city increasing the rates now?  Mayor Rauser stated that we have to show that we can qualify for the funding and the ability to make the payments.  Sharon also asked why we can’t have metered rates, especially for the people who only have one or two people living there.  Mayor Rauser stated that meters are an option, however the meter has to be approved by our public works director and that there is a base rate for 9,000 gallons of usage, and once  a residence goes to a metered rate, it cannot go back. 

Duane Holom- asked why the new subdivision can’t put their own well in.  He stated that he’s on a fixed income and cannot afford an increase of over seventy dollars. 

Louann Rogers stated that she lives on Elm Street.  She stated that they haven’t experienced any water shortage issues.   She stated that it’s unfair that the people living in town should have to pay for the increased rates.  Why not have the new people moving to town pay for it?  Mayor Rauser stated that everyone will be paying the same rate, including new people.  The city cannot discriminate between who pays what when everyone is receiving an equitable service. 

JB asked how long the city has  been working on this upgrade.  Mayor Rauser stated that the preliminary engineering report was reported in 2022. 

Duane Holom asked what will happen if I can’t pay my water.  Will my water be shut off?  Mayor Rauser stated that the State of Montana used to have financial assistance (LEWAP) for people who qualify for help, however the State discontinued that program. 

Cheri Tarbet:  Mortgages, property insurance and taxes are going up and this is a retirement community.  How many people are going to lose their homes?  She asked if more grants can be used.  Mayor Rauser stated that we have received grants from various areas.  The county gave the city some of their ARPA money, the city has their own ARPA money, and other grant money from the State.  The loan that we will receive is a 2.5% loan and roughly 3 million of that will be forgiven if we meet all of the requirements.  The grant money we’re receiving is about all we’re going to qualify for at this point.   

Jon Hopka:  Can a meter be installed and then monitored to determine if they’re better off with a meter?   Mayor Rauser stated that’s an interesting question because she had thought about that herself.  Eric stated that he believe what our ordinance states is that once a meter is installed, it cannot be taken back out.  Mayor Rauser said that they will have to review the ordinances to see if that’s possible. 

JB:  You’ve asked an excellent question. He stated that a person can purchase a simple meter at Home Depot and see how much water is being used.  He further stated he would look into the ordinances to determine whether or not installing a meter not intended for use by the city is indeed not possible.

Rebecca Mitchell:  Look around and you can see that a lot of the people in this room are 65 or older and are on a fixed income.  Everyone is stretched to the limit.

Tim Pool:  Commented and asked additional questions on the metered rate.  Is the city in the process of budget planning for the funds?  Mayor Rauser stated yes, we’ll be budgeting for the next fiscal year operating expenses.  The water, sewer, and garbage fund operates like a business.  The money coming in from fees collected cover the costs of operation.  The money does not come out of the general fund.

Comments/Questions relative to the water rates:   No additional comments.  Public Hearing Closed. 

Call to Order:  Mayor Rauser called the regular council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

Minutes from 6.4.2024:  Angie made a motion to approve the minutes as presented, JB seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Public Comment for anything not on the agenda but under the city’s jurisdiction:  Lisa Larson stated that she feels extremely fortunate to be involved in the local rodeo association.  event where Family and class reunions are scheduled around the Broadwater County Rodeo and Fair.  She stated that they are grateful for the work that the city has done to help with garbage at the Fair and Rodeo.  She would like to continue a great working relationship with the city, and with that she requested that the topic of having the city work with the Broadwater Fair & Rodeo Association be placed on the July 2^nd council meeting agenda. 

Resolution No. 2024-R06 A Resolution of Intent of the City Council to Increase Water Rates:  Mayor Rauser read the full resolution. Public Hearing and notices in the local paper will run for three consecutive weeks and a new letter will be mailed to the water payors.  Mayor Rauser stated that after visiting with the bond/loan council and DNRC among others, we have an option to propose an increase in three increments instead of two.  Those three increases will happen September 1st, November 1st, and January 1st.  Vivian asked if there’s a possibility to lower rates at some point.  Mayor Rauser stated that she can’t answer that at this point.  Angie stated she thinks it would be a better option to spread the payment increase over the three increments.  JB asked if we make this change, does it re-start the clock on the public hearing process.  Peter Simon said, “no.”  He stated that he can make the changes on the Resolution to include the changes.  JB made a motion to accept the changes and implement the three-step increase.  Vivian seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.  Peter stated that the three increases will not come out equally, that there would be a minor variation of a few pennies on one of the increases.  The motion was amended to reflect the increases will not be equal increments. 

Street Closure requested by American Legion:  The American Legion would like to have a parade on July 4^th from 11-12 closing Broadway from Front Street to Walnut.  Vivian made a motion to approve the closure, and JB seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority:  JB gave a report on the progress of this. The railway has been working for about three years to re-establish the route of the Hiawatha.  He stated that there’s a great deal of enthusiasm about the opportunity to ride trains from town to town.  However, the Townsend Depot requires substantial investments to improve it, and there’s discussion whether it may need to be re-located. Issues that need to be dealt with soon by the city council are topics such as station developments, grant funding, current growth plan, and working relationships (a coordinating council) with Broadwater County, MBAC, and other business developers. He stated that several cities/towns have become revitalized due to the railway and that should be researched.  JB made a motion to add the topic of creating a “Transportation Committee” to the next meeting agenda.  Vivian seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.  JB made a second motion to authorize Mayor Rauser to work with the county to establish a coordinating council for the Townsend area on the topic of the Big Sky Passenger Rail  Authority.  Vivian seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Montana Community Reinvestment Planning Grant:  JB spoke on this stating that this is a planning grant to develop a plan for  affordable housing.  This grant will be used to create an inventory of houses and lots that may be available for improvement or purchase to be used for affordable housing.  The application has to be done and sent by June 28^th.  The purpose is to develop a questionnaire about the inventory of the city’s housing.  Mayor Rauser asked what the city has to pay for the match amount to qualify for the grant.  JB stated that it’s a twenty percent match of $10,000 but can be paid with “in kind” work.  What is the proposed hourly value?  JB stated that “in kind” work will come from volunteers spending approximately 600 hours collecting information for the study.  Mayor Rauser stated that we’ll have to substantiate a value for the hours from the volunteers.  JB made a motion to accept the grant application.  Angie asked to amend the motion to include that the match from the city is “in kind” hours.  JB amended the motion accordingly.  Angie seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

City Attorney Contract:  Peter Simon spoke on this.  His current contract runs from July 1-June 30, however with there is three-month renewal period so his current salary would remain the same through September if no decisions are made until then.  He’d like to make changes to his current contract because he’s busy with his practice outside of the city.  He’s asking the city to change his pay from a salary to an hourly rate which is in line with what he receives from other clients.  He stated that this contract reflects ongoing city work and his own financial interest and priorities.  The other change is that the compensation rate of $250 per hour is for ten hours per month. Over  ten hours , the hourly rate will be $300 per hour.  There is also a change for end of contract to a 60-day notice. He stated that if the council does not want to go this route, he’s willing to stay on until the city can find a suitable replacement.  Mayor Rauser stated that there is a budget meeting on June 19^th, and they are willing to discuss it in more depth at that time. 

City Hall Hours:  Kari spoke on this.  She stated that they are looking at changing the hours of operation at City Hall.  They are looking at changing the hours from 7-4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, with 1-2 hours per day being closed to the public in order to get more work done without interruptions.  JB asked if they’d consider being open until 6 p.m. one day per week to allow the public to come in after normal working hours.  Mayor Rauser stated that she and Kari will come up with a few schedules and present the schedules at the next meeting. 

Temporary Power Solution to Pump House #1:  Eric spoke on this. Northwestern Energy stated that they can put in a temporary power pole in order for Montana Internet to connect.  He spoke with Montana Internet as well regarding this.  There might be other entities who want to hook into that power, such as Blackfoot.  Mayor Rauser stated that this is an issue because Pump House #1 is going to be re-structured with the new water system.  Angie asked if we are contractually bound with Blackfoot?  Eric stated that he was thinking that he could propose that Blackfoot could pay for the pole.  Mayor Rauser said we should look into that.  Eric said that he doesn’t see the power being down at the Pump House for over two weeks, so this is just a very temporary solution. Eric said that this is just information for the council at this point.

Unfinished Business: 

Working Committee to Review City Ordinances:  Angie said that she’s working on this. 

Dog Kennel Upgrade and a new Animal Ordinance:  Georgia spoke on this and stated that the contractor is still ill, and that she’s continuing to update the animal ordinance. 

Updated Firework Ordinance:  Vivian stated that the next meeting is July 15^th at 6:00 p.m.

City’s Website:  There have been changes and updates to the existing website.  Mayor Rauser said to check it out, and if anyone has any pictures of Townsend that could go on the website, to please forward them to us. 

Event’s Committee Meeting:  Peter said that he’d get in touch with the committee and set up a meeting. 

City Pool:  The pool is operating well, and swim lessons started this week. 

Rotary no-dog policy at Fall Fest and Moratorium:  No updates

Water System:  Peter spoke on a couple of wells that he cannot find a deed stating that the City of Townsend owns these.   One well is located across the railroad tracks on railroad property,  and another well on Cedar St.  Chris Hayes suggested Peter get ahold of Rocky Mountain Title Company to research this.  Angie asked if there is something within the State that lists all of the wells.  Peter said that there are ground water certificates.  JB asked if we have enough time to get a quote from title company to complete a search.  Peter stated that we have a bit of time,  so he’ll contact Rocky Mountain Title to complete this. 

Public Comment:  None

Round Table: 

Vivian Boaz:  Stated that she took care of  some donated items that came in for the Fire Department. 

JB:  Stated that we should keep an eye on what the county is doing with the text messages going out to residents.  He thinks it’s a good idea to keep the residents informed. 

Mayor Rauser stated that she would like the council to come up with a “code of conduct” for council members.  This should include consequences for not upholding that code.  She stated that there have been a number of unnotified absences recently, and that is not serving the public very well.  She was worried that there may not be a quorum tonight, and that would have been bad with the number of people who attended the public hearing and meeting.  Angie asked if they should create a committee for this.  This was agreed upon and will be on the next agenda July 2^nd. 

Mayor Rauser read a letter from Lee Lewis stating his resignation from the City of Townsend effective July 5^th after 27 years of service.  Mayor Rauser is grateful for the years of service he put in and for being here to assist in the training of the two new employees. 

Adjournment:  Nate made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  JB seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Next Budget Meeting:  June 25^th at 6:30 p.m.

Next Council Meeting:  July 2^nd at 6:30 p.m.