May 16, 2023
CITY OF TOWNSEND
City Council Meeting
May 16, 2023
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Evans called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Council members present were Vickie Rauser, Angie Wintrow, Ken Urich, and Christina Hartmann. Also present were Tim Rauser, Kari Williams, JB Howick, Tim Ravndal, Michael Larson, Chris Laslovich, Vivian Boaz, Andrew Herrick,
Darrel Folkvord, and Michael Larson.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
MINUTES: Vickie made the motion to approve the minutes of May 2, 2023, as circulated, Angie seconded, the motion carried with all council members present voting in favor.
CURRENT BUSINESS:
Townsend City-County Airport Lease Agreement—Darrel Folkvord spoke on a new City-County Airport Lease Agreement. Darrel said it’s almost the same agreement as the prior agreement with some minor changes as follows: Page 1. Construction of Improvements Page 4-5: Use of Hangars. Council members asked if this agreement has been reviewed by legal. Darrell said it had. Christina said she’d feel better about if she could have the prior agreement in front of her to compare the two and have our city attorney review it. Vickie stated that the council did not receive this ahead of time to review it.
Vickie asked the clerk to make sure to send out important documents as this to the council ahead of time so they can review prior to the meeting; Christina asked the clerk to include the old agreement along with the new agreement needing approval so the council can compare the two. The lease agreement was tabled until the next meeting June 6, 2023.
Pool Committee Report: Christina spoke about the need to advertise for the pool positions. The positions are open to all ages 16 and older. Seniors and retired people are encouraged to apply. Angie asked if there would be a hiring committee for that. Vickie said there will be an interview committee. How many employees are we looking for? The pool committee would like to hire people who can be both lifeguards and water safety instructors, so they can cross-train in the positions. Townsend will be offering lifeguard certification classes. Angie, Christina, and Ken volunteered to be on the interview committee. Vickie made a motion to adopt the revised job descriptions and have the pool staff follow the current city employee manual. Ken seconded the motion. All approved, motion carried.
The job postings need to be advertised in the newspapers asap. Pool opening will probably be in the middle of June at this point.
Growth Policy Update-information, application & letters of support:
GUESTS and CORRESPONDANCE:
Fire Hall: Andrew Herrick spoke on behalf of the volunteer fire department. Mayor Evans asked if they don’t have any handheld radios? Broadwater Rural supplies them, and Andrew stated that they received a $5000 grant from the Townsend Legion to go towards new radios. There are 22-24 Volunteer Fire Fighters on the Roster. They need 28 SCBA’s on the engines, as they are outdated.
Mike Larson spoke about the most recent fire that they had in town. They went through 3 ½ tanks for an hour and a half on that fire. A new tank has a 60-minute capacity, so it would be an upgrade all around. The newer tanks are also lighter. They would like to also visit with the county about a possible grant for the SCBA’s. They are trying to become compliant with the National Fire Protection Association.
Some of the grants require a 10% amount that has to be put in to apply for the grant, and that doesn’t guarantee that the grant will be awarded. The Fire Dept has also looked at billing insurance companies as it offsets some of the maintenance costs; Medical calls have gone up for lift assists so they can possibly bill the hospital when responding to medical calls. Christina asked how other cities and counties are doing this? Vickie reminded them that we are currently working on the budget, so to get the needed requests in for expenses.
Blackfoot Communications: Chris Lazlovich was here to speak on Blackfoot Communications fiber based internet and broadband; They are a rural broadband provider serving smaller rural towns; They have approximately 20,000 customers and two-thirds of 100 largest businesses in Montana. They currently serve the City and County in Townsend.
Ken brought up that Blackfoot went across his right of way and other properties and dug up a lot of ground that needs to be taken care of. They dug it up and left a mess. Angie said they broke sprinkler heads and sprinkler lines on her property. The properties are located on East Broadway. Chris said he’d come out and take a look and make sure the properties get fixed. Vivienne asked if there is a discount for the Fire Department. Blackfoot Communications will have an informational meeting at Canyon Ferry Brewery May 17th at 4:30 p.m.
The council received a letter from Denning, Downey & Associates advising that their annual audit of the City of Townsend is in progress with a completion date on June 30, 2023.
Public Meeting with Department of Transportation—notice that they will have an informational meeting on Tuesday, May 23rd at 2:00 p.m. at the Flynn Building in Townsend.
PUBLIC COMMENT/ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION: Ken-no comment, Christina-thanked Tim for being helpful to the pool committee; Tim stated that there will be chip sealing beginning on May 26th for 4th, D, and 6th Streets. Angie-no comment, Vicki-no comment, Mike brought up the MMIA meeting/training Thursday for the city and council May 18th from 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
ADJOURN: Ken made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Christina seconded the meeting. All in favor, motion carried.