City of Townsend Council Meeting 11/5/2024

Call to Order:  Mayor Rauser called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.  In attendance along with Mayor Rauser are Angie Wintrow, JB Howick, Doug Sitton, Vivian Boaz, and Heather Healea.  Nate Brown came in late.  Also in attendance are Mark Wood, Brandon Harris, Shawn Simon, Nichole Simon, Andrew Herrick, John Bleile, Stacy Sommer, Eric Sommer, Noah (youth), Peter  Simon, Eric Crusch, and Kari Williams. 

Minutes from October 15^th:  Angie made a motion to approve the minutes.  JB seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Minutes from October 22^nd:   Vivian said that the minutes need to be corrected as they stated that Angie made a motion to approve the Street Closures and then also seconded the motion.  The minutes have been corrected to read as follows: Angie made a motion to approve the Ghost Stroll and the Christmas Stroll.  Vivian seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.                          Vivian made a motion to approve the minutes as corrected.  JB seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Townsend Chamber:  Jenny Clowes asked to amend the Christmas Stroll street closure request to include a Parade of Lights. The parade will gather on S Pine Street and then travel down Broadway to Walnut, take a left to Third Street, one block over to Oak Street to go by the Hospital and Nursing Home.  JB made a motion to approve the parade route.  Angie seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Upgraded Equipment at McCarthy Park/Stacy Sommer:  Stacy thanked City Council for helping with the Heritage Park equipment upgrade.  She then introduced Noah, who is part of the Boy Scouts.   Noah stated that he’d like to work on a project that removes the swing sets from McCarthy Park and replace them with upgraded equipment.  He then passed around an informational sheet.  Noah stated that the City would not have to pay for anything.  Stacy Sommer stated that she writes grants and will try to partner with Rotary again in order to accomplish this.   John Bleile asked who is responsible for maintaining the equipment once it’s in.  Mayor Rauser said that the maintenance falls on the city.  Stacy stated that the good news is that there is a lifetime warranty on the posts and poles.  The new equipment would extend out further than the current equipment. 

John Bleile also stated that he is attending the meeting tonight to request one of the baseball fields to be extended.  Eric stated that he said it’s a good idea to see a map and balance out everything to see where everything will fit, especially in regards to the sprinkler system.  JB made a motion to table the topic until maps are presented.  Angie seconded the motion.   All in favor, motion carried. 

McCarthy Park Baseball Fields/Storage Shed:  John Bleile, president of youth baseball spoke about this some more, stating they had 289 kids sign up for baseball and they need additional storage.  They thought about fixing up the old storage shed, and they will, but they’d also like to  bring in a new storage shed to store more equipment.  They’d also like to extend one of the baseball fields out by about ten feet.  Vivian asked if it would make more sense to tear down the old shed.  Eric stated that the main sprinkler boxes are right next to that old shed and that it would be better to have two sheds due to the sprinkler junction boxes there.  JB asked if this will impact any public safety or access in the park.  He stated that it would not.  Angie made a motion to table the baseball association’s request pending the maps.  Vivian seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Law Enforcement Quarterly Report:  Mark Wood gave the quarterly report for City crime/arrests. 

Fire Department By Laws:  Peter Simon spoke on this and stated that he reviewed the new By Laws  and doesn’t see any issues with them.  JB made a motion to accept the By Laws as revised that were presented by the Fire Department and reviewed by Peter.  Vivian seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.  JB made a motion to transition the Chief’s term from 3 to 5 years to go along with the updated By Laws.  Angie seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried.  City Council signed the Fire Department By Laws. 

Broadwater County Hazard Mitigation Plan:  Mayor Rauser contacted to Brittney Willis.  She stated that the document is in the “State Review” stage.  Montana Department of Disaster and Emergency Services hired a contractor to review the plan, and they’ll send it to FEMA for a final review.  Each of those review takes about 45 days each, so it might be January before the final review is in.   JB asked if the council to get a copy of what was sent in for review, and Mayor Rauser stated that she’d ask. 

City Hall Office Hours:  Clerk, Kari Williams spoke on the office hours.  She stated that they have not had any customers come in on Tuesdays from 5 to 6 p.m., so she asked if those hours could change from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Vivian made a motion to approve the office hours as proposed.  Nate seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

City Attorney Contract:  Peter Simon submitted a letter stating he won’t be renewing his contract with the City at the end of the year.  Peter stated that his own practice has become busier and he’s not able to fulfill the projects for the City.  He has agreed to stay on with a month-to-month contract if the City cannot find a replacement by the end of the year.  He thanked the City for everything. 

Townsend Water System:  Opening Bids are happening November 6th at 11 a.m.  Peter Simon stated he’s waiting on an address for Lloyd Poe and then those letters will go out to both Linda Poe and Lloyd Poe regarding a deed to the lot that the well sits on. 

Ordinance Review Committee:  Angie stated that they’re on par for everything they were to review this year.  There are four ordinances that are on the unfinished business that need to be finished up.    

Fireworks Ordinance:  Vivian stated that a survey has been sent out to the public via Survey Monkey regarding fireworks, and they’ve had a lot of results and now Survey Monkey wants to charge the City.  Next meeting is November 13^th at 3:00 p.m. at City Hall. 

Events Committee:   JB spoke on this and stated that they’ve created a bullet outline for what they want to achieve and will be ready to draft an ordinance hopefully by the end of the year.

Telecommunications Franchise:  Peter stated that he’d work on this before his contract is completed. 

Garbage Cans on Broadway:  Eric stated that he put the bigger cans out for the ghost stroll, and that made a big difference with all of the hot chocolate and hot cider cups.  He stated that he might put out even bigger cans for the Christmas Stroll.

Claims:  JB made a motion to approve the claims.  Doug seconded the motion.  All in favor, motion carried. 

Clerk:  –

Public Works—Eric stated that the new pump for the lift station, so they are putting them in tomorrow.  He won’t be available to attend the beginning portion of the opening bid meeting on the Water System unless he gets done early.

Mayor Rauser/Council:  Mayor Rauser stated that Jim Beck stopped in and would like to talk to the council regarding water mitigation and municipalities if the City were to dig another well.  Vivian stated that she’d be interested in the information that Jim Beck gave Vickie.  Angie agreed and said this might be a good idea to have the water committee bring him in for more information and discussion. 

Mayor Rauser stated that Eric and crew received a thank you from John Sommer for their help removing the old equipment at Heritage Park.   

Heather- stated that she’s moving, so will have to give up her council seat. 

Nate-

Angie-

JB- Stated that his residence is taxed for County Fire.  Question as to why?  Mayor Rauser suggested that he make an appointment with the County Administrator. 

Vivian-

Doug-

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