City of choteau
PO BOX 619
CHOTEAU, MT  59422-0619
406-466-2510

 OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 21, 2012 MEETING
OF THE CITY COUNCIL

 

Present were Mayor Jay Dunckel, Council Member Jim Anderson, Council Member Stewart Merja, Council Member Dan Lannen, and Council Member Blair Patton.

Staff present was Public Works Director Kelly Hirsch and Deputy Clerk Mary Corey.  Finance Officer Jodi Rogers was excused.

Citizens present were Melody Martinsen of the Choteau Acantha and Rich Lusky of the Road Kill Car Club.

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Dunckel called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

A motion to approve the minutes of the February 7, 2012 meeting, correcting Mass Energy to Bass Energy on page 4 was made by Council Member Lannen, seconded by Council Member Patton.  The motion passed with all in attendance voting aye.

REQUESTS TO BE OUT OF STATE

Mayor Dunckel requested to be out of state February 26, 2012 until March 17, 2012.  A motion to approve the request was made by Council Member Patton, seconded by Council Member Anderson.  The motion passed with all in attendance voting aye.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

POSSIBLE VOTE ON REVOLVING LOAN FUND APPLICATION - RITA B’S BAKERY

Mayor Dunckel left the item on the table as nothing has been heard from them.                  

NEW BUSINESS

VOTE ON BOARD APPOINTMENTS - REVOLVING LOAN FUND

Mayor Dunckel stated that incumbents Diane Graf and Jim Anderson both wish to serve another term.  A motion to approve the appointments was made by Council Member Patton, seconded by Council Member Merja.  The motion passed with all in attendance voting aye.

VOTE ON ROADKILL CAR CLUB REQUEST

Mayor Dunckel stated that the Roadkill Car Club is requesting to use the parking lot at the Visitor’s Center for the following dates:

May 26, 2012              6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
June 13, 2012              6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
July 11, 2012               6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
August 8, 2012             6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
September 3, 2012      12:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Mayor Dunckel stated that the only date that might be a problem is September 3rd, Labor Day.  He suggested to Mr. Lusky that he contact the ladies that run the Farmer’s Market to make sure there will not be a conflict.  A motion to approve the dates, subject to approval from the Farmer’s Market for the September 3rd date was made by Council Member Anderson, seconded by Council Member Lannen.  The motion passed with all in attendance voting aye. 

LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT

There was no Law Enforcement Report submitted.

CITY JUDGE’S REPORT

The City Judge’s Report for January 2012 was submitted for Council’s review

PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Public Works Director Hirsch reported that the crew has been working on replacing water meter transmitters, cleaned sewer mains, check for I/I, picked up brush, and worked on the new offices.  He stated that there was a question at the last meeting about oil companies purchasing city water.  He explained that he checked our water right and it is currently 720 acre feet per year which is the equivalent of 236,000,000 gallons of water per year.  We currently use approximately 100,000,000 gallons per year.  He reported that the trees have been ordered, Glacier Nursery in Kalispell was the low bidder.  They should be here in April.

Mayor Dunckel mentioned that he noticed that there was a campfire going in the campground.  He will mention it to the Sheriff’s Office and have them keep an eye on it.    

FINANCE OFFICER’S REPORT

None

MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS

Council Member Merja stated that he had someone bring up the question of large trucks going through town on the highway.  Council Member Patton stated that there are also more trucks using the city streets.  Public Works Director Hirsch explained that they do not want to have to go around the Courthouse so they turn onto 1st Avenue NW or go by the school and turn up 1st Street NW.  Council Member Merja stated that one suggestion he was given was to see if the state would put a highway around Choteau.  Public Works Director Hirsch stated that the City tried to get the state to make 7th Avenue SW into a truck route but they wouldn’t. 

Council Member Patton stated that he spoke with Kevin St. John at the school about the city wide clean-up.  He is also a member of the Lions Club.  Council Member Patton is looking at having it May 12th through May 19th.  We will need to work with N.M.J.R.D.D. to bring in large construction dumpsters, advertise, coordinate volunteers, etc.  He is also looking at the possibility of culminating the clean-up with a city sponsored BBQ in the park.

Council Member Lannen asked what we charge for water at the water salesman.  Public Works Director Hirsch replied that it is .50 cents for approximately 100 gallons.  Council Member Lannen had some residents question the Arensmeyer’s subdivision.  They want to make sure they would be paying what everyone else does for water. 

ZONING COMMITTEE REPORT

Council Member Lannen stated that there will be an open house from 4-8p.m. on Monday, March 5, 2012 at the Stage Stop Inn to discuss the draft zoning ordinance.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None

ADJOURNMENT

A motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 p.m. was made by Council Member Merja, seconded by Council Member Anderson.  The motion passed with all in attendance voting aye.

 

 

_________________________________                              ______________________________

John L. Dunckel, Mayor                                                           Mary E. Corey, Deputy Clerk