City Council grants raises, denies water project

At the last Malta City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 22, at Malta City Hall, the council approved a 2-percent pay raise for city employees which will total approximately $11,076 for 2014 an 2015.

Resolution #1176 which grants the pay increase was unanimously voted in favor for by the City Council. On top of the 2-percent raise across the board for city workers, some employee’s received and additional per hour raise of 25-cents.

Also during the city council meeting, Pam Lemer of Bear Paw Development asked for the council’s approval concerning a Capital Improvement plan which featured a water project which, among other things, would include the creation of a new water tank for the city. Initially, the project called for $500,000, then the price tag increased to $750,000 and now Rural Development is asking the City of Malta to dump $1 million into the project.

“I just think that it is ridiculous that they want us to use so much of our money,” said Malta Mayor Shyla Jones. “I think we ought to forego this project because it will leave our funds too low ... they want us broke.”

The City Council unanimously voted to forego the project.

“For me, that is a deal breaker,” said Councilman David Rummel of Ward I of the $1 million. “I’m not blaming anybody, but I just think that is too much money. The $500,000 was scary, then the $750,000 I didn’t like and now the $1 million is the final straw.”

On the cardboard front, three bits of good news were discussed at the City Council Meeting. Firstly, Malta City Clerk and Treasurer Carolyn Schmoeckel told the council that a total of 32 cardboard bales were shipped out of town two weeks ago with more scheduled to be taken away in the coming weeks. Bonnie Wiederrick, from Ward II, told the rest of the council that she contacted the Department of Environmental Quality and found out that the city can, in fact, move cardboard bales to a different location without waiting for two years as long as a recycling permit from the state of Montana is obtained. She said that the permit could be approved as soon as two weeks after being applied for and would allow the city to move the cardboard away from the PC Motor Sports Speedway and out of the public eye.

Mayor Jones had the third bit of good news on the cardboard front and she told the City Council of that she met with a representative of a mill in Washington that would be willing to take bales of cardboard from the City of Malta and pay $140 per ton for old cardboard and $160 per ton for newer, cleaner cardboard. Mayor Jones also spoke of a “Load board” in which users pay a $60 fee to post their loads in attempts of getting truckers driving through the area to stop and load the cardboard and haul it west to Washington.

In the Department reports of last Tuesday night’s meeting, Public Works Director James Brown talked of the weed problem at the lagoon and how progress was being made. He said Pete Lumsden sprayed the area around the lagoon’s pump with copper sulphate and the weeds are virtually gone in that location. He added that the water level in lagoon is dropping and is in good shape going into winter.

“In fact right now we have eight months storage right now,” he said.

Brown reported that the teeter totters and merry-go-round at Trafton Park have been overhauled and re-painted, marking the first time in almost 30 years that the playground equipment has been redone.

“There was like six different colors of paint on them,” added Brown.

Brown said some street sweepings have been used to fill in holes around the rodeo arena and that some trees are being felled in the park as well. Brown also advised the council that this year the city should forgo using the Durapatcher on city streets and instead start to chip-seal roadways. He said he would like to start the project at Third and Fourth Streets, east from Central Ave all the way to the end.