EKALAKA TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES

Town Office: (September 21, 2022)

A. Call Meeting to Order at 5 p.m.

a. Roll Call Council

Libby, Melissa, Jimmy

b. Employees Present

Mariah, Colby

c. Appointed Officials Present

Buck, Jennifer

B. Pledge of Allegiance

C. Sherriff’s dialog: none

D. Public Comment: none

E. Action Items

a. Consent Agenda

i. Zoning: Elizabeth Barth – Bird Coop

1. Melissa moves to table as there’s no quorum, Libby abstaining to vote. Jim seconded; no further discussion – motion passed.

b. Town Survey

i. Grant will only cover $50k. We can take different steps to go about this. Instead of 75/25, we will do 50/50 split, meaning we will be short for the $100k. Melissa inquired where this money will come from. Notes state that we would host a town auction and that getting the survey done will help dramatically. Beth Epely will be a valuable resource for this endeavor. Jennifer mentioned offering public information meetings – making the information as public as possible will attract investors. We can look into forming a committee.

c. Xylem Quote (no information available)

d. Substitute Attorney Resolution

i. Jennifer’s surgery was moved again. Attorney Jeff Noble, of Broadus will cover as a sub for her while gone. Dates affected: September 22-29. Charges will not exceed $2000

ii. Melissa moved to accept Jen’s resolution

iii. Jim seconded; no further discussion – motion passed.

e. Halloween Road Closure 4 p.m. - 10 p.m.

i. Jim moved to close Main Street from 4 - 10 p.m. for Trunk or Treat event for safety.

ii. Libby seconded; no further discussion – motion passed.

f. Meetings/Conferences

i. Water school in Bozeman will cost $350. Colby is willing to work and go to this class – he thinks he and Teri would benefit from attending. Jim asked about Michael Malenovsky attending, and Melissa suggested Teri and Colby going to Water school in Bozeman, October 25-27, 2022.

F. Reports

a. Attorney

i. Budget hearing is coming up – Jen has reprinted the budget process. There was an incident that was missed (delinquent sewer charges and mill levies). Jen has spoken with several people – none of these taxes will be levied as the county should have been notified by July 7, 2022. We would be able to double up next delinquency if it’s not over $1000 total. Jesi Pierson stated that the mill levies should have been sent to the county – time is very tight and this is a very serious issue. We must get this budget approved and signed on October 5 and get the documents to Jesi ASAP, with NO DELAYS.

ii. Asked Mariah to contact the Montana League of Cities and Towns for support. Jen reiterated that this cannot happen again. The worst case scenario here ends with no revenue for the Town in 2023. We need to create a new system of checks and balances with more people paying attention to this so we can avoid it in the future.

iii. Surgery is tomorrow – back to light Duty October 7, 2022

b. Public Works Director

i. Watermain break – went well, just took longer than expected. Russell industries here to fix pumps, Colby was disappointed in customer service. These pumps haven’t been serviced in over 3 years, they were in a hurry and neither pump got serviced while they were here. There are salesmen that came to the town from Eastern MT and they work on pumps. Jen requested the invoice so that she can send a letter to them.

c. Water Usage (no information available)

d. Council Concerns

i. Council members missing meetings and not having a quorum is becoming an issue. Asked that Mariah gets attendance record.

ii. Pothole near the pool is becoming bigger

iii. Please get information and minutes (packets) to Council one week before the meeting.

e. Clerk/Treasurer (no information available)

f. Mayor

i. Working on the survey

G. Discussion Items (no information available)

H. Announcements/Public Comment (none)

I. Next Meeting Date : October 5, 2022 at 5 p.m.

J. Option for closed session:

a. Melissa moved for closed session; Jim seconded; motion passed

b. Moved into Closed Meeting at 6:15 back into Open Meeting at 6:38 p.m.

K. Adjourn

a. Jim moved to adjourn; Libby seconded; no further discussion – motion passed.

b. Meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m.

*Minutes submitted from handwritten notes found within files at Town office. Not all information is available – submitted official, printed notes by Libby Barth, October 7, 2022.

EMERGENT *SPECIAL Public Meeting

Town Office: Wednesday, September 28, 2022, at 11:30 a.m.

A. Call Meeting to Order at 11:36 a.m. by Mayor, Buck Kratzer

a. Roll Call Council

Libby, Melissa, Andy and Jim

b. Employees Present

Teri Jump and Colby Diede

c. Appointed Officials Present

None

B. Pledge of Allegiance

C. Public Comment

a. No public present for comments – Vicki Fix and Torey Spring present in the office, working through the stacks of files.

D. Action Item:

a. Buck Kratzer, Mayor: add to approved Signature Log for Town Accounts

i. Motion: Add Buck Kratzer to the approved list for Town accounts.

ii. Moved by Jim, seconded by Libby – no further discussion – motion passed unanimously.

b. Terri Jump – access to Town Accounts and email

i. Motion: Change passwords to all town service accounts and email – revoke access for Mariah Schneider (former clerk).

ii. Moved by Libby, seconded by Andy – no further discussion – motion passed unanimously.

E. Announcements/Public Comment

a. Vicki Fix informed the town of what she has found. She and Cecile Smith-Kuehn have been working to help Teri make sense of what files/documents have been uncovered these last few days. She has primarily been working with MMIA to ensure the property and liability insurance is “covered” for the town. She’s also noticed an issue with the 1095 form and she is unsure of the state of our federal taxes. Teri Jump filled in the council on the current state of the Town Office. She has found several envelopes with checks and bills alike…some with cash, unlabeled. There was a large donation check for the pool fund that hadn’t been cashed. There is evidence of adjustments to some residents’ accounts with no documentation. Teri will be calling Black Mountain to gain understanding of that system. Teri will also call the auditor that was here a few months ago to get information on Municipal services. There was discussion on next week’s agenda, Libby will assist Teri in this and for today’s meeting minutes.

b. Libby will go to the bank after this meeting to reset the password.

F. Next Meeting Date: October 5, 2022 at 5 p.m.

G. Adjourn

Moved by Melissa, seconded by Andy - no further discussion – motion passed unanimously.

Minutes submitted by Libby Barth, Council President

Following is unofficial minutes of the Ekalaka Town Council meeting held Wednesday, October 5 at 5 p.m.

Town Office: Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at 5 p.m.

A. Call Meeting to Order at 5 p.m.

a. Roll Call Council

Libby, Melissa, Andy, Jim

b. Employees Present

Teri

c. Appointed Officials Present

Buck

B. Pledge of Allegiance

C. Public Comment: None

D. Minutes from last meeting(s): read, correct (if needed) and approve.

a. Second monthly meeting, September 21, 2022

i. Libby moved to table this until official, typed minutes were ready; Jim seconded; no further discussion – motion passed.

b. Special Meeting, September 28, 2022

i. Libby moved to approve September 28 minutes as written; Andy seconded; no further discussion – motion passed.

E. Reports of Officers:

a. Public Works Director

i. Colby absent, but Jim had spoken with him earlier today. He has the lights working at the lagoon, will save the treatment dose until after it freezes to see if algae will go away. It was discussed that we add Jim, and all council members to our liability insurance.

b. Mayor

i. We are waiting to hear back from EPEDC for our Grant Application. Great West has an estimated start date for the town survey in Spring of ‘23, pending the approval of a contractor and material availability. Chrystal Bennet is our contact person.

c. Attorney (absent)

d. Council (none)

F. Reports of Standing and Special Committees:

a. Administrative (Clerk/Treasurer)

i. Emergency Response Planning Meeting October 17 at 2:30 p.m. at Dahl Memorial – Andy will attend to represent the Council. Kirstin Sweet, from Bridger, MT, has been very helpful via the phone. She has offered to come and assist Teri in the office. There is a significant price to this – we need to hold a special meeting to approve this financial choice. Teri has found several envelopes with cash in them and no direction as to where to put it. Council suggested the general fund in a miscellaneous account. Teri will be doing water meter reading and bills tomorrow and early next week. There are a few meters around town that need to be repaired.

b. Law Enforcement (absent)

c. Streets

i. Jim spoke with Shay Beyer – when Shay gets time, he’ll haul gravel for us.

d. Library (no minutes provided)

i. A note concerning the library insurance was left in the drop box from Denice Strickland. It was read to the council.

e. Fire Department/Committee

i. Meeting today went well – the agreement will be sent to Jennifer Williams to adjust wording with the goal of completion by December 1, 2022. Fire meetings have been moved to once monthly at the first meeting on the first Wednesday.

f. Parks (covered in PW Director report – N/A)

g. Pool (covered in PW Director report – N/A)

h. Water/sewer (covered in PW Director report – N/A)

i. Landfill

i. Michael M. has taken over Tuesdays at the dump and it seems as though he’ll be agreeable to tending the dump for the foreseeable Tuesdays.

G. Presentation of Petitions and Communications:

a. Barth Chicken Coop

i. Jim moved to approve permit for the addition of a chicken coop to Libby Barth’s property; Andy seconded; no further discussion – Libby abstained from voting; motion passed.

H. Unfinished Business

a. Fire agreement – insurance? Roster list needed from EVFD

i. All of this information was provided today in the Fire Committee meeting.

I. New Business

a. Budget Hearing

i. Jesi Pierson was in attendance tonight to speak to the process of this Budget Resolution. The council may submit a tax levy in the future.

ii. Libby moved to approve the Resolution for Annual Tax Levy; Andy seconded; discussion: Buck will sign tonight and Jesi will take it to start work immediately – motion passed.

b. Library: MMIA Insurance

i. Krista Huntley, the newest member of the library board was in attendance to share the issue that has come to light with the insurance for the Library. This is an underrated insurance coverage issue for worker’s compensation. MMIA has asked for an update to the contract between the Town and the Library. A few of the requests have been regarding that the employees of the library are Town employees, and that the library board must allow town approval/input on the employees hired for the library. Brittany Laughery is the contact person – Teri will contact MMIA to get information on what is needed for the contract.

c. Library Contract: (see above)

d. Town Code: Law Enforcement/Chief of Police – get update from Jennifer Williams (absent).

e. Approve Agenda Template

i. Libby moved to approve agenda template as adjusted (will attach final template to these minutes); Jim seconded; no further discussion – motion passed.

f. Position Advertisements:

i. Town Clerk

1. Applications are due October 7 by end of day.

2. Interview Committee: Buck, Melissa and Libby

a. Will set up interviews for next Tuesday (10/11) evening starting at 5 p.m.

3. Special Hiring Meeting: Wednesday (10/12) at 5 p.m.

ii. Assistant Public Work Director?

J. Announcements

K. Next Meeting Date:

a. Special KS Clerk Meeting; October 7, 2022 at 12 p.m.

b. Interviews; October 11, 2022 at 5 p.m.

c. Special Hiring Meeting; October 12 at 5 p.m.

d. Second Meeting; October 19 at 5 p.m .

L. Adjourn

a. Andy moved to adjourn; Libby seconded; no further discussion – motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:27 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Libby Barth, October 7, 2022

Following is unofficial minutes of the Ekalaka Town Council meeting held October 7 at 12 p.m.

Special Meeting Minutes

Town Office: October 7, 2022 at 12 p.m.

A. Call Meeting to Order at 12:04 p.m.

a. Roll Call Council

Libby, Melissa, Andy, Jim

b. Employees Present

Teri, Colby

c. Appointed Officials

Buck

B. Pledge of Allegiance

C. Public Comment: None

D. New Business

a. Kirstin Sweet, of Bridger, MT – to come to assist in Town Office clean up.

i. Jim moved to hire Kristin Sweet to assist Teri in the Town Office for all the time she can offer up to $3500.

ii. Melissa seconded; Discussion: KS dates possible are Oct 12-14 and/or Oct 23-26 – motion passes unanimously.

E. Announcements

a. Colby suggested a possible temporary/as needed sub employee for the town just to help him in the immediate time. Buck placed us under a State of Emergency and we suggested that he takes an application and gets it to us by Tuesday (interview committee already meeting for Clerk Interviews)

b. Jim unable to attend Special Hiring Meeting on Wednesday, October 12. It is expected that we will have a quorum.

F. Adjourn

a. Jim moved to adjourn meeting. Andy seconded; no further discussion – motion passes unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 12:38 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Libby Barth, October 7, 2022