The Wolf Point City Council discussed Wild Horse Stampede vendors operating on private property with no city licenses and producing a significant amount of trash during the recent Stampede while meeting, Monday, July 21.
The council is considering an ordinance that would mandate at least assessing garbage fees, and possibly a street cleanup assessment, from those vendors and will address the matter during a future meeting.
“Something that would be enforceable where we could send the police down there and make them get a license or shut them down,” Mayor Chris Dschaak said.
He called on the council to address Stampede vendors operating without licenses on private property and cleanup issues within the next three or four months.
In other business, the council accepted the resignation of Ward 1 council member Travis
Braaten.
Braaten, who attended the meeting, is resigning effective Wednesday, July 30, because he is moving outside the city limits.
In another matter, the council discussed ongoing requests by residents of East Johnson and East Indian streets and First Avenue North from Johnson Street to the Alco store for a posted speed limit.
The state imposes a residential speed limit of 25 mph unless otherwise posted.
The Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice has also asked the city to post the 25 mph limit to make enforcement easier.
Dschaak called the area a “race track.”
The council also discussed a recent public hearing on the Gysler Furniture and Appliance fire site cleanup and the federal Brownfield Program loan process that would fund much of the project.
Both Gysler buildings on the 100 block of Anaconda Street were leveled by a fire in March that left a fenced off area of rubble in the downtown area.
“October or November of this year are possible for getting it cleaned up,” Dschaak said.
Bids for construction of Wolf Point Village are about a week behind schedule. A bid opening is now likely during early August. A groundbreaking remains scheduled for Aug. 15.
In another matter, the council voted to re-bid for drainage work at the airport due to only one respondent to the first call for bids and a high bid of $265,000.
The council discussed the possibility of obtaining bids of about $80,000 less than the first bid.
In other business, the council discussed plans for a ramp for the gazebo in Sherman Park that are expected to be completed within one week.
The council also discussed an offer for donated labor, trees and a trash receptacle for an improvement to Sherman Park and the likelihood that the project would move forward.
The council discussed the declining Wolf Point Volunteer Fire Department membership, which as dropped to about 12 members, less than half of what a full department would be.
Dschaak said the WPVFD and ambulance service are both seeking applicants.
He also noted the death of retired WPVFD firefighter Terry Blevins Sunday, July 20.
Dschaak, who is a WPVFD member, said Blevins recruited him at a time when the department had a membership of more than 20 and it was difficult to become a firefighter in Wolf Point.
In other business, Dschaak said the Wolf Point Centennial Committee has requested a $20,000 donation from the city. The council will address the request at a later date.
The council also discussed the ongoing flushing of fire hydrants by the water department and that some hydrants need to be repaired or replaced.
The council will hold a public hearing on the budget for the new fiscal year, Wednesday, Aug. 6, a special council meeting for budget adoption, Monday, Aug. 11, and a regular meeting, Monday, Aug. 18.