The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

At the April 7 Big Sandy City Council meeting there were two visitors present. After the pledge was recited and the minutes approved there were no comments. There was no sheriff’s report.

Concerning the Wastewater Treatment project, the city is trying to get it finished.

Regarding the old hotel on Main Street, the assessment of the building was received and was much worse for asbestos etc. then had been thought. It was decided that the City is not going to negotiate to take over the hotel. There is just not enough grant money to cover what would need to be done.

The new water project was discussed. There are some Treasure State Endowment funds available for the project and there should be money from the State Revolving Fund for matching funds. At this time the City is still waiting to hear from Rural Development to see who is offering the best deal.

The Mayor said that when it comes to that, there will be public meetings to hear what is being proposed. .

Mayor Stiles said there has been a rash of water meters breaking down. It seems that the batteries that power the meters are not lasting as long as they should. The Mayor said this could be an ongoing problem for a while.

The City is still looking for a new council person for the north side of Big Sandy since Drew Page moved out of Big Sandy.

The 2015 fiscal audit has been reviewed by the City and only had a few small defects. Already the City has taken steps to correct those minor defects.

The Montana Department of Transportation issued to Big Sandy its Road Tax Map which was approved and sent back to Helena. Big Sandy will receive taxes per mile of city streets.

Further concerning of the Big Sandy streets, the City is working on a written plan to use as a guide to improving streets.

The City Council decided not to deal anymore with the Sheriff’s Contract at this time.

There were lots of costs and drawings of a new swimming pool for Big Sandy that were reviewed at the April meeting. When asked for a wish list for the pool, there were many things added by members. Now it is time to limit that list according to Mayor Stiles.

“It looks like the pool at this time would come in at over two million dollars,” said the Mayor. “However, we can eliminate things to get that price down.”

The Mayor added that if the pool were to be built by the elementary school it would be more expensive than if it were built on the big lot by the cemetery due to underground hydraulic issues in that part of Big Sandy.

Look for public meetings about the swimming pool in the future.

One thing the Mayor did add is that when the old pool has more problems, it probably will be closed, rather than try to do an expensive fix of it.

There were no committee reports.

After seeing the longest water shut off list in a long time last month, this month was the shortest water shut off in a long time. That brought smiles to the faces of City officials.

Claims and journal vouchers were paid and the meeting was adjourned.

The next regular City Council meeting will be May 11, 2016.