The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Shaud Schwarzbach is tired of being Mayor. He knows town people want the council to act, but “they won’t attend the meetings. I want their input!” Being on the city council is stressful. They need your support by being involved. There are intense discussions and decisions to make.

I visited with Shaud for a short time after the recent city council meeting to clarify information given to the city council by KLJ. According to the last testing, Big Sandy has a slightly higher number of readings than they would like in the BOD. Shaud said there is some concern, but they are looking at several solutions. To understand, I looked up BOD and found this definition. “Treating wastewater lagoon BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) is the highest priority at any wastewater facility. Without proper lagoon BOD treatment, you risk being fined by state regulatory agencies and, more importantly, jeopardizing the safety of the environment in the surrounding area. It’s your responsibility to ensure BOD is properly treated prior to discharging it into the environment.”

Part of the problem is we have too much salt in our groundwater, so adding more water to the wastewater lagoon to help fix the BOD would also create problems when we put that water on land because it would poison the plants and ruin the soil. They are looking at different plant life that can thrive in salt water. We also have a high water table in the area with high salt water.

No Sheriff’s Deputy nor Bear Paw Development was present at the meeting.

Kim Bengston from Brand a Bench was present at the meeting, asking the council for permission to talk to local businesses about her business putting ads on local benches.

The Town of Big Sandy and the Big Sandy Fire Department are working on a Firemen’s Interlocal.

A lengthy discussion was held regarding the Community Decay Ordinance. Three citations will be sent. One individual met with the judge and was given extra time to clean up the property. The city, of course, will abide by the judge’s ruling. Steve Gannon will represent the town of Big Sandy. It was mentioned that this ordinance is ongoing, and serious consideration should be given to diligently complying with its wording.

The animal ordinance will be removed from next month’s agenda as no workable solution has been found. Although the town residents complain, they have no answers, either. Come to the next city council meeting if anyone has a legal solution.