by John Dowd
At the September 12 Stevensville Town Council meeting, during the administrative reports, Stephen Lassiter, the Stevensville public works director, spoke about the ongoing meter project. The Town has numerous non-functioning water meters installed around town. Over the last several years, there has been an effort to replace these. After finally receiving them and making a concerted effort, public works staff has dropped the number of these water meters from 180, “down to half in four months,” said Lassier. They are prioritizing houses and businesses that are not vacant, and making scheduled visits to change the meters. Lassiter attributed the success to public works employees Andrena Case, who is scheduling the visits, and Cody Anderson, who is changing them out.
Lassiter believes they have a good system for getting those installed, among their many other tasks. They have a plan to get nearly 23 of them done in one fell swoop this week. Mayor Bob Michalson added that the Town is attempting to get more meter pits installed as well. These allow public works staff to access meters without the inconvenience of needing to schedule with the home owners, and interfere with their schedules. “It’s easier for everybody,” said Michalson.
Also during the administrative reports, the mayor spoke on behalf of the airport, stating that they already had five applicants for the airport manager. At the end of the council meeting, the mayor said he had attended the most recent Airport Board meeting and learned that the airport has $30,000 in unpaid leases. The mayor plans to notify all persons that they will need to pay these fees. If they do not, the mayor said he will go to the airport with the police and padlock the buildings.
In other business, Fred Thomas, with St. Mary’s Mission, reported to the council that he represents an effort to build further onto the church. They have a section of their property where they want to construct, and wanted to let the town council know this was in the works. Thomas stated they plan to improve parking in the area as well as clean up, pave and improve the overall look of the space. According to Thomas, the church wants to work with the Town to maximize parking, and commented about a space that is not owned by the church or surrounding residents. Thomas said it is public land, and asked if they could pave and improve it for parking. Council member Cindy Brown said they would like more information about the specifics of ownership of the property before they can agree to anything.
The council also voted to renew the contract of town attorney Greg Overstreet. Overstreet attended the meeting, and spoke before the vote was taken. Overstreet has been on his contract for the last couple years. According to Michalson, he is paid $165 per hour on Town business, which adds up to about $3,000 per month. “That’s pretty good for attorney fees,” said Michalson.
Overstreet was asked, if he is elected to Montana House District 88, how this will affect his work with the Town. According to Overstreet, if he is elected, he will retain two clients: Philipsburg and Stevensville. He said this will allow him time and energy to handle everything on his plate. “I’ve looked into it, I have a plan and I think I can do it,” he said. He then joked, “The legislature doesn’t work as hard as everybody thinks.” Michalson commented at the end of the discussion, saying that it may be beneficial to the Town to have their attorney as a sitting member of the House; that way they can be privy to any new laws or changes.
Council member Cindy Brown pointed out that with all the big complicated projects the Town has in the works, like the water rights issue and Berta Farms, it would be difficult to bring on a new attorney and to bring them up to speed. Mayor Michalson added that it might also be more expensive, as those hours would be billable.
When looking at the contract, the council also commented on the fact that it is a three-year contract. However, the state law will only allow it to be two years. A vote was made to amend the contract to two years to comply with state law.