TF Council revises community decay ordinance

The Thompson Falls City Council again on Monday passed a first reading of revisions to the city Community Decay Ordinance. City Council member Lynne Kersten said that law enforcement and the city attorney had approached the city about vagueness in the current ordinance. The city’s community and public relations committee met to revise the ordinance and make it more specific and in turn easier for law enforcement to enforce.

“There were problems enforcing the ordinance and we looked for something more specific,” Kersten said. “This was the result.”

Kersten said the city reviewed a similar ordinance for the city of Cascade. That ordinance limits the number of junk vehicles that a property owner can have. Thompson Falls chose to limit vehicles to two in the revised ordinance. The ordinance states that up to two junk vehicles (that are not running) may be parked on a residential property if they are screened from view or under a car cover, and also addresses issues such as dilapidated sheds or mobile homes, garbage, appliances, furniture and other items on a premises that could be considered a public nuisance.

Under the ordinance, law enforcement will have 10 days to respond to any complaints and the property owner will have 30 days to address the issue. Penalties under the ordinance would be $300-$500. The committee reported that seven vehicles have been removed from properties in the last two months. With the first reading of the ordinance passing, Mayor Jerry Lacy said that the new ordinance will be more easily enforced.

Also at the meeting Monday, the council voted to increase the base rate for water and sewer customers in the city who have larger meter sizes. The standard meter size is 3/4 inch and the base rate for water and sewer usage is 2,000 gallons. With the action on Monday, the base rate for larger meters will be determined by using a Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) multiplier. If a property has a 3-inch meter, which some large businesses or schools have, the base rate using a multiplier of 16 would be 32,000 gallons per month. Council members commented that the change seemed fair since the property owners with larger meters are already paying an increased base rate.

The effort to create a city planning board passed its second reading on Monday. Mayor Lacy reported that the county chose not to participate and to let the city go ahead and form their own planning board. At past meetings, it has been noted that having a planning board would help make the city more eligible for funding opportunities.

Mayor Lacy also updated the council on the progress of the city sewer project. He said that in July, aerial surveys are planned, so there will be a plane flying over the city. He noted that the design and engineering portion of the project continues, with the design expected to be submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality later this year for approval. “It’s a slow process, but it’s progressing as expected.”

City Clerk Chelsea Peterson reported that the city has received many donations to match the $75,000 grant from Montana State Parks to fix the city pool. Donations included $25,000 from the Frisbee Morbella Foundation, $5,000 each from the Odd Fellows and Blackfoot and $1,500 each from Cabinet Ridge Riders and Hecla. Once the contract from Montana State Parks is received, the city will put the project out for bid, with hopes of completing the repairs this year. “We can’t do anything until we sign that contract,” Peterson said.

The Ainsworth Park project will also be up for bid again. Jen Kreiner told the council that they are hoping for more interest and availability from contractors with construction planned in the fall. No bids were received for the project during the first bidding cycle earlier this year.

Finally, the city council voted to conduct a mail ballot election for the Sept. 10 primary and the Nov. 5 general elections. Mayor Lacy noted that completing the elections by mail saves the city money. The last day to file for municipal elections is Monday, June 17.

The next city council meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday, July 8.