We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
The first City Council meeting of 2026 occurred on the12th of January. This is the first meeting with the newly placed council members. The mayor, city attorney, four city council members, and the city clerk were present, along with a half-dozen city residents and city department representatives. The agenda sheet for the meeting was very short, with nearly half the page devoted to the new policy on conduct in public meetings, including instructions from Mayor Hauer. The conduct message resulted from the heated discussion at the last city council meeting about snow removal. Members and city residents who attend the council meeting are asked to limit their comments to three minutes, unless approved by the presiding officer. Those in attendance are asked to maintain order and decorum during the official proceedings.
Following the pledge of allegiance, the minutes, claims, reports, and payroll checks from the last committee meeting, were voted upon. The meeting then turned to the council members’ committee reports, for which there was no new business to report.
City department reports started with the Water Plant Superintendent, Gabe Harry, announcing the new water plant employee training is still underway. Winter pump maintenance is an ongoing process, and mailers about the City’s water condition were sent out dated the 12th of January.
Police Chief Elmer Zarn is still asking residents who have vehicles parked on the street to move them if the vehicle has been on the curbside for more than two weeks. City ordinance requires that vehicles be moved or parked in a long-term location on the owner’s property if they are inoperable or not used. The Chinook Police Department has received new cameras for official police vehicles, and the bodycams for Chinook Police Officers are now in use. All cameras will now communicate with a central SIM card-operated device in the vehicle, which will pull and store data to the cloud for the safety of the officers and citizens. There are applicants for the city police department; with the department’s abundant workload, Chief Zarn was unable to contact interested parties for employment this past month.
Fire Chief Scott Gallus announced winter training will be on March 7 and 8. On the seventh, training will be held at the firehouse, and on the eighth, at the high school in Chinook. This training is a state funded Function.
Street Superintendent Josh Nordboe announced that maintenance in the shop will continue, and if the weather holds out, main street Christmas lights will be taken down. Superintendent Eric Miller was unable to attend, Clerk Rhiannon Dunkin announced his monthly update: all non-potable pumps are working well, and there will be a walk-through at the plant on 20 January at 1 PM
Clerk Dunkin made attendees aware of a recent audit; all seems to be in order, with seven accounting errors brought to our attention for correction. Dunkin will be attending a February board meeting, and in May, there is a Bear Paw training for elected officials; she encouraged the newly elected city council members to attend. Mayor Hauer stated he was already enrolled in the Montana State University training program and that he was learning interesting things he should know as Mayor.
Under old business, Heather Depriest of the Friends of the Pool and Park Foundation was excited to announce the swim team had paid $3,000 for new lane ropes and $800 for new step and stand grips. A vital pool system will be removed by construction workers on the pool site and may be sold at auction if there are interested parties. Depriest was also very excited about the $90,000 anonymous donation to the Friends of the Pool and Park Foundation from The Park City Foundation.
Discussion of the alley behind downtown businesses was again tabled for further information.
For new business, checks written by Clerk Dunkin require the mayor and city council’s signatures and approval. The City’s bank account holder requires that council members signing checks be on a list and approved by the council. The list prior to this meeting included Mayor Glen Huestis, Mayor Robert Smith, and council members Lane Schmidt and Shannon Sattleen. The council voted to remove those names and add all current council members, including the mayor. Next on the agenda, council member assignments to each city department as representatives: Stacy Hasler-Elliot to the fire department; Anthony Munare to the wastewater and police departments; Lindsay Hill to the water treatment plant; and Faron Henderson as the Street Maintenance representative. If you are concerned with any one of these city departments, please contact the council member associated with the department and voice your concern. Council members will bring it to a discussion with the mayor and other council members, or you can contact City Hall for more information.
Discussion was led by Mayor Hauer for reactivating the Landfill Board. The mayor announced Keith Hansen, who was very interested in serving on this board alongside a council member and other city members, to track and maintain a record of business and residential waste expenditures. Councilman Henderson accepted the Landfill Board Representative role.
The council and concerned residents discussed the line item regarding compensation coverage for council members under “Volunteer Workers”. Citizens in the community were surprised to find out a council member volunteered to operate equipment during the last heavy snowstorm, as this would be a liability to the city. Compensation coverage would start at $5 per person per month; consideration was only for council members. Clerk Dunkin inquired with the MMIA (Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority) and was informed that they do not recommend volunteers to assist official city work. The mayor and council members decided against the proposed expenditure.
The last item on the agenda was consideration of support for the Blaine County CDBG (Community Development Block Grant). Mayor Hauer strongly encouraged writing letters in support of the County Commissioners’ grant application. However, there were no entries supporting the City of Chinook. It was stated that the commissioners had posted the meeting for public attendance, but no one from Chinook attended. One concerned city resident suggested that the mayor or a member of the city council attend the County Commissioners’ daily meetings and that this be a city official department or board responsibility; no discussion ensued.
Another vigorous discussion was held by all in attendance of the TA (Transportation Alternatives) program. This program is to build sidewalks and walking/biking paths, and repair them in cities with populations under 5000. Dale Wilderness, interested in the program, inquired and contacted the state official in charge of the program. His findings were that the City of Chinook would most likely benefit from this program. City officials will continue discussing this need in our community at future council meetings. If you are interested in this program or any other city development, please contact City Hall and ask Clerk Dunkin to put this or other important items on the agenda for the next City Council meeting. After the meeting adjourned, a special meeting was held immediately to approve these council meeting minutes. The City’s Bank requested the minutes of the vote and approved city officials who would sign checks. City Council meets the second Monday of every month at 7pm in City Hall.
