City Council Brief

Glasgow’s City Council met July 18 for their bi-weekly council meeting. A first reading of Ordinance No. 952 included changes to clarify parts of the ordinance. The ordinance will be read a second time at the next city council meeting before it moves forward. Mayor Becky Erickson thanked members of the community for their contributions to the ordinance draft language: “It was really nice to have people from the community help write the ordinance.”

The Council also approved the Glasgow Fire Department to proceed with a $150,000 invitation to bid to gather information for a used aerial firefighter apparatus. The funds proposed for the bid would come out of the already-existing department funds and budget. Mayor Erickson stressed that no additional tax payer funds would be spent towards the bid. Fire Chief Brandon Brunelle also gave a report providing the cause of the June 10 explosion at a residential home in Glasgow, stating definitively that it was “a natural gas explosion.” He added that appliances and gas piping in the house had been stripped and sent to a lab in Denver for apparent further investigation, and reminded residents: “If you smell gas, call 911.”

The Levee Safety Committee Report was also discussed, although with little new information. Mayor Erickson added that the project will require “Congressional support” for funding and that the council would be in contact with Senator Steve Daines’ office for that support. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may need to come to Glasgow to conduct digital mapping of the Levee in order to approve the project per their criteria, in addition to the already existing Army Corps of Engineer criteria (See City Council Highlights in the June 11 edition of the Courier).

The water and sewer rate increases were revisited. These will come out to just $6 total per user over a six-year period. Council members and the mayor stated they felt the increase was “well received.”

Finally, Rod Karst reported on the state of the pool and its crumbling condition. Karst commented, “Every time I go over there the building is falling apart,” while Mayor Erickson added that the pool is, “Definitely on its last leg.”