City Council Meets

The Glasgow City Council met in regular session on May 23 which included agenda items involving discussions regarding the downtown trees, delinquent TBID (Glasgow Tourism Business Improvement District) assessments from the Star Lodge, the appointment of a new firefighter for the Glasgow Fire Department following completion of probation and raising the bulk water rate, among other topics such as unfinished business and reports by the Mayor, committees and department heads.

According to the Chair of the Beautification Committee Pat Knierim, there are approximately 25 new trees downtown as well as older established trees however the concern is the newer trees will not survive without being watered.

“The last month I have been carrying 12 and 15 gallons at a time, hand watering them, but that’s not going to get us through this summer. I really need the city to step up and continue to water with their water truck or allow me to use the water truck. The trees need to be watered at least once a week from here until September, probably through September,” explained Knierm. “I feel like it’s a really important, long range thing, it’s looking to the future that the trees add to the look of the downtown, to the feel of the place. It makes for a better business community and I don’t want them to go down. So I’m really hoping that the city will recognize its responsibility to water them and hopefully we can go forward.”

Karst explained the city is not allowed to have anybody who isn’t a city employee to drive the water truck due to it being a liability issue and he did not want to put city resources into watering the trees.

“For us to commit city employees on our time to go down and take care of a project that we had nothing to do with, it was not cleared with us and then all of a sudden being told ‘now you have to take care of it.’ I personally don’t want to see that,” stated Karst. He also explained by having the city take on this responsibility a precedence is set for anyone who wants to do something for the benefit of the city and he is not able to commit city employees to take care of everything. Knierm explained that the city had been watering the trees up until this spring and the Committee felt that was a commitment from the city to help with this project in years’ past.

“As a council person, I personally like the trees downtown and I would like to see them watered and kept up,” stated Councilwoman Lisa Koski. Councilman Stan Ozark agreed stating, “Rod, I completely understand what you’re saying, I personally think it’s wonderful what the city does and I’d like to see us continue, my opinion.

“We all live in this community. It’s valuable to all of us. How do we partner with you and how do you partner with us?....I don’t want to set no precedence, we don’t need to be putting things onto our plate that are out of the scope of what we should be doing, but this is all of our town. This is important. It’s valuable,” explained Councilman Brian Austin. After further discussion, it was determined no council member wants to set a precedent for future projects, however it would be for the good of the community for the city to partner with the Beautification Committee to water the trees.

Next on the agenda was discussions regarding the TBID assessments that are delinquent from the Star Lodge in Glasgow. The District allows collection of funds per night City fee on rooms rented in the city with the funds used to provide grants to non-profit organizations for events and projects that generate tourism in Glasgow. The Star Lodge has been behind in paying the city these assessments since September of 2020, and City Attorney Anna Sullivan mailed them a complaint that gives the city authority to file an action to collect the debt owed, which is currently $5,020. The Star Lodge is being sold and the current owner is requesting a reduction in the amount to half, which would be $2,510 and would like to have a repayment agreement for an 18-month period.

“You know that’s absolutely ridiculous. They have collected the money under the auspices that it’s a tax, that the money would go to TBID.....They need to pony up and pay every cent of that,” said Ozark. Austin agreed, stating “I don’t think it should be in payments. They have the money." It was stated the new owners will pay the tax from January 2022 forward, even though the sale has not been finalized yet.

It was determined the Council will not agree to the partial payment and City Attorney Sullivan will proceed with the litigation for the $5,020.

The Council also instructed the approval for City Clerk Stacey Amundson to call for bids for gasoline and diesel fuel for 2022/2023, seeking bids for approximately 12,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline, 5,000 gallons of No. 1 diesel fuel and 5,000 gallons of No. 2 diesel fuel.

The council also approved the appointment of Patrick Beer as a firefighter with the Glasgow Fire Department following completion of probation term. They also agreed to raise the cost of bulk water sold by the city from $0.25 for 60 gallons of water to $10 per 1,000 gallons of water. The increase will also include a $30 annual bulk water card fee. The fees will begin on January 1.

Following the resignation of City Public Works Director Robert Kompel in February, Karst announced the city has reached a tentative agreement with a new Public Works Director with the expectation of a start in July.

The next scheduled City Council meeting is Monday, June 6, at 4:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers with the Glasgow Civic Center.