Glasgow City Council Meets In Regular Session

The Glasgow City Council met in regular session on Oct. 16, in the Council Chambers located inside of the Civic Center. The meeting started with approving regular business items such as payment of claims in the amount of $94,128.6; payment of Valley Court Apartment claims in the amount of $847.74; the July 2023 financials and minutes for the Oct. 2 meeting, The council also discussed shipping containers, heard a proposal from Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital (FMDH) to purchase a portion of Hoyt Park and discussed the closure of certain city streets for Halloween

Glasgow resident Dan Taylor, who sells shipping containers which are currently located outside of city limits, spoke to the council regarding the current ordinance that prohibits them from city limits, unless they meet certain criteria. However, upon reading the city ordinance he feels the way the document is worded does not clearly state what is exactly allowed and what is not allowed. “I don’t want to sell any if people can’t have them,” stated Taylor.

Mayor Rod Karst stated the council’s intent for the 2019 ordinance was to not have shipping containers in driveways and affect the visual aesthetic of the community. “We were trying to clean up Glasgow,” stressed Councilwoman Lisa Koski. “I would rather see a shipping container than junk in the yard,” stated Councilman Doug Nistler.

After much discussion and back-and-forth with the Council as well as the City Attorney Lee Pekovitch, it was determined the ordinance is ambiguous as written and there needs to be more definitive language of the Council’s intent regarding the allowance of shipping containers. The council’s ordinance committee will meet to correct the ordinance, then do a first reading, second reading and if passed, it will go into effect in 30 days. “In the meantime, we will refer to the ordinance as it’s written,” stated Mayor Karst.

FMDH Chief Executive Officer Nick Dirkes made a proposal to the Council for the hospital to purchase a portion of Hoyt Park, approximately 1.181 acres or 51,464 square feet of land. In preparation of the proposal, an appraisal was completed on the land, and upon review of the appraisal, additional research on the sale of public land and other discussions, FMDH offered $450,000 for the purchase of the property.

“Due to constraints around our existing building from the levy, we are concerned that we could outgrow our existing property in the near future. We have made significant investments into our campus and it would be unfortunate if we had to abandon this space to grow and expand our services. To that end, FMDH intends to hold the land until we deem it necessary to add on to our existing building. At that time, we could use this land to construct a parking lot. Until then, we would lease the land back to the City for a nominal fee,” stated Dirkes in his written proposal.

The Glasgow City Council took no action on the proposal and instead formed a committee to review all of the information presented, obtain legal guidance as well as make their own recommendations.

Glasgow Police Chief Robert Weber then discussed to the council the overall community feedback he received from a social post regarding the closure of Aberdeen and Bonnie Street for Halloween. “We had over 100 responses, and the majority were in favor of closing. There were two people that were against it and I guess their big concern was being able to get home after 6 p.m.,” stated Weber. After a motion was made by Councilman Nistler and seconded by Councilman Butch Heitman, the council unanimously approved closing Aberdeen and Bonnie Street, except for emergency vehicles, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Halloween, Tuesday, Oct. 31. Officer Weber also stated that approximately three or four houses on Cloud will also be affected by the closure so trick or treaters can do a loop starting from Angus Drive through Aberdeen, Bonnie and Cloud. A traffic plan will be created by the Glasgow Police Department and distributed to the public when available. The motion passed unanimously after an amended motion to include Cloud Street in the closure.

The council meeting ended with approval for Mayor Karst to sign the CDBG planning grant application for updating the Swif Plan for the Levee; the appointment of a committee for the review of the request for proposals received for audit services; committee and department reports.

The Glasgow City Council meets the first and third Monday of each month in the Council Chambers located inside of the Glasgow Civic Center. Agendas can be found on the city’s website, http://www.cityofglasgowmt.com/price-list and on the Glasgow Courier’s Facebook page when available http://www.facebook.com/glasgowcourier.