Hot Springs Town Council discuss changes

HOT SPRINGS – The first Town Council Meeting of the year took place Tuesday evening Jan. 7. The meeting began with Mayor Randy Woods taking the oath of office once again, and Leslee Smith was re-appointed Town Council President. The main topic of discussion was Public Works and town maintenance.

According to Mayor Woods, Public Works was a concern of many Hot Springs citizens during the preliminary debates.

“I am looking at reorganizing some of the groups and one of them is Public Works,” he said. “It is one of the harder groups to control because they are moving around all of the time.”

The plan to better monitor Public Works is to utilize a time clock and camera. The camera is there to make certain the actual employee is clocking in and out. The camera will also be used for other purposes down the road such as keeping an eye out for vandalism and thefts.

Another change enforced by Mayor Woods is the addition of time and activity sheets.

“I had them do a daily log and write down what they are doing and when,” Mayor Woods said. “That seemed to be a concern with many people during the debates so I am monitoring that very closely.”

The daily logs will be useful in the upcoming weeks. Mayor Woods wrote up to-do lists for Public Works members.

“They will be really busy this month with maintenance. You will probably see a lot [of maintenance] with trimming trees, stop signs, buildings, and storm drain covers,” Mayor Woods said. “I have gone through a list of things they should be doing so you should see them out and quite busy.”

Public Works will also be preoccupied with winter weather projects. They will be working on shoveling the public sidewalks when necessary. Also, Public Works are currently documenting the runoff problems so they can address it in the spring.

In spring, after the water and sewer projects are underway, Mayor Woods wants to have a public meeting to discuss some plans with parks and receive feedback. His goal is to enforce improvements to make Hot Springs nicer for the people.

“We are trying to get out there and make it a little safer for the public. Hopefully we can make it a little better and give the citizens more bang for their buck,” he said.

According to the financial report, at the half-way point of the fiscal period everything is looking good.

“We are right in line. Water and sewer are actually running ahead of projection,” Mayor Woods said.

Necessary expenditures so far have included water testing, the consumer report, police ammunition and vehicle maintenance. Expenses aside, more money might be coming to the museum soon.

According to Leslee Smith, the museum is moving forward with the $10,000 grant they submitted for. The grant is being provided by the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation. The plan is to close up the meeting space and improve on the functionality. Members of the foundation are coming out soon to see the space and coordinate.

Grants have been approved and plans made for the upcoming year. Many new things are afoot and Mayor Woods needs more board members.

“I have some changes that I would like to make,” he said. “I am having trouble finding people to take those spots. I would really like to get some new people on some of these boards.”

If anyone is interested they need to bring an application to town hall. Mayor Woods said they would be happy to look them over.

The next Town Council meeting will take place Feb. 4 at 7 P.M.