Foust steps down as Plains councilor

Plains Town Council members last week said goodbye to longtime council member Connie Foust, who will be leaving for warmer climates in the Southwest.  

Foust is a longtime Plains resident who supported many causes within the town, including organizing Plains Day over the years.  

Council members will be looking for her replacement in the next few weeks.  

This month’s Council meeting took place without Mayor Joe Banham who has been fighting wildfires in Eastern Montana for the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District. Council member John Sheridan was the acting mayor in Banham’s absence.  

Council members reviewed and approved the treasurer’s claims and payroll reports, followed by the mayor’s report. Sheridan said August saw 39 new cases with 59 pending and 71 disposed. The town has 114 active warrants issued. The town water system saw a water loss of 27% in August. Much of that loss was contributed to the Campbell house fire, which took approximately 750,000 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze. 

Sheridan noted that the pool's summer season was a success after being closed for a year and reopening with a new crew. 

As a cost savings measure, town officials are looking into a new water billing system.  

Sheriden said, “We are presently getting our water bills in the mail. We are looking at a possible notification instead of sending out card stock (billing statement), to those that are interested in receiving notification of your billing by email. Payment will be the same. You can send in your little email notification which you will print off with your check or you can drop it off at the office or drop box. If we can get approximately half of our accounts to go to the email notification, we could save around $2,000 a year in postage and card stock. 

The only unfinished business on the agenda was a review of the Chapter 4 ordinance, which was tabled until next month.  

Under new business, the council approved the 2024-25 budget by unanimous vote.  

For years, the park in town with the pool has been called “The Pool Park.”  The official name will now be, “Creg Welty Memorial Park” after a vote by the council. 

Discussion to sign a contract with MIDCO, a company that inspects the town’s water tower, was tabled. The contract was to lock in pricing for the next two inspections. 

The wellness program for town employees, proposed by Mayor Banham was tabled for next month.  

Two new appointees were made during the meeting. Becky Fields was appointed to the Parks Committee. She is a three-year resident of Plains.  

A lengthy discussion occurred during the public comment period. Dan Rowan, a past Plains mayor and current Sanders County Commissioner said, “I would strongly suggest that the town of Plains update their subdivision regulations. To my knowledge, I came on the council January 2013, and I don’t think they have been updated since. Subdivisions have changed a lot since then. They change every year. I would also suggest the town of Plains consult with a planning consultant. Money for a consultant would be money well spent.”  

He continued, “It is a complicated process. The decision you guys make on subdivisions, the future town leaders will be dealing with for decades. It’s important to get it right.”  

Council member Foust added, “If we are going to have responsible subdivisions going forward, we need to look at how it is going to affect other people that live there.”  

"We have got to get this town to clean up. It looks like a trash dump. I’m talking about garbage. In some point in time, we need to start getting letters out to people to clean up their yards.”

    Acting Mayor John Sheridan fills in for Mayor Joel Banham at last week's Plains Council meeting. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)