Main Ave paved and open for business; City introduces one of two new utilities employees (Preview)

The City Council for the City of Garretson met on October 5, 2020. While most of the items were a continuation from the September meeting, Mayor Greg Beaner introduced Jordan Doane to the council, the newest full-time employee with the City.

“We’ve done some restructuring with the City,” Mayor Beaner said. “[Current City Utilities Manager Craig Nussbaum] is going to be retiring in a year, and we’re taking his job and splitting it into two positions, so there will be a natural gas, parks, and buildings Utility Manager, and there will be a streets, water, and sewer Utility Manager.”

Mayor Beaner continued by noting that Doane would be taking the position for natural gas, parks, and buildings Utility Manager. “He worked for the State, he’s familiar with GIS, so he’s got a lot of experience in that area,” Beaner said.

The meeting began in executive session for contract negotiations, with the council meeting representatives of ISG, the architects chosen for the community building project. No decisions were made in public session regarding this portion.

Once the meeting opened to the public, the council quickly approved a Cable Franchise Ordinance, a replat of land in the Coburn Addition, a fence request at 5^th and Canyon, and an amendment to Resolution 2020-15. This modified the amount of the loan for the water and sewer project to $458,500, a $500 change.

They also adopted a resolution to request reimbursement for costs incurred by the pandemic. The funds were given to the state by the CARES Act, and it allows cities to make updates and improvements to their infrastructure in order to allow for better operations while socially distancing.

City Finance Officer Anna Uhl explained that most small towns and cities were opting to utilize their funds for laptop computer upgrades and phone upgrades so employees could work from home as necessary. Uhl said she planned to do the same, as well as utilizing some of the funds to cover the extra costs incurred with the June and November elections, such as extra pencils, plexiglass protectors, and hand sanitizer. The amount that will be requested from the State was not given.

The final resolution the council approved was a resolution allowing for the deed transfer to the Garretson Volunteer Fire Department (GVFD), the final step to ensuring the land the GVFD building occupies is owned by that entity.

GVFD 1^st Assistant Chief Levi Schmid was on hand to give the committee report as well, noting that they’ve had a year-to-date total of 82 calls and 1100 hours of training. Between June, July and August they fielded 35 calls.

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