C-Falls mulls permissive medical levy
The rising rates of health insurance are well-documented throughout the country. Columbia Falls is not immune to them.
The city is proposing raising its permissive medical levy — the funds are used to pay the city’s portion of employee health insurance – about $20 for a home assessed at $200,000.
The increase in rates over the past 20 years is a stark one. In 2000, the city paid just under $40,000 for employee health insurance, or about $232 a month per employee.
Today, it pays about $289,000, or nearly $1,100 per month per employee.
The city council Monday night approved a public hearing on the matter as part of a larger public hearing on the city’s overall budget at 7 p.m. Aug. 3.
— Hungry Horse News
The pet owner who released a domesticated duck at a Troy pond a few years back may have thought they were doing no more than giving their feathery friend a new life in the wild.
But the duck relocation has since spawned a debate over the abandonment of pets on city property, pitting animal lovers against conservationists.
On July 15, the Troy City Council settled the issue by passing an ordinance making it illegal to release pets on public property or let domesticated animals run unsupervised within city limits.
“All abandoned animals are subject to destruction at the owner’s expense,” the ordinance reads.
Troy Mayor Dallas Carr recalled that Gabby the abandoned duck, became a favorite of locals and hikers after she was released on city property three years ago. The controversy began when residents, who were concerned that she might interbreed with wild ducks, started breaking her eggs.
While the destruction ran afoul of local authorities, city officials recognized they needed to address the larger issue.
Carr said that the burden of abandoned pets falls on the shoulders of many municipalities. Among other cities, Kalispell, Libby and Missoula all have laws that deal with the problem. City councilors in Troy opted to follow suit.
As of Aug. 14, when the new regulation goes into effect, anyone who releases a domesticated animal on Troy public property will be guilty of a misdemeanor. The punishment is a fine of no more than $500 or a term of imprisonment not to exceed six months.
As to Gabby’s fate, there is no need to fear the “subject to destruction” clause.
“I guess she’s grandfathered in,” Carr said with a chuckle.
— The Western News
The Plains School Board and Superintendent Thom Chisholm, with the backing of the teacher’s union, have given the go-ahead four-day school week schedule beginning Aug. 24.
There are still situations and challenges that could arise as COVID-19 levels fluctuate, but for now, classes will be open Monday through Thursday.
The plan, according to Chisholm gives the students and teachers educational consistency.
“We are doing the best we can,” Chisholm told Board members and a gathering of approximately 25 teachers and parents during an outdoors meeting last week. The meeting was held on a parking lot outside the main campus building to accommodate a larger-than-expected group of parents and teachers. Social distancing concerns were also a factor.
School administrators say they also have contingency plans should the COVID situation worsen or improve.
As part of the plan, Chisholm said, the hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., instead of the shorter total hours used last year. Adding 40 minutes a day will help the school stay within state requirements for number of educational hours each year.
“There have been many obstacles to overcome,” Chisholm said. “Changing the number of days and hours creates challenges in budgeting, transportation, accommodating working parents and even ordering supplies.”
But Chisholm and the Board remained optimistic the challenges will be overcome.
— Clark Fork Valley Press
Progress on the city of Whitefish’s new wastewater treatment plant is humming along.
Construction of the new plant began this winter and the project is currently on schedule. The total project cost, including engineering, design and contingency, is $24.8 million.
The new wastewater plant, constructed adjacent to the current plant on the south end of town, has been designed to more stringent state standards for treatment and to serve the city up to a population of 20,000.
The type of wastewater treatment plant is a sequencing batch reactor, which is a type of activated sludge plant with multiple unit processes contained within the same concrete basin.
Public Works Director Craig Workman said the technology in the new plant has been used widely in Europe, but Whitefish will be one of two cities to implement the type of plant here. The time of the treatment process from when the wastewater enters the plant, is treated and then clean water is discharged into the Whitefish River will be reduced significantly.
The new plant, while costing between $4 million and $5 million more than other types of plants, comes with less energy use, Workman notes.
“The energy savings from the new plant should pay back that extra cost in less than 10 years,” he said.
The new plant will include three treatment basins, but is being constructed so a fourth basin can be added later as the need arises.
A new 1,600 feet of non-potable water line has been installed at the site, which will recycle treated wastewater and will eliminate the use of more than 4 million gallons of potable water per month. A retaining wall has also been constructed along the Rocksund trail of the city’s river pathway and the path has been restored.
Construction on the project is expected to be completed in summer 2021.
— Whitefish Pilot