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Stevensville council approves airport engineering contract, budget revisions and other measures; votes summarized
Summary
The Stevensville Town Council voted 4–0 on multiple routine and project items and approved a three-year master engineering agreement for airport projects by a 3–1 margin. The council also authorized staff to pursue a railroad-crossing removal agreement and accepted state technical assistance to update the town growth policy.
The Stevensville Town Council voted on a package of ordinances, resolutions and agreements at its regular meeting, approving several administrative and project actions and authorizing staff to pursue outside technical assistance.
The council’s business included a second reading and final approval of additions to town traffic ordinance 1-35, a budget revision resolution, a temporary contract for public works wastewater certification coverage, acceptance of Department of Commerce technical assistance for a growth-policy update, and a master agreement for airport engineering services. The council also authorized staff to pursue a service agreement with the railroad to remove and pave the East Second Street crossing.
The approvals were largely unanimous. The council approved the traffic-code additions, the budget revision (Resolution 559), the temporary public‑works contract (Resolution 560), the Department of Commerce Community Technical Assistance Program participation, and the railroad-crossing service agreement each by a 4–0 vote. The master agreement for professional airport engineering services with Morrison‑Maierle, Inc., passed 3–1.
Votes at a glance
- Approval of town council meeting minutes (Nov. 14, 2024): passed 4–0 after roll call. - Acceptance of special closed-session minutes (Nov. 19, 2024): passed 4–0. - Approval of out-of-cycle claims (numbers 19366–19383) and regular claims (19384–19414): passed 4–0. - Ordinance additions, Ordinance No. 1-35 (traffic code amendments): motion by Council member Porter; second by Council member Brown; passed 4–0. - Resolution No. 559 (budget revision, FY 2024–25): motion by Council member Smith; second by Council member Burke; passed 4–0. - Resolution No. 560 (temporary contract for public works services — certified wastewater operator coverage): motion by Council member Smith; second by Council member Nelson; passed 4–0. The contract authorizes up to eight hours per week of certified-operator services while the town pursues local certification. - Acceptance of Department of Commerce Community Technical Assistance Program funding to support an update to the town growth policy (estimated up to $30,000 in technical assistance): motion by Council member Nelson; second by Council member Brown; passed 4–0. - Master agreement for professional airport engineering services with Morrison‑Maierle, Inc.: motion by Council member Smith; second by Council member Barker; passed 3–1. - Authorization to pursue a railroad-crossing service agreement with Washington Corporation/Montana Rail Link to remove and pave the East Second Street crossing (town staff to return with a proposed service agreement and cost estimate): motion by Council member Nelson; second by Council member Marker; passed 4–0. - Set a special council workshop to review council rules and procedures: scheduled for Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m.; passed 4–0. - Motion to adjourn: passed.
Councilors recorded roll-call votes on each motion during the meeting; where the transcript contains named roll-call votes those names were recorded at the meeting. The master airport agreement drew the most substantive follow-up questions from councilors about task orders, reuse of design documents, estimated design fees for typical projects (examples cited in discussion: runway/taxiway maintenance $13,300–$14,700, apron maintenance $7,000, and fuel farm design estimates cited near $60,000), and the town’s designation of an owner’s representative for project decisions.
The council instructed staff to return with proposed agreements, cost estimates and any required intergovernmental steps (for example, Ravalli County involvement on the rail‑crossing work where the roadway straddles a jurisdictional boundary) before final execution. Several approvals included the council direction that staff pursue grant matches or use restricted funds earmarked for water, sewer, or paving when appropriate.
What didn’t change
No ordinance or resolution failed. The council’s calendar and staff reports indicated ongoing work on airport grants, water/sewer certification and training, and ongoing procurement and claims administration. The meeting closed with customary departmental reports and council comments.
