Troy City Council meeting recap

Troy greenbox site hours change

The Troy City Council voted unanimously during their regular meeting July 18 to set hours for the greenbox site on St. Regis Haul Road. Beginning Wednesday, Aug. 1, the site will be closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The change came in response to concerns over the dumping off of items prohibited at the greenbox site, trash and garbage left outside the boxes, and “salvage” of items from the green dumpsters that led to trash left on the ground.

Salvage — colloquially known as “dumpster diving” — is prohibited at all greenbox sites in Lincoln County.

“It’s unfortunate. I don’t want to do that, but we can’t let that keep up,” said Mayor Dallas Carr.

Carr recalled during both the July 11 and 18 council meetings times that he has personally witnessed individuals dropping off items such as batteries or stacking their boxes outside of the recycling bin instead of in it.

Carr said he has seen mattresses, sofas and washing machines inappropriately dumped at the site, and had a man yell at him after Carr tried to tell him not to dump linoleum in the containers.

“We’re the biggest green bin in the county, and we’re the sloppiest and the worst one to manage,” said Mayor Dallas Carr. “I didn’t like hearing that, but there’s too many pictures that prove that is a fact.”

Troy Police Chief Katie Davis said that half of a bathtub had been left at the greenbox site in the previous week.

Council Member Shawna Kelsey said that the introduction of operating hours for the site will also likely help to prevent wildlife conflict.

A security camera that had been nonfunctional at the greenbox site is now operational and monitored as well, Carr said. The council discussed the possible installation of an additional camera to assure all angles are captured.

The change to hours brings the Troy site in line with several other sites around the county that are not open 24 hours, as the Troy site had been previously.

Davis said that Troy Police will write citations for people who are engaging in prohibited activities at the greenbox site.

The greenbox sites are only approved for household garbage and trash. Items such as batteries, motor oil, scrap metal and large items such as furniture can only be disposed of at county landfills.

The Troy landfill at 273 Dump Rd. is open Friday through Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Libby landfill is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is closed only on Sundays and holidays.

Through Wednesday, September 12, Lincoln County Solid Waste is accepting some electronic waste for recycling, including cellular phones, laptops, flat screen monitors and some small appliances. Among items not accepted in the recycling program are CRT monitors (the type that preceded flat screens).

More information about waste disposal in Lincoln County can be found at lincolncountymt.us/solid-waste/landfill, and county solid waste can be reached at 406-293-7146.

Qualified training

Troy Police Chief Katie Davis requested that the Troy City Council approve training for officers to maintain qualification with their service weapons during the July 18 regular meeting.

Davis proposed that the county continue to keep Allen Dye, the previous city judge, on the payroll at $10 an hour for up to 30 hours a month, as he is certified to complete the training.

Dye has helped the department out in the past by doing training at no charge, and Davis said at previous meetings that she felt if the city is going to continue to use his services, he should receive some kind of compensation.

“He has also put out on the table that he would be willing to pick up other shifts for $10 an hour,” she said. With his certifications, Dye could also serve in that capacity to train reserves on patrol.

“Anyone who’s spent time with Allen, there’s a lot you can learn from that man,” Davis said.

The training that Dye provides to the department goes beyond just operating the weapon and shooting accurately, and includes tactics such as room clearing, she said. His training is at a level that has attracted officers from other agencies, such as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“He makes it intense,” Carr said.

“He does, and I think we’re better for it,” Davis said.

In the long term, Davis said the department wants to have an officer become a trainer. However, not just the lack of such an officer, but the level of experience that Dye has makes working with him the best option in the immediate future.

Carr asked the council if they were in agreement that Davis should move forward with the training under the current budget, with the council looking at future funding during their ongoing budget meetings.

None of the council objected.

Second street ballot issue

The Troy City Council voted unanimously July 18 to approve a resolution to place a question on the November ballot allowing voters to forbid or allow the county to sell a section of second street.

The resolution was passed contingent on the addition of language to be drafted by City Attorney Clifton Hayden.

Mayor Dallas Carr said that Hayden informed him two days prior that the council needed to have a dollar amount in the resolution to allow the public to see the cost and benefit of the transaction.

Carr said this added difficulty, as there had been no discussion with Town Pump over a sale price.

“Not one red cent has been discussed,” Carr reiterated.

Carr said that the city would need to formally negotiate a sale price with Town Pump for the section of second street that the company is interested in.

The area in question is Second Street extending from the intersection with Highway 2 north to the alley.

Town Pump project manager Dan Sampson has said in the past that the area would be integrated into the parking lot for a new store, with the new store extending about halfway into what is now Second Street.

The public would be allowed to pass through the parking lot to reach either Second Street or Highway 2, though Town Pump would likely install traffic control devices such as speed bumps for safety, Sampson said.

During the July 18 meeting, Carr said that after Hayden told him of the need for a Dollar amount, he contacted Sampson to discuss a likely sale price.

After some haggling back and forth and discussion of the cost of sidewalk replacement Town Pump has previously agreed to do along the south side of Spokane Avenue, Carr said that they arrived at $60,000 as the most likely amount Town Pump would agree to.

For tax purposes, Town Pump would prefer to donate the cash amount to the city rather than characterizing it as a payment, Carr said. Hayden will have to determine how to write the resolution to incorporate that request.

The council agreed that they will call a special meeting once Hayden has the language drafted in order to review it.