City Council

City of Sidney, MT City Council Regular Meeting February 02, 2026 6:30 PM 115 2nd Street SE |Sidney, MT 59270 The City Council meetings are open to the public attending in person. If the public does not wish to participate in person, they are also invited to participate via a Zoom meeting or via phone: Meeting ID: 713 080 5898 Passcode: 4332809 Call: 1-346-248-7799 1. Call to Order Mayor Norby called the regular meeting of the Sidney City Council to order at 6:30pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was stated by all present. 3. Aldermen Present Christensen (via Zoom), Buxbaum, Larson, Kauffman, Rasmussen (via Zoom), and DiFonzo. Absent: none. 4. Correction or Approval of Minutes a. January 20th, 2026 Regular Meeting Minutes Motion was made to approve. Motion made by Alderwoman Buxbaum, Seconded by Alderwoman Larson. Voting Yea: Alderman Kauffman, Alderwoman Rasmussen, Alderman DiFonzo, Alderwoman Buxbaum, Alderwoman Christensen, Alderwoman Larson 5. Visitors Larry Christensen (Sportsman's Club), Laura Gundlach (Morrison Maierle), Evelyn Gonzalez, Natalie Judd, Bella Strasheim, Marcunah Wleh, Patience Allen, and Kalen Price. a. Sportsman's Club-Larry Christensen Mr. Christensen is seeking approval for the Sportsman's Club to host a car show at Moose Park on Saturday, July 18th, 2026. Mr. Christensen checked with Travis Brower for any baseball schedule conflicts and there are none. City Council Regular Meeting February 02, 2026 Page 1 of 5  Motion was made to approve the Sportsman's Club Car Show at Moose Park on Saturday, July 18, 2026. Motion made by Alderman DiFonzo, Seconded by Alderwoman Buxbaum. Voting Yea: Alderman Kauffman, Alderwoman Rasmussen, Alderman DiFonzo, Alderwoman Buxbaum, Alderwoman Christensen, Alderwoman Larson 6. Public Hearing Nothing. 7. Mayor Norby a. Update Nothing. b. Reappointment of Russell Huotari to the Airport Board, 5-year term Motion was made to reappoint Russell Huotari to the Airport Board, 5 year term. Motion made by Alderman Kauffman, Seconded by Alderwoman Larson. Voting Yea: Alderman Kauffman, Alderwoman Rasmussen, Alderman DiFonzo, Alderwoman Buxbaum, Alderwoman Christensen, Alderwoman Larson 8. Committee Meeting Work a. Public Safety Committee: Report Alderwoman Buxbaum presented an overview of the Public Safety Committee meeting on January 27, 2026. b. Public Safety Committee: Purchase of Patrol Rifles Motion was made to approve the purchase of police patrol rifles from the payroll vacancy savings from having three open patrol positions during the first half of the fiscal year, July to December 2025. Motion made by Alderwoman Larson, Seconded by Alderman DiFonzo. Voting Yea: Alderman Kauffman, Alderwoman Rasmussen, Alderman DiFonzo, Alderwoman Buxbaum, Alderwoman Christensen, Alderwoman Larson c. Public Works Committee: Report Alderman DiFonzo presented an overview of the Public Works Committee Meeting on January 28, 2026. He further stated that Public Works Director Hintz provided valuable information on the City Council Regular Meeting February 02, 2026 Page 2 of 5  cost of paving, sweeping, and solid waste departments. The committee will have further discussions on CIP account flexibilities or possibly combining and garbage assessment code review. 9. Alderman Requests and Committee Reports Budget and Finance – Chairman Christensen – DiFonzo, Buxbaum, Skinner. Public Safety– Chairman Buxbaum, Rasmussen, Kauffman, Creek. Public Works – Chairman DiFonzo, Christensen, Larson, Harris. Alderman DiFonzo asked Public Works Director Hintz for an update on the 200,000 gallon water tank. Public Works Director Hintz stated that he has no update at this time and will be speaking to Jordon Mayer of Interstate Engineering and could have an update at the next city council meeting. Alderman DiFonzo asked Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin if paying off the USDA loan for the tank could be researched. Clerk/Treasurer stated that could be worth looking into when working on the next fiscal budget. 10. Unfinished Business Nothing. 11. New Business Nothing. 12. City Planner Nothing. 13. City Attorney a. Update City Attorney Kalil stated that City Court is busy and going well. 14. Chief of Police a. Update Nothing. 15. Public Works Director a. Update Public Works Director Hintz reported that work on the pedestrian bridge by the Richland County Fairgrounds on West Holly Street have begun and going well. He further stated that the current phase of the SLIPA project at the City Shop is nearing completion. He stated that crew is working as best they can on ice jams on city streets and storm drains. City Council Regular Meeting February 02, 2026 Page 3 of 5  b. Morrison Maierle Contract Amendment 1 to Task Order 14-reduction of $40,500 Laura Gundlach (Water-Wastewater Engineer for Morrison Maierle) was happy to provide Contract Amendment 1 to Task Order 14- reduction of $40,500. Mrs. Gundlauch stated that the new wastewater lagoon project began in 2012 and is officially complete. The final task order 14 was to evaluate possible regulatory pathways for the City to till the decommissioned facultative lagoon sludge into the soil and use the lagoon cell for alfalfa cultivation. Sludge sampling and testing was conducted in October 2024 and May 2025 and reported to Region 8 of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting that the City's decommissioned 39-acre lagoon be designed as a reclamation area. The EPA determined the biosolids met Class A standards, making them suitable for unrestricted land application. This allows the City to till the sludge onsite and repurpose the area for alfalfa production which saves the City millions of dollars for removal, screening, and hauling the material to other agricultural locations in the area. As a result of the EPA's designation of unrestricted land application, the originally anticipated construction project is no longer necessary. Therefore, this Amendment 1 removes the final design and bidding phase from the project scope. Motion was made to approve Morrison Maierle Contract Amendment 1 to Task Order 14- reduction of $40,500. Motion made by Alderwoman Buxbaum, Seconded by Alderman Kauffman. Voting Yea: Alderman Kauffman, Alderwoman Rasmussen, Alderman DiFonzo, Alderwoman Buxbaum, Alderwoman Christensen, Alderwoman Larson 16. Fire Marshal/Building Inspector Nothing. 17. City Clerk/Treasurer a. Update Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Schmierer stated that work with the auditor is going well and should be completed in the next couple of weeks. b. Update Utilities Clerk Job Description Motion was made to approve an updated Utilities Clerk job description. Motion made by Alderwoman Buxbaum, Seconded by Alderwoman Larson. Voting Yea: Alderman Kauffman, Alderwoman Rasmussen, Alderman DiFonzo, Alderwoman Buxbaum, Alderwoman Christensen, Alderwoman Larson 18. Consent Agenda Motion was made to approve the claims and building permits. City Council Regular Meeting February 02, 2026 Page 4 of 5  Motion made by Alderman Kauffman, Seconded by Alderman DiFonzo. Voting Yea: Alderman Kauffman, Alderwoman Rasmussen, Alderman DiFonzo, Alderwoman Buxbaum, Alderwoman Christensen, Alderwoman Larson a. Claims to be approved: $195,228.70 Intermediary Claims: Total $7,495.24 Black Mountain $1,912.50 WEX $4,452.52 USPS $1,130.22 b. Building Permits to be approved: 2026-28 and 2026-29 19. Closed Executive Session-TBID Lawsuit A Closed Executive Session Meeting was held regarding the TBID Lawsuit from 6:50pm to 7:30pm. 20. Adjournment at 7:30pm. 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