Public Works Committee Meeting

City of Sidney, MT Public Works Committee Meeting February 18, 2026 5:30 PM 115 2nd Street SE |Sidney, MT 59270 Committee 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 Alderwoman Buxbaum called the Public Works Committee to order at 5:30pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance All present stated the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Committee Members Present Alderwoman Buxbaum (for Alderman DiFonzo), Alderwoman Larson (via Zoom), Mr. Harris Others Present: Mayor Norby, PWD Hintz, Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin 4. Correction or Approval of Minutes Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated she will provide the January minutes at the March meeting for approval. 5. Visitors None. 6. Monthly Reports a. January 2026 Public Works Report PWD Hintz provided the January 2026 Public Works Report, stating it was a quiet month giving them the opportunity to work on some major improvements at the shop and if everyone participates in the tours on the 13th, they will see the changes made, including lighting improvements. Alderwoman Buxbaum asked is there has been any issues with sewers freezing and PWD Hintz stated there has been two calls but they were internal service line issues and not the city's Public Works Committee Meeting February 18, 2026 Page 1 of 3  problem. Alderwoman Buxbaum asked if there has been any resolve to the flooding issue at the lagoon and PWD Hintz stated they did submit the claim from when the headworks flooded in July and MMIA has paid. Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated the claim reimbursement was for approximately $16,000. Alderwoman Larson asked if past freezing sewer lines were our fault and PWD Hintz stated generally not as our lines are deep enough and/or have been rectified. Mr. Harris asked if the lighting improvements was to upgrade to LED and PWD Hintz stated yes and it has improved the lighting at the shop immensely. 7. New Business Nothing. 8. Unfinished Business a. Public Works CIP Polices and Goals Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated she contacted the auditor and asked if the city would be allowed to combine like CIP funds into one large fund and he stated we could do this during the budget process via resolution. She provided the list of funds, color coded to show like funds in similar color that could be combined together. The Committee discussed that the CIP fund are generally funded out of the Oil and Gas Fund and how operations, maintenance and improvements are also funded above these. The Committee discussed the importance of the Street Maintenance Fund and its rates becoming self-sufficient to fund equipment and improvements that are currently being being budgeted out of the CIP funds and the importance of getting strategic planning for the street department for equipment and improvements to accomplish this. The Committee asked to add to the March agenda to start investigating the Street Maintenance rates for covering all operations and equipment costs and the CIP fund is for saving for large projects only. The Committee reviewed the several Parks CIP funds and discussed the merits of having the Pool CIP, Bike Path CIP, and City Hall CIP separate, but combining the other funds would be beneficial to have 4 other park CIP funds consolidated into one. It was the general consensus of the Public Works Committee to have a Pool CIP, Bike Path CIP, Parks CIP, and one Street Capital Project CIP and to start looking at the rates for the street maintenance assessment. Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin asked to create a new policy and monetary goals for the CIPs and report back for final approval. b. Garbage Assessment Code Review/Update (request to table until March) PWD Hintz stated he, Garbage Superintendent Meisel and Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin are working on defining the current business types within the City's current code, also looking at the Public Works Committee Meeting February 18, 2026 Page 2 of 3  rate multiplier versus pickups and adding in additional multipliers for things like daily pickup or additional cans so that rates are more equitable. Also discussed is the City looking into registrations for different types of businesses, such as rentals or Air B&B's to help account for how rates should be applied. 9. Comments and Questions from the Committee Mr. Harris stated in the minutes he read the Police Department are getting new rifles and inquired what was happening with the old rifles and Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated Chief Kraft was pursuing either trading them in or selling them to the officers for fair market value. He then asked what happened to the police cars and Clerk/Treasurer Chamberlin stated lately we have been lucky on good trade in value but when we have not gotten a good trade in value we have utilized them by shifting them to another department such as the City Hall vehicle for Mr. Harris asked about the track hoe that they leased the previous year for approximately $48,000 and PWD Hintz stated it was for work cleaning out the lagoon cell and the detention pond work. Mr. Harris stated leasing is not a good option versus purchasing and PWD Hintz agreed but these were one-off projects that saved the city money and since the city does not do major projects in house as much anymore we do not have the need or the ability to transfer a track hoe to merit purchasing one. 10. Adjournment at 6:23pm. Public Works Committee Meeting February 18, 2026 Page 3 of 3