Water project: Choteau Council approves sixth pay request

The Choteau City Council on Aug. 15 approved the sixth payment to Prospect Construction for the first phase of a $12 million city water system improvements project.

Prospect Construction of Missoula put the first-phase base bid and first alternative at $4,898,350. The project consists of the replacement of about 13,800 feet of water main with new, eight-inch PVC water main, hydrants, valves and associated hardware.

The base bid includes replacing mains in the area east of Spring Creek, and a new line which will provide a loop in the city system and make city water available to more city residents. The first alternative addition includes replacing undersized asbestos concrete water pipes in the southwest part of town.

The council approved a gross payment of $401,703.18 to the company, minus the 1% Montana Gross Receipts Tax withholding for a total of $397,686. The city still owes $2,077,466 on the project.

Mayor Chris Hindoien said the city received calls from a handful of east-side residents whose wells dried up as the company dewatered the trenches so it could work on water lines. He said the crew was dewatering up to 20 feet below ground level even though most city water mains are not any deeper than 10 feet.

Hindoien said Choteau Public Works Director Mike Maples talked with the contractor to have this practice changed and the wells that had gone dry refilled. One family who contacted the city has requested to be hooked to the municipal water system.

Choteau resident Rich Lusky was one of those whose well went temporarily dry. He attended the City Council meeting and thanked city workers for their offer to provide him with water. Lusky said his well ran dry on the evening of Aug. 16 and came back into service 24 hours later.

“Thank you for offering, and it was good to know the city is backing anyone who needs it,” Lusky said.

Hindoien said he also heard that the Choteau Cemetery is having a hard time getting water because the project is reducing the amount of water the city’s system leaks into the ground.

He also asked city residents who live in neighborhoods where the water project has torn up the streets to be patient. The city plans to repair the streets after the project, using asphalt millings from the Interstate 15 project near Power to resurface the streets, which will then be chip sealed. The streets will be restored to better than what they were before the project, he said.

The City Council also approved the Choteau Tourism Business Improvement District’s 2023-24 fiscal year work plan and reappointed Diane Gollehon to a new four-year term on the board, with the term starting on July 1.

City Finance Officer Tom Frownfelder serves on the TBID board and said the district, now in its seventh year, has a budget of $20,000 collected as a $1 per person per night bed tax at the Stage Stop Inn, Big Sky Motel and the Gunther Motel. The TBID uses the funding to promote tourism-related events that bring people to town and encourage them to spend at least one night. They have funded brochures, websites and grants for events including the Front Range Yoga Festival and the Light Geese Spring Waterfowl Migration Festival, and the Montana Dinosaur Center that books multi-day paleontology field trips.

The council also approved putting $3,044.71 in delinquent water and/or garbage charges on seven or eight accounts on the property tax bills of those residents if the charges are not paid.

The council reviewed reports for July from City Judge Pete Rasmussen and civil attorney Jeff Hindoien, the mayor’s brother, who as of July 1 is now contracting with the city to provide civil litigation services. He replaces the Lee Law Firm of Shelby. Rasmussen reported three six cases in his court: three for vicious dogs, one felony assault, one bad check and one speeding while Hindoien said he worked on matters relating to the Montana Board of Commerce Community Development Block Housing Stabilization Grant and a pending zoning code matter.

Frownfelder said the city issued five building permits in July as follows: Dustin Lobdell, 303 11th Ave. N.E., re-roof; Whitney Theunissen, 105 First Ave. S.W., fence; Ali and Dennis Marschner, 105 Second Ave. S.W., fence; Joshua Belanger, 122 Second Ave. S.W., fence; and Bill and Donna West, 214 Fifth Ave. S.W., deck.