Council approves final Boys & Girls Club grant draw-down

At the City Council meeting Monday May 21, the council approved three items on the agenda.

The first item on the agenda was the final draw in the amount of $89,669.78 on the Community Development Block Grant approved for the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line Renovation Project. The council said this was the last draw of the grant for the Boys & Girls Club renovation, and the item was approved unanimously.

The second item on the agenda was the Actuarial Service Agreement with SilverStone Group Inc. for Governmental Accounting Standards Board 75. The GASB 75 is primarily to improve accounting and financial reports by the state and local government for post-employment benefits other than pension, supporting assesments of accountability and interperiod equity and creating additional transparency.

The council said that is required to be done every two years to assess the liability of the city as for retirements and health insurance. They are contracting this out to SilverStone Group because there are more than 100 employees in the city of Havre.

The agreement will cost a total of $3,700 but the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority will cover $3,000. Costing the city a total of $700. The item was passed unanimously.

The last item on the agenda was the mayor’s appointments to the planning board, zoning board, police commission and Havre historic preservation commission.

Dave Peterson was elected and approved for the planning board, which is a two-year term. Tracy McLain and Jeremy Siemens were elected and approved for the zoning board, which is a three-year term. Mike Shortell was elected and approved for police commission, which is a three-year term. Wade Bitz was elected and approved for Havre/Hill County Historic Preservation Commission, which is a two-year term.

Bill Lanier spoke to the council about an off-agenda item. His son, Eagle Scout Kougar Lanier, has set up a service for retiring U.S. flags Monday, Memorial Day. The group will be retiring more than 100 flags from 2 to 4 p.m. at The Bridge youth center near the Fifth Avenue Christian Church off Bullhook Road.