Local livestreamed legislation

If you ever wondered what happens at a Purcell city council meeting, you will soon be able to watch in the comfort of your home the council’s regular meetings livestreamed.

That was the consensus of the council at Monday’s meeting.

City staff will determine the better option – YouTube or Facebook – before July 1.

That’s when a 6-month livestreaming trial will begin.

The trial period that will run through December 31 passed on a 3-2 vote, with Ted Cox and Theda Engert casting the dissenting votes.

An agenda item approving a contract between the Purcell Airport Authority and Jordan Powell drew negative comments from council member Jay Tate.

Tate objected to a stipulation in the contract giving Powell a 2-year waiver of rents on a hangar that will be built on the site of the old airport office building.

Under the contract Powell will remove the old building, making way for the new 50-by-50-foot hangar.

“I don’t think we should be trading out services,” he said.

“But we need more hangars,” Mayor Graham Fishburn pointed out, before a vote that approved the contract.

In other business, the council:

• approved a zoning change from R-1 to R-6 (planned unit development) for South Brook’
• awarded a $324,261.95 contract to Central Plains Construction Group LLC to regrade the exterior roadway around the new hospital;
• approved Glenn Sullivan & Associates for engineering and inspecting the relocation of water and sewer utilities with the work zone of I-35 and State Highway 74;
• accepted C.L. Boyd’s low bid of $174,250 for the purchase of a John Deere wheel loader for the Street Department;
• declared two 2016 police Ford Interceptors surplus property, clearing the way for the vehicles to be sold;
• approved $59,000 to replace the cab and chassis on Brush Truck 22;
• approved a $1,016,779.34 budget amendment for Public Works miscellaneous expense and General Fund miscellaneous revenue;
• uthorized treasurer Victor Lohn to use $23,026.30 of escrow funds to reduce the renewal premium for Workers Compensation; and
• approved INSURICA’s 2022-23 health insurance for city employees.