LINGLE – Mayor Micah Foster called the meeting of the Lingle Town Council to order promptly at 6 p.m. Councilmembers Tabitha Lambert, Kathy Wilhelm and Jeff Jerome were present. Shelly Duncan appeared absent. 

After the Pledge of Allegiance, Foster called for a motion to approve the agenda to which Wilhelm provided. Jackson seconded the motion and the motion to approve the evening’s agenda passed by vote. 

Moving on, Foster asked for a motion for the approval of the February 19 meeting minutes as provided. Lambert made a motion to accept the meeting minutes with an amendment under administrative items indicating the deadline for applications for lifeguards are due Friday, March 7 instead of May 5 by 4 p.m. Jackson seconded the motion and the motion to approve the meeting’s minutes carried. It was noted the application dated had been extended to March 14.

Foster then moved on to the bills where Lambert in absence of town deputy clerk/treasurer, Nakisha (Keisha) Garner, spoke to the council. 

“I went through the bills with Keisha earlier. Everything looked okay,” Lambert noted. 

Lambert further explained there had been an adjustment brought to the clerk’s attention of an estimated cost. Lambert reported there was $107,625.84 in total expenditures, leaving the town $40,445.65 “in the black.”

Lambert then made a motion to pay the bills which was seconded by Wilhelm. The motion passed and the bills were approved to be paid. 

Moving on to the public comment portion of the meeting, there were no participants and the council moved on to department reports.  

“So, we had a theft this morning (Wednesday, March 5) at Ty’s [at] approximately 1:50 this morning,” Lingle Chief of Police Endra Andrews said. “I am sure everybody’s seen the Facebook post. I am looking for a black, newer model F250 or 350 flatbed truck with a snowmobile and ramps in the back that was covered with a Polaris cover so I am assuming it’s a Polaris underneath it. So, if anybody sees such a vehicle, I need to speak to the driver.”

Andrews noted she had made an arrest on a served warrant last week and she continues to deal with suspicious circumstances. Andrews further noted she has a district court date coming up for a scheduled hearing. She also explained she was continuing to work with the department of family services and probation on multiple cases. 

Next the council moved on to a report from maintenance supervisor, Logan Dailey, in absence of Anna Barnes, town attorney. 

“We had our water sample on Monday. It came back with positive for coliform so we went and we retested and we had two other sites test positive,” Dailey said. “I’ve been working with the EPA. They had us chlorinate today so we went and chlorinated. We conducted a level one assessment, which means we went through all of the wells and the storage tanks and inspected everything. Everything looked fine. All of the wells tested fine and the two locations that had positive results were residences. We’re assuming it was something with the faucet itself, which is common.”

Dailey noted there have been no violations occurred by the town.

“We went through all the process with the EPA. So, we are moving forward with that,” Dailey said. “You may smell or taste a little chlorine in your water. We have been chlorinating. We’ll chlorinate again in about two weeks and that should resolve whatever is going through there. But we’ve got that all resolved now.”

Dailey noted although Benchmark had signed off on the landfill, a low spot had been found which Dailey stated would take two scoops of dirt to fix. Dailey is waiting on the topography before completing the project.

“The senior center, they had a tile come down on the inside because the roof is leaking,” Dailey reported. “We found where the leak was coming from and we patched that up and took care of it.” 

Dailey noted the roof would need replaced and he would be reaching out to figure out whose responsibility it would be. 

“The only other thing I have is Anna (Barnes) sent the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Wyrulec and she was waiting for the town’s approval on it and then she will take it to Wyrulec after that,” Dailey explained.

The council members had received a copy of the MOU and Dailey expressed he had read over the document as well. 

“I read through it earlier. It’s a Boilerplate MOU so there’s nothing crazy. It’s just establishing the boundary, so I think if that’s everything unless you guys have questions,” Dailey said. 

Wilhelm asked Dailey if the senior center roof issue was something that insurance would help with to which Dailey explained the damage was caused due to the old age of the roof and the town would not be able to use an insurance claim for the project. Dailey further explained the council needed to approve the MOU Barnes had drafted during their meeting so it could be delivered to Wyrulec. 

“She asked for us to review it tonight and let her know if you thought of changes or questions so she can send it to Wyrulec,” Lambert said. 

Foster noted he saw a spelling error and relayed the correction to Barnes. The board was under consensus to approve the MOU.

Kasey Bangerter, Lingle Volunteer Fire Department Chief, reported the department had three ambulance calls and two fire calls.

“The only other thing we really got is April 12th, we’re having our Easter egg hunt. In years past, the town has donated a little bit to help with the Easter egg hunt,” Bangerter said. “I don’t know if donation stuff has changed. I don’t know if you guys can still do that or not.”

The council had a brief discussion on how to donate to the fire department without using their now taxpayer money before a motion was made to donate $250 to the department to help with hunt. The motion was then seconded and carried by vote.

Bangerter also noted the department is still waiting on their heaters although work is slowly progressing. With no further questions or comments for Bangerter, the council moved on to the clerk/treasurer report from Ritch Reyes. 

Reyes reported the landfill project had been approved by Benchmark and the summer applications are due to the town by March 14. With nothing further for Reyes to report, the council moved on to unfinished business where they revisited making a donation to the Wee Pals Bingo fundraiser. 

Jerome indicated to the council he had taken the time to research the school and although they seemed to be great, Jerome discovered the school does not operate on a subsidized rate.

“I’m feeling a little uncomfortable donating to them knowing that the less served are not able to go there at any subsidized rate,” Jerome said. 

Council members were in agreeance since all children couldn’t attend the school, the town would not be donating and the council moved on to new business. 

“We are hiring our 2025 pool manager and assistant pool manager Emily Cottrell and Brandie McCoid. We had interviews last Wednesday with them and we’re going to retain them,” Foster said.

Wilhelm made a motion to accept Cottrell and McCoid as pool manager and assistant pool manager which was seconded by Jerome. The motion carried. 

Jerome indicated he would not be at the next council meeting and nothing further to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 6:17 p.m. to reconvene on Wednesday, March 19 at 6 p.m.