BELLE FOURCHE—The Belle Fourche City Council held its second regular meeting of the month on Monday, February 17.
During the Mayor’s Report, City Administrator LaFayette provided additional context for Consent Agenda Item 1, explaining that the annexation had been approved by Planning and Zoning on December 2, 2020, and by the City Council on December 7, 2020; but the final resolution needed to officially record the annexation was inadvertently never prepared.
The oversight was discovered when the property owner later applied for permits and the property was still listed as county land, and legal counsel confirmed the only remaining step was to finalize the resolution since ownership had not changed and prior approvals were in place.
He noted the matter was a housekeeping issue related to COVID-era disruptions, apologized for missing documentation in the packet, and committed to including full historical materials in future Council agendas.
There was no community input at this meeting.
A motion was made to approve the purchase of Stellar ScaleTech from Stellar Programming & Consulting in the amount of $36,500. Councilperson Steeves asked how much income the landfill is losing with the current software.
Landfill Superintendent Gallagher explained it is not losing direct revenue but is losing significant staff time correcting billing and data entry errors, while also lacking detailed reporting and Wyoming waste tracking.
He stated the proposed Stellar system would improve reporting, out-of-state tracking, and allow potential surcharges.
Gallagher added the software would be funded by reducing spending in the Disposal/Recycling, Landfill Cover Dirt, and Gravel/Asphalt budget lines, and Patty McKenzie noted minor program adjustments may be covered under monthly technical support while larger changes could involve a small cost. The motion carried.
City Administrator LaFayette said he emailed council members for topic ideas for the upcoming District 10 meetings so organizers can focus on district-specific issues. He asked members to respond so two topics can be selected and submitted, preferably by Friday even though the deadline is next Monday. He noted that one council member has already provided suggestions.
Councilperson Sowers stated he drove by the landfill to check for blowing trash and emphasized that any amount of litter is unacceptable, but noted the site looked much improved after City crews worked to clean it up.
City Engineer Hardy informed the Council that construction of the Hat Ranch well house has begun.
The next City Council meeting will be March 2 at 6 p.m.
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