The Stevensville Town Council covered several agenda items during their Thursday meeting, including electricity fees, fundraisers, a school technology levy and the return of book walks.
Waiver of electricity fees For Stevi Farmers Market
The Stevensville Town Council approved a waiver to lift the $20 per day electricity fee for the Harvest Valley Farmers Market, allowing them to meter their own electricity usage. After compiling the amount of electricity used per day, the market will reimburse the town. The market will need to have their own meter before the first market day to have the daily fee waived.
Market Manager Stacie Barker said the estimated $400 saved in electricity fees will be used as a donation to an organization in the community. Barker says she is glad the current town council is willing to work with the farmers market this year.
Chili cook-off to help fund Stevensville Police Department
The Stevensville Police Department is holding their Fourth Annual Chili cook-off from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 21. The entry fee includes chili, a side and a soft drink. The cook-off will be at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints off Middle Burnt Fork Road in Stevensville.
Proceeds will go towards new equipment, and reimbursement to the town council for new tasers the department has received.
Last year the chili cook-off helped raise around $10,000 according to Police Chief John Boe, and they hope to raise that much again if not more and after they finish paying for the tasers. Boe hopes they can put the remaining money into new Toughbook computers in their patrol vehicles.
Boe said it looks like this year will be the biggest and best year for the chili cook-off they have had. The community support for this year has been huge, according to Boe, and there are people from Darby all the way through the Bitterroot Valley and into Missoula committed to the event.
There are 19 cook-off contestants so far. Those who wish to participate can pick up a form the Stevensville Town Hall during normal business hours. There will be cash prizes for the top three winners of the cook-off.
Stevensville School technology levy
Superintendent for Stevensville Schools Jon Konen spoke to the Stevensville Town Council regarding the technology levy on the upcoming May ballot.
In a presentation, Konen told a story describing a typical day in a school and then asked council members to list the pieces of technology mentioned in the story.
The technology included:
- Bus route software
- A program for hiring and recruiting teachers, managing substitutes and taking attendance
- A curriculum program
- An assessment program
- Payroll and absence tracker software
- Student Chromebooks
- Staff laptops
- Grading software
- Digital classroom boards
- And more
About half of these expenses were covered by a previous technology levy, but the other half came from general fund dollars, Konen said.
Ten years ago, the levy asked for $75,000 to pay for technology, and Konen says it is now costing upwards of half a million dollars to run the Stevensville School District with 11,000 kids.
Konen gave some examples of the estimated cost if the levy passes, stating a $300,000 home in the elementary district would see around $1.48 per month increase.
Book walks to return to Lewis and Clark Park
The Stevensville Town Council gave approval to the North Valley Public Library in Stevensville to create book walks in Lewis and Clark Park. The library will create around 12 book stations with laminates pages from books for park visitors to read and enjoy.
Books will vary and be rotated out every few weeks to prevent sun damage to the pages, to give visitors variety, and a reason for families to keep coming back and reading.
