At the Ronan City Council meeting last week, Police Chief Robert Jacobson asked the council to consider an option to extend officer vacation time past the “use it or lose” deadline on March 31, 2026, or have an option to pay it out.

Jacobson said the force is shorthanded and the officers accrue comp time, which needs to be used before vacation time. The motion passed.

The council also passed a motion to extend the city clerk/treasurer’s deadline to allow her to use vacation time from March 31 to May 31.

Mayor Ryan Corum asked council members to consider authorizing payment to the City Clerk/Treasurer Kaylene Melton for 14.73 hours of overtime and subsequent hours overtime accrued up to July 1, 2026. He said the clerk/treasurer has maxed out her comp time.

Corum said Melton prefers to work on more complicated projects when no one is in the office because there are fewer interruptions. Discussion centered around taking time off during the week to compensate for the hours Melton works late or on weekends.

A motion was made and approved.

Mission West Community Development Partners asked the council to give Mayor Corum permission to sign a letter of support on the city’s behalf for Mission West’s application to the Montana Department of Commerce for the Tourism Asset Grant Program.

If approved, the grant will allow MWCD to start construction on Spring Creek Kitchen and Market and other downtown improvements.

The organization’s community development coordinator, Brittany Simonich, invited council members and the mayor to visit with the Montana Main Street Program coordinator on April 1 in Mission West’s large conference room,

Mission West will be taking over Montana Main Street grant and project management from the all-volunteer Ronan Revitalization Committee. Simonich explained that this step will allow Mission West to dig in and apply for more grants to continue revitalizing Main Street.

Simonich also encouraged Ronan businesses to attend lunch, catered by the Pheasant, on April 1 and take a walk from Main down Fourth Ave. and then stroll to the Lake County Fairgrounds to see progress in both areas.

Council person Lindsay Myers had added City Ordinance 1-3-21 to the agenda, which pertains to the powers of the council. She specifically asked that the council consider clarifying section A, which reads that the City Council has the power to “determine the rules of the proceedings and punish its members for improper conduct.”

Myers also asked the mayor about insights he had gleaned from a recent conference on mayoral and council duties that he attended, including that – while council members can always request information – they may not give city employees orders, which doesn’t fall under the council’s job description or jurisdiction.

“Basically, I’m trying to wrap my head around the changes you’re making so we’re more legal … so it’s more descriptive of what we should and shouldn’t be doing,” Myers told the mayor.

In other business, the council approved the following open container permits, with one dissenting vote for each: 

• Ronan Chamber of Commerce for Ag Appreciation Day to be held 5-10 p.m. April 10 at the community center. Chamber representative Justine Walker said that the bar is open for an hour before dinner and then closes as dinner is served. 

• Ronan Chamber of Commerce for its annual Brewfest to be held from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 20 at the community center.

• Ronan Co-op Brewery for a street closure as well as an application for an open container permit. The occasion is the annual member’s meeting to be held 2-9 p.m. Saturday, April 18. Street closure would be from Main Street to the alley just past the brewery on Fourth Ave.

The next meeting will be April 8.