Aug. 7—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown City Council unanimously approved on Monday, Aug. 7, the annexation of land adjacent to city limit boundaries in Bloom Township for an expansion of the city's inert landfill.

The Auditor's Lot 5-5 in Bloom Township was annexed into city limits.

Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said the city of Jamestown had purchased the property at some time but it did not get annexed into city limits.

Tom Blackmore, zoning administrator, said at the Jamestown Finance Legal Committee meeting on July 25 that the sanitation and solid waste department has been looking to expand the city's landfill into the Auditor's Lot.

In September 2022, a drone survey conducted on the inert landfill in Jamestown found that it doesn't have much space left for storage of waste, The Jamestown Sun reported.

In other business, the City Council also unanimously approved a monetary incentive for any city employee who assists in the recruitment of a new full-time employee upon hiring. The program will be implemented immediately.

The city will provide a monetary incentive of $250 to any full-time employee who refers an application who is hired as a full-time employee. The $250 will be paid from the department of the referring employee and must be paid within two months of the date when the new employee is hired, according to a draft of the program's policy.

The program has no cap on the number of referrals or financial rewards one employee can receive. Employees are still eligible for financial rewards even if a candidate is hired later if the program is still active.

All full-time employees are eligible to receive a monetary incentive except for the deputy auditor, city administrator and any City Council members.

The City Council also unanimously approved an ordinance for fire protection within city limits for areas serviced by other entities and to address access and regulation of hydrants.

The city of Jamestown needed the ordinance to help deal with further expansion in the city in areas that are not served by the city water utility, Heinrich said at the City Council meeting in July when the first reading of the ordinance was read. The ordinance addresses how the cost of city water lines for fire protection will be assessed to property owners in new areas served by Stutsman Rural Water District.

At the time, Heinrich said there are areas now that are or will be within Jamestown city limits that are not served by the city water utility. He said some areas will be served by Stutsman Rural Water District.