Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 03.21.2000 MINIITES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF LAURI ,L March 21, 2000 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Chuck Rodgers at 7:00 p.m. on March 21, 2000. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Lauren Van Roekel Gay Easton Bill Staudinger Ken Olson Gary Temple Mark Mace Norman Orr Bud Johnson Mayor Rodgers asked the council to observe a moment of silence in behalf of the family of Miranda Fenner. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Easton to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 7, 2000, as presented, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 7-0. CORRESPONDENCE: March 2000 Newsline: Montana Department of Transportation Planning Division. Air Pollution Control Board: March 14, 2000. Laurel Revitalization League: paint the underpass. CONSENT ITEMS: Minutes of February 8, 2000 meeting and Agenda for Letter of March 16, 2000 requesting permission to a. Clerk/Treasurer Financial Statements for the month of February 2000. b. Receiving the Committee Reports into the Record. --Budget/Finance Contmittee minutes &February 23, 2000 were presented. --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of March 6, 2000 were presented. --City Council CQmmittee of the Whole minutes of March 7, 2000 were presented. --Public Works Committee minutes of March 13, 2000 were presented. --Ambulance Task Force minutes of February 21, 2000 were presented. --Emergency Services Committee minutes of February 28, 2000 were presented. c. Resolutions. 1) Resolution No. R00-5: Resolution closing the Detention Center at the City of Laurel Police Department. RESOLUTION NO. R00-5 RESOLUTION CLOSING THE DETENTION CENTER AT THE CITY OF LAUREL POLICE DEPARTMENT. 2) Resolution No. R00-6: Resolution accepting the Lease-Purchase Agreement Lease No. 63685 with Ford Motor Credit Company and authorizing the Mayor to sign said agreement. Council Minutes of March 21, 2000 RESOLUTION NO. R00-6 A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE LEASE-PURCHASE AGREEMENT LEASE NO. 63685 WITH FORD MOTOR CREDIT COMPANY AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN SA1D AGREEMENT. The mayor asked if there was any separation of consent items. There was none. Motion by Alderman Johnson to approve the consent items as presented, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7-0. SCHEDULED MATTERS: a. Confirmation of Appointments. Ambulance Attendant: Mayor Rodgers appointed James Brown as an Ambulance Attendant. Motion by Alderman Johnson to confirm the appointment of James Brown as an Ambulance Attendant, seconded by Alderman Van Roekel. Motion carried 7-0. Laurel Volunteer Fire Denartment Officers for 2000-2001: Mayor Rodgers appointed the following Laurel Volunteer Fire Department Officers for 2000-2001: James Stevens as Fire Chief; Terry Ruff as 1st Assistant Chief; Steve Wegner as 2"d Assistant Chief; Rob Harris as 3ra Assistant Chief; Matt Hoppel as Training Officer; Gary Colley as Fire Marshall; Todd Linder as Fire Prevention Officer; Scott Wilm as Safety Officer. Motion by Aideman Easton to confirm the appointments of the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department Officers for 1999-2000, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7-0. b. Debbie Ricci: Report on trip to Virginia - Western Heritage Center. Debbie Ricci thanked the council for allowing her to participate in this educational trip. Yellowstone Heritage Partnership has been given a directive to start building links for revitalization for the small communities in the area. Arts and heritage arts are a way to begin, so the Yellowstone Heritage Partnership decided to take a field trip to observe it being done in other areas. A group of six individuals went to Asheville, Noah Carolina, to meet with representatives of Handmade In America. The goal of the Western Heritage Center is to model a directory of heritage artists in the Yellowstone River drainage area aecer the Handmade In America program. This directory would include heritage artists such as saddle makers, metal workers, and weavers. The Handmade In America program is based on partnering with communities in their revitalization efforts and with government entities. The program does not cost the artists anything, but it does require the artists to be open two days a week with regular hours and to have an outdoor access available if they work out of a home studio. Handmade In America's goal is to establish a new legitimate economic base in the area. Western Heritage Center chose to focus on communities, including Laurel, that follow the Yellowstone River and to do a directory of artists in the Yellowstone River drainage area. The benefit to us as a community is that it will allow us to become involved in a program that will offer some economic development that will attract people to our community. The next step is to inventory the artists in our area and start working on the directory. The directory will be funded through grants and family foundations, will not be a cost to the community, and will take two to three years to complete. The workshop presented ideas on how partnering and networking between the Laurel Revitalization League, the City of Laurel, and the various educational facilities could provide avenues of development. Debbie stated that Handmade In America is an excellent model to follow. They are very successful with their projects, and they do everything without putting any burden on the Council Minutes of March 21, 2000 community or the artists. Debbie emphasized that involvement in this project would give us an opportunity that has not been available in the past. The group also visited Tamarack, a rest area that was developed by and is presently funded by the State of Virginia. Tamarack has a theatre and live studios with various artists and only West Virginia arts and crafts are sold there. Debbie again thanked the council for the opportunity to attend. Mayor Rodgers thanked Debbie for her presentation. Ordinance No. 000-2: Ordinance amending the requirements for Home Occupations. First reading. ORDINANCE NO. 000-2 ORDINANCE AMENDING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR HOME OCCUPATIONS. Motion by Alderman Johnson to approve Ordinance No. 000-2, seconded by Alderman Orr. A roll call vote was taken on the motion to approve Ordinance No. 000-2. All seven aldermen present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. The public hearing and second reading for Ordinance No. 000-2 will be held at the council meeting on April 18, 2000. Laurel Revitalization League requests permission to paint the underpass on Saturday, April 29th, in conjunction with Bright and Beautiful Week. Motion by Alderman Temple to approve the request by the Laurel Revitalization League to paint the underpass on Saturday, April 29th, in conjunction with Bright and Beautiful Week, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Alderman Temple mentioned that Dean Rankin is trying to get ACE Hardware to donate the paint for this project. Mayor Rodgers questioned the lighting requirements of the project. Debbie Ricci explained that Montana Rail Link is responsible for the lighting, which will have to be totally replaced. The Laurel Fire Department will be cleaning the underpass, using the opportunity as a training session. Mayor Rodgers stated that the various aspects of this project would be coordinated through the Public Works Department. A vote was taken on the motion to approve the request. Motion carried 7-0. UNSCHEDULED MATTERS: Alderman Johnson recently attended the Planning Review Committee meeting for Yellowstone County and the City of Billings. A draft Interlocal Agreement should be available soon, and he will distribute it when it is available. He indicated that it would not be advantageous for the City of Laurel to join in the planning effort at this time. The concept of regional planning is probably beginning to evolve, but the county and the City of Billings are presently trying to determine their bounds. The prioritization process that is being set up would not likely consider any concerns offered by the City of Laurel. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 7:41 Cindy ie~/Secretary Council Minutes of March 21, 2000 Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 4th day of April, 2000. Attest: Ma~y K. F~t;let{~n, ~lerk-Treasurer 4