Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 07.01.2023July 1, 2023 A special meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Dave Waggoner at 6:00 pm on July 1, 2023. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: OTHER STAFF PRESENT: Emelie Eaton Michelle Mize Casey Wheeler Richard Klose Richard Herr Jodi Mackay Heidi Sparks Iry Wilke JW Hopper, Fire Chief Mayor Waggoner led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. lui1►1 011► • e CORRESPONDENCE: None. COUNCIL DISCLOSURE OF EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS: None. PUBLIC HEARING: None. CONSENT ITEMS: None. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION (THREE-MINUTE LIMIT): None. Resolution No. R23-44: A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Mayor To Execute A Short Term Lease (of Undetermined Duration) of Riverside Park for Staging Area. Motion by Council Member Klose to approve Resolution No. R23-44, seconded by Council Member Eaton. There was no public comment. Council questioned if all monies collected from this lease be used in the Park only. It was clarified that this would go into the General Fund under Parks, just like the Exxon money was earmarked for the Park only. Motion by Council Member Klose to take a three-minute recess, seconded by Council Member Mackay. A vote was taken on the motion. All six council members present voted aye. Motion carried 6-0. Motion by Council Member Klose to adjourn the recess, reconvene, and call the meeting to order, seconded by Council Member Mackay. A vote was taken on the motion. All six council members present voted aye. Motion carried 6-0. Council questioned if any July 4" campers would be displaced. It was clarified that this lease does not affect the campground. They would be occupying the old campground that is not open for camping. The power is back on in Riverside Park. They will be using the power and paying the entire bill. The boat landing will also remain open. They will hire people with jet boats and plan to have them gone by 6:00 am or 7:00 am each morning. They will come back for lunch and drop off anything they have collected. Those bins are sealed and double -layered to protect against any contamination. Council Minutes of July 1, 2023 They will be back out until 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm. All boats and trailers will be kept within the contained area. They will also be hiring a security guard to monitor the location. All emergency services know that this will be in the area if they receive any calls. There is debris going down the river. We haven't seen anything because our intake is at the bottom of the river. Council questioned if the boat operators know where the intakes are so they do not hit them. It was clarified that they are identifying where both of ours are so they do not strike them. Fire Chief Hopper questioned if there was an emergency contact list in case of a boating accident. It was clarified that Mayor Waggoner would get a list of emergency contacts for Department Heads. Council questioned if the Emergency Services Department Heads were comfortable with this lease. It was clarified that Chief Langve was out of the office yesterday, but the Mayor did not anticipate any issues. Director Gurchiek did not foresee any issues. Fire Chief Hopper did not see any issues once they knew who to contact during an emergency. Council questioned how long they could expect this closure. It was clarified that they anticipate up to 90 days. Mayor Waggoner clarified that they are also talking about paying $500/day for jet boats and operators. They will put someone in there to do the dipping. The Mayor did speak with the City Attorney, and it is perfectly fine to contract out that boat. Council would need to approve the use of the jet boat. Fire Chief Hopper noted that the Fire Department has Public Works Director Wheeler drive the jet boat when needed and didn't see an issue with contracting out the boat. It was clarified that is not the main issue for tonight's meeting, just the staging area. Council questioned if there are any provisions if, while moving heavy equipment, the road gets torn up or a tree is damaged, etc. Mayor stated that he did not anticipate lots of heavy machinery to be brought in. It will mainly be boats and containers for the debris collected. A member of the public noted they were appreciative that the City was willing to help the railroad out but also that the City would be receiving compensation. The member of the public did not identify their name/address. They approved of the money collected being used in the parks. It was clarified that MRL would pay $500/day, MRL would have fenced -in the area that they would be using and that MRL would monitor security for the area in use. 6-0. A vote was taken on the motion. All six council members present voted aye. Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA: None. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS (ONE -MINUTE LIMIT): Council Member Klose thanked all who came out to put flags in the Park. He received a call from Hometown Troops asking to leave them up over the 4t" of July. They will be removed next Thursday. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: None. MAYOR UPDATES: None. UNSCHEDULED MATTERS: None. Motion by Council Member Mize to adjourn the council meeting, seconded by Council Member Eaton. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All six council members present voted aye. Motion carried 6-0. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 6:25 pm. Council Minutes of July 1, 2023 Brittne' Moor an, Council Administrative Assistant Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 25 day of July 202' ). 0 Dave Waggoner, May r Z:� Attest: fe-XI"trec' Clerk/Treasurer � 81