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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 07.06.1999 MINI]TES OF TIlE CITY COIINCIL OF i klJR! L July 6, 1999 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 July 6, 1999. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Dirk Kroll Ken Olson Gay Easton Bill Staudinger COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None Gary Temple Miles Walton 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 Kroll to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of June 15, 1999, as presented, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried 8-0. CORRESPONDENCE: a. Letter from Laurel Chamber of Commerce regarding parade on July 4, 1999. b. Laurel Revitalization League minutes of meeting on Jane 10, 1999. c, Memo from Larry McCann: copy of a letter from Margaret Frank expressing appreciation for the crew's work. CONSENT ITEMS: a. Claims for the month of June in the amount of $794,423.11. b. Committee Reports. --Budgel/Finance Committee minutes of June 14, 1999 were presented. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of June 15, 1999 were presented. --Insurance Committee minutes of June 17, 1999 were presented. --Emergencv Services Committee minutes of June 21, 1999 were presented. --Insurance Committee minutes of June 29, 1999 were presented. c. ResoLutions. 1) Resolution No. R99-25: A resolution accepting the Transportation and Community and System Preservation (TCSP) Grant Award and authorizing the Mayor to sign any and all documents associated with said grant. RESOLUTION NO. R99-25 A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNITY AND SYSTEM PRESERVATION (TCSP) GRANT AWARD AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID GRANT. 2) Resolution No. R99-26: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an agreement with the Montana Department of Transportation for street cleaning on the primary road system in Laurel. Council Minutes of July 6, 1999 RESOLUTION NO. R99-26 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AN AGREEMENT WITH THE MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR STREET CLEANING ON THE PRIMARY ROAD SYSTEM IN LAUREL. 3) Resolution No. R99-27: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign the union contract on behalf of the City of Laurel. RESOLUTION NO. R99~27 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE UNION CONTRACT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF LAUREL. 4) Resolution No. R99-28: A resolution adopting a wage increase for non-union employees of the City of Laurel. RESOLUTION NO. R99-28 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A WAGE INCREASE FOR NON-UNION EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF LAUREL. The mayor asked if there was any separation of consent items. There was none. Motion by Alderman Kroll to approve the consent items as presented, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8-0. SCHEDULED MATTERS: a. Confirmation of Appointments. Library Board: Mayor Rodgers appointed Gall Brice to the Library Board for a five-year term expiring June 30, 2004. Motion by Alderman Kroll to confirm the appointment of Gall Brice to the Library Board for a five-year term expiring June 30, 2004, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 8-0. Cit~-County Planning, Board: Mayor Rodgers appointed Kate Stevenson to the City-County Planning Board for a two-year ten~ expiring June 30, 2001. Motion by Alderman Johnson to confirm the appointment of Kate Stevenson to the City- County Planning Board for a two-year term expiring June 30, 2001, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8-0. Laurel Airl}ort Authority: Mayor Rodgets re-appointed Bob Wcsten~ to the Laurel Airport Authority for a ~ve-year term expiring June 30, 2004. Motion by Alderman Walton to confirm the appointment of Bob Western to the Laurel Airport Authority for a five-year term expiring June 30, 2004, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 8-0, Board of Adiustment: Mayor Rodgets re-appointed Bruce Teeters to the Board of Adjustment for a three-year term expiring June 30, 2002. Council Minutes ofhly 6, 1999 Motion bv Alderman Johnson to confirm the appointment of Bruce Teeters to the Board of Adjustment for a three-year term expiring June 30, 2002, seconded by Alderman Olson. Motion carried 8-0. Mayor Rodgers mentioned that two people are still needed for the Cemetery Board and an engineer or architect is needed for the Board of Appeals. Request by Laurel Youth Soccer Club to use Murray Field for a soccer camp on July 12-18, 1999. Larry McCann explained that this was on the agenda because the Public Works Committee meeting is not scheduled until July 12th and permission needed to be given before that date. Motion by Alderman Johnson to approve the Laurel Youth Soccer Club's request to use Murray Field for a soccer camp on July 12-18, 1999, seconded by Alderman Olson. Motion carried 8-0. c. Public Works Management Report: Ken Haag. Mr. Ken Haag, Haag Consulting, distributed a letter and a Public Works Department Management Review to the council. Mr. Haag introduced himself to the council and gave a summary of his work experience. The Public Works Department Management Review was conducted during an interview with Larry McCann on June 22, 1999. The detailed report he distributed contained several suggestions for intemal steps that the director could use to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Mr. Haag's presentation focused on the steps that the mayor and council could take to assure clear direction for the Public Works Director. Mr. Haag complimented the council on having a workshop with Dr. Ken Weaver, and he urged them to continue to implement the results of the workshop. He mentioned that clarification of the roles of the mayor and council in directing the staff would have major benefits in the future. Simplifying the structm'e of the committees provides more time for important activities for the staff. Mr. Haag recommended creating a task force rather than a committee for a single defined purpose, thereby simplifying the committee structure. A task force should be disbanded when its purpose is accomplished. The need for good communication between departments was stressed. Ken Haag emphasized the need to use a program budget, a three to five year budget, and a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). These tools allow the best possible decisions to be made for the city and are also valuable to distinguish what needs to be accomplished. The program budget includes narrative describing each service and project that is approved, and it allows the council to set the level of service expected for each function. By extending this to a three to five year budget, better determination can be made of the impact of the decisions. The CIP allows a comprehensive review of all of the capital needs of the city. The report makes reference to some important policy issues. Does the council wish to have new development pay for itself or do they want to subsidize the development? Does the council want each enterprise service to be self-sustaining or do they want to use general fund moneys to support the service? Does the present level of service meet the community needs or should they be raised or lowered? Do the present water, wastewater and solid waste charges generate enough money to cover capital replacement, new regulations, as well as daily operating expenses? Should a Cemetery District be formed to spread the cost of this service to those that are benefiting from the service? Should a stormwater utility be considered to meet the new stormwater regulations? The Public Works Standards is a document that is being produced by Morrison-Maierle as a joint project with three other communities. The standards will provide an essential tool for controlling what is happening to the infrastructure in the city. Mr. Haag urged the council to adopt the Standards document as soon as possible. He suggested that this be done by resolution that would allow the department to update the document through a public notice process rather than by council action. He explained that the adoption of the Public Works Standards is very important. He suggested that the council consider including an appeal process if they are uncomfortable with the Council Minutes of July 6, 1999 full adoption. That would allow the standards to take effect, and it would require the council to only deal with the problem areas of the document. Mr. Haag emphasized the need to use the Qualification Based Selection process for selection of professional service providers. The city sends out a request for proposal (RFP), which defines what the city wants to have accomplished. A committee would review the proposals received, interview a small number of firms, and determine which person or firm would best fill a particular job. Ideas obtained throughout the review process could be included in the negotiation process for the final contract. Using the QBS process insures that long-term providers of professional services are more aware of what the city expects from their contract. Mr. Haag stated that a street preventive maintenm~ce program needs to be addressed if the city would ever reverse the downward trend on city street conditions. Two other important issues are the location of the personnel files and the reluctance of the police dispatchers to monitor the Public Works Department radio. He said that both could present some major liability issues, but each could be easily fixed. Mr. Haag recommended some changes in personnel management, particularly the salary compression issue. This compression happens when the persons being supervised are making as much or more than the person who is responsible for the supervision. The supervisory overtime issue and the salary of the supervisory staffs, including department heads, need to be addressed. The present employee evaluation system uses a numerical form, and he said that the department heads should be given the authority to change these forms for better evaluation. Mr. Haag invited the council to call him with any questions regarding the review. Mayor Rodgers thanked him for his work and the presentation. d. Report on Water Project: Jason Rittal, Double-Tree. Jason Rittal distributed a report on the Phase II water system project. The Phase II water system improvements project, which included the line replacement and water treatment portions, had $5,250,000 available to be expended. Currently, the project has paid $4,326,728 in expenses. Additional claims of $110,000 are expected to be received. If the estimated remaining $110,000 is combined with the amount previously expended, the total Phase II project would be $4,436,748, leaving $813,252 in allocated loan funds. The funds have been drawn through both Intercap and the State Revolving Fund. The initial three draw requests were from Intemap and it was then paid off by the State Revolving Fund. SRF has received nine requests for funds and one more request is anticipated. Not including the June billing, the year-to-date revenue on the system is $1,331,193. With estimated June revenue of $110,000, the total revenue on the system would be $1,441,193. The estimated amount of revenue for the system was $1,438,389. The rate structure was designed to cover operation and maintenance, depreciation, future capital improvements, and debt service on the project. Since then, the project was phased and the funding came in higher than originally anticipated. Operation and maintenance costs were estimated to be $769,391, but this year's actual operation and maintenance costs will be about $50,000 higher. This increase will cut into the capital outlay and funded depreciation figures. The estimated debt service of Phase I, the tanks, was about $84,000. Debt service on Phase II was estimated to be $383,835. Using estimated June revenue and expenditures figures, the actual debt service of Phase II would be $325,000. If the city decides to use the approximately $800,000 remaining in approved loan funds, the actual debt service would be $383,835. Anna Miller of SRF has indicated that the program would allow three to six months for the City of Laurel to decide on the use of the additional Ioan funds. Jason noted that the revenue projections for the system have held steady for the first two years since implementation of the rate increase. He also mentioned that the funds from SRF are committed to the City of Laurel and the idea of expanding the project has been well received. These funds could be used for the critical situation at the intake pier. The additional time that SRF is allowing for a decision of the use of the additional funds would allow for two considerations. First, it would allow the city to receive construction estimates, and, secondly, it would allow the actual full-year ~4 Council Minutes of July 6, 1999 expenditures to be available. If the city wants to fund the intake internally or through separate means, Jason recommended that the SRF be closed. In order for the fumed depreciation to be increased, Jason explained that the rate structure might need to be reanalyzed if the additional available SRF money is used. The last rate structure increase was about three years ago. During the project, there was one incidence of trouble with labor standards. The state was notified, but they did not get involved. The state asked Double-Tree to work with the contractor to correct the errors, and that was eventually accomplished. Jason would like to roturn to a council meeting after a decision is made regarding the intake situation and after the actual expenditures are complete for the last year. Larry McCann mentioned that the Corp of Engineers should be available in September. Mayor Rodgers thanked Jason Rittal for his presentation. d. Decision on whether the city wants to allow more applicants for the rehabilitation program or if the remaining funds are to be for demolition. Mary Embleton has received requests for the rehabilitation program. There is still about $26,000 available, but Double-Tree is no longer involved in the administration of the program. That responsibility now falls on the Clerk-Treasurer's office. Mary asked for direction from the council regarding using the remaining funds for more projects or for demolition purposes. Larry McCann stated that the rehabilitation program has averaged about $14,000 per home. There are requests for more assistance, but there is also a dire need for a demolition fund. Even setting aside part of the available money for a demolition fund would be helpful. Larry emphasized that some structures are beyond rehabilitation and need to be demolished. This would allow for new construction on those lots and visible improvements throughout the city. Motion by Alderman Johnson to give the staff direction to develop a specific proposal and recommendation for the remaining rehabilitation program funds, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried 8-0. e. Report to council from committee for sexually oriented business ordinance. Joe Leckie reported that the committee reviewed the need for an ordinance for sexually oriented businesses. One of the factors involved is that the council could not eliminate sexually oriented businesses but could control such businesses. The most effective way to control these businesses is through the zoning ordinance. The use of an ordinance has withstood constitutional scrutiny and has shown greater success in controlling these businesses. The committee realized that there is not presently an apparent problem in the City of Laurel, but that is no reason to do nothing about it at this time. This would be the appropriate time to put an ordinance into eft~ct so that any future problems could be controlled from the beginning. The committee looked at several aspects. In order to have an ordinance that is constitutional, appropriate studies and mapping need to be done through a significant time and development process. The ordinance would have to allow these businesses, but only in controlled circumstances. The ordinance would require that distance be mainutined from schools, parks, churches, residential areas, and other areas in which isolation from segments of society needs to be controlled. This can be done appropriately through the zoning ordinance. Joe explained that the committee considered the value of the assistance of the American Family Association in terms of drafting the ordinance. The first motion on the agenda was a motion to draft a sexually oriented business ordinance. If the council decided to do so, the second motion would address whether they wanted to retain the American Family Association to assist in the drafting of that ordinance. A community group has raised the necessary $1,000 in funds to retain the American Family Association to assist in the drafting of the ordinance. The community group decided that whether or not they will contribute the funds for that purpose would be based on the council's actions regarding ~ 5 Council Minutes of July 6, 1999 this ordinance. Joe explained that the council's actions could not be dependent upon the contribution of the community group. The committee agreed that there is a need for this ordinance and recommends that the council requests that the ordinance be drafted. The committee discussed the possibility of the American Family Association's assistance in drafting the ordinance. American Family Association's assistance includes the initial research and surveying, drafting of the zoning map to make sure there are appropriate areas that qualify, and assistm~ce in discussing relative distances from activities and areas where the businesses should not be located. American Family Association has certain minimum requirements in their ordinances, but they would work with us to prepare a custom-made ordinance specifically for the City of Laurel. They require some degree of discretion over the contents of the ordinance because they also commit to defend us if the ordinance is challenged. They would not assist in the drafting of an ordinance that is not defendable in court. Since the ordinance would be customized for the City of Laurel, the committee recommended that the city should retain the American Family Association for purposes of drafting the ordinance. Alderman Walton asked if the minimum requirements are livable and Joe Leckie said that they are livable. Joe explained that a defendable ordinance must have a zoning map specifying zoning areas in which the business could be located. It could not be defined in such a way that no area in the City of Laurel zoning area could be used for this purpose. The available zoning might not be in the most visible or most economically viable areas. The American Family Association would assist with surveys and background intbrmation to be presented to the council so that the ordinance would be adopted on the basis of the health, welfare and safety of the people of Laurel. Cat Cumin explained that the committee discussed having the AFA review the Billings ordinance, which has not been challenged, and the Livingston ordinance. Cal said that this zoning has to come out of the Planning Board, which has been directed by the council to coordinate its drafting and revising of ordinances to make them as compatible as possible with the Unified Zoning Code of Billings and Yellowstone County. Part of the committee's discussion was that the expertise offered by the AFA would provide an appropriate critique of those two ordinances, and the drafting of our ordinance would restfit from that critique. f. Motion to draft sexually oriented business ordinance. Motion by Alderman Temple to draft a sexually oriented business ordinance for the City of Laurel, seconded by Aldem~an Johnson. Alderman Temple stated that it is not a right-wing religious group asking for this ordinance, but it is a vast cross-section of the community that wants roger involved with the American Family Association. The $1,000 raised to reimburse the expenses was not from one particular interest. The AFA got involved after Gary contacted a City Commissioner from Livingston who recommended starting the process with assistance from the American Family Association. Alderman Temple asked Mayor Rodgers if public comments would be allowed. The mayor said that this was not a public hearing and the item was only for council action. Alderman Walton stated that it was nice to see some action rather than a reaction to something that has come in. He said that it was nice to see the council step forward before something does happen. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8-0. Motion to retain American Family Association to assist in drafting the sexually oriented business ordinance. Motion by Alderman Temple to retain American Family Association to assist in the drafting of the sexually oriented business ordinance, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Alderman Olson asked for a further explanation of the American Family Association. Joe Leckie explained that it is an association that assists in the drafting of ordinances that curtail and control access and distribution to sexually explicit businesses. It is a non-profit organization that is funded by members who pay dues or donate contributions. ~ 6 Council Minutes of July 6, 1999 There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m. Cindy All~,Secretary Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 20th day of July, 1999. Attest: ~bleton, Clerk-Treasurer