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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 09.06.1994Minutes of the City Council of Laurel September 6, 1994 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, held in the Council Chambers and called 'to order by' Mayor Charles Rodgers 7:00 p.m.~ on September 6, 1994. at COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: John Minch Albert Ehrlick Lonnie Kellogg Donna Kilpatrick Gay Easton Chuck Dickerson Ron Marshall Bob Graham (late) COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Kellogg. Don Hackmann, City Clerk stated that two ordinances got numbered out of order and he would like to renumber them. Without any objection from the council, Ordinances No. 094-17 and O94-18 were changed to 094-20 and O94-21 because of the use of duplicate numbers. MINUTES: Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to approve the minutes of the meeting of August 16, 1994, as amended, seconded by Alderman Marshall. carried 8--0. regular Motion CORRESPONDENCE: Received a memo from the Department of Commerce, Local Government Assistance Division, regarding a land use planning workshop on September 7th at the Billings Library at 6:30 p.m. Received a letter from the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences regarding the Water Supply System Inspection Report. Received a memo from the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences regarding a public hearing for proposed rules that would establish administrative procedures and penalties for violation of public water supply regulations. Received a letter from the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences regarding sewage treatment plant monthly reports. Received a memo from the Department of regarding the State Revolving Fund Loan Intended Use Plan. Health and Environmental Sciences Program Project Priority List and Received a letter from HKM Associates regarding Water System Improvements. Received a letter from the city of Billings regarding the quarterly users summit meeting date change to Tuesday, October 18th instead of October 4th. landfill Tuesday, CLAIMS: Claims for the month of August were reviewed by the Budget/Finance Committee and recommended that they be paid. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to approve all claims in the amount of $ 317,839.06 for the month of August, 1994, seconded by Alderman Minch. Motion carried 8--0. HERBSTFEST PARADE ROUTE CHANGE: Lynette Perkins, Herbstfest President, stated the committee looked at alternative plans for the parade route that would alleviate some of the congestion in the High School parking lot. They are suggesting that the route start at 6th Street and Wyoming Avenue, head south on Wyoming to Main Street, west to First Avenue, north to 9th Street~ west to 3rd Avenue, south on 3rd Avenue~ which will take the parade past the Laurel Care Center~ to the Catholic Church parking lot where it will disband. The committee is also requesting that street barricades be placed in the Bierstube tent area as soon as the city hauls gravel and it has been graded. Hopefully~ this would stop the students from parking in this area and messing up the gravel. They would like to start putting up the dance floor on Thursday, September 22nd. Lynette asked if anyone ever uses the steel posts which were placed in the park Page 2 Council Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Meeting of September 6, 1994 are not being used, the committee was wondering if the city could cut them down sometime when we have a portable cutting torch available. The Mayor referred this item to the Parks Committee. Motion by Alderman Marshall to accept the Herbstfest parade route as amended, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. PUBLIC HEARING #2 - CDBG APPLICATION FOR LAUREL HOUSING PROJECT: Barb Campbell, Double Tree, Inc., spoke regarding the housing project. She said they have gathered a tremendous amount of information about housing in Laurel and they have prepared a flier that summarizes the activities they propose for our first housing project. Barb passed out the flier and stated that the CDBG program funds housing rehabilitation and new construction. Laurel has a larger need for rehabilitation so this should be our top priority. They found the area of Ward I to have the highest percentage of substandard housing. They use a system developed by the Montana Department of Commerce to determine what level of condition a housing unit is in. Ward I is the south side and in driving through, most of the housing is pre World War II or older. In addition to information recently gathered, Double Tree used information from the Needs Assessment Survey that was done last yearl She explained the criteria that designates special need households and stated they have some level of financial inability to actually make repairs themselves. This area also has a high number of elderly and it is difficult for elderly people on fixed incomes to save enough money to make repairs. The intent of the program is twofold. It is to provide direct assistance to homeowners who meet the income criteria and it is intended to shore up the housing stock. Housing stock is probably a community's most valuable asset. The taxable valuation from housing stock is what provides a city with the money that is used to run the local government. Barb passed out a brochure that Double Tree recently handed out Laurel that explains and answers questions about the program. received 30 requests from people who are interested. to residents of Double Tree has A financial analysis is done for everyone who applies to determine if they are eligible. If a person has some repayment ability, they propose that they get their assistance by way of a loan but if they have no repayment capacity, then it would be in the form of a grant or a combination of both. In regard to a question, Barb sta'ted this would be a low interest loan. Double Tree figures out how much they can afford to pay. The federal government does not feel anyone should pay more than 35% of their income for housing expenses. Barb gave an example where a rehabilitation project would cost $15,000.00 but the repayment capacity of the homeowner is only $ 5,000.00 so they would get a loan of $ 5,000.00 and a grant for $ 10,000.00. Once a rehabilitation project is undertaken, the house needs to be brought up to building code standards in all areas of electrical, plumbing, heating, roofs and weatherproofing. Barb said they try to do something to the outside to improve the looks but sometimes when they finish all the other things~ the funds are gone and they have reached the level that they can spend on a house. Barb stated that the application to the block grant program will be the first one in the amount of $ 400,000.00 and will be submitted by October 4th. We will know in December if it is successful or not. Then, we will submit an application to the Farmers Home Housing Preservation Grant program in the spring for $ 90~000.00 and in the summer to the HOME Investment Partnership program for $ 400,000.00. They try to work with the local banks because the city does not want to be in competition with them for remodeling loans. Barb talked to First Security and Yellowstone Banks and First Security said they would loan up to $ 100~000.00 for this project and Barb feels Yellowstone will do the same. Then, when the homeowners have a portion of the project that is in the form of a loan, they can go to one of our local banks and borrow the money. It was stated that Laurel has a third bank, Security Federal Savings and Loan and Barb will check with them also. In regard to a question, Barb said they do all the administrative work. We published an RFP last spring and this provided for administration services. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of September 6, 1994 Barb said they hire a project inspector out of their office and it is a man who was the former building inspector for BilLings. Barb said he knows the project and does a good job for them. Once a homeowner is determined to be income eligible, the inspector does a complete inspection and write up. For the actual construction, Barb said they do not have to go out for bid on each individual house. They advertise for contractors, qualify them and put them on a bidders list. Then, for each individual house, the contractors on the list bid for the job. The inspector has a walk through inspection with the contract bidders so they are all bidding on the same work and the low bidder is awarded the job. The contractors are then required to obtain ali the required permits. Don Hackmann asked how the draw down will be handled. Barb said they prepare a draw down to the Department of Commerce and they send the money to the city of Laurel and it goes into a dedicated account.. Double Tree will supply us with invoices that have contractor approval and that the inspector has signed off on. We will then issue a check to the contractor. Some towns have established an interim loan, which works well. It will take between 10 days and six weeks to get the funds from the grant programs and most contractors cannot wait that long for payment. The city can borrow the money from the bank, pay the contractor and when the funds come in from the different sources, you pay back the loans. The interest would have to be paid by the city of Laurel. At this time, Chuck Dickerson arrived at the meeting. For rental property, the landlord has to apply. The requirements are that landlords always have to get a loan, they are not eligible for grants. If they have a rehabilitation project done on their rental property~ they have to agree to rent the property to a low to moderate income person or family. If they are not willing to do this, they will not receive any assistance. Barb said that any homeowners in the program have to sign a sales provision. If they sell the house the first year, they have to pay it all back. If they sell it the second year, they have to pay back 80%, third year 60% and so forth. The reason this is required is to prevent profiteering. Barb asked the council to take action on a couple of items that will go into the application. She would like the council to pass the Fair Housing Resolution which is required. RESOLUTION NO, R94-42 FAIR HOUSING RESOLUTION Motion by Alderman Kellogg that Resolution No. R94-42 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. The Hatch Act is federal legislation that has been around since 1939 and it restricts the political activity of local government employees in connection with programs financed through loans or grants. RESOLUTION NO. R94-43 HATCH ACT RESOLUTION Motion by Alderman Marshall that Resolution No. R94-43 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 8--0. Barb explained that the next resolution essentially is giving the Mayor permission to sign the application. RESOLUTION NO. R94-44 (AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN CDBG APPLICATION) Motion by Alderman Marshall that Resolution No. R94-44 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 8--0. Barb stated that one of the things they have to address in these applications is why the city of Laurel is not putting any of their own resources into the project. The reason is that the city does not have the money to put into the Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of September 6, 1994 Barb gave two examples where a city excavated a water line for a renovation project and another case where the volunteer fire department demolished a vacant dilapidated building as part of their training. RESOLUTION NO. R94-45 (THE CITY OF LAUREL AGREES TO PARTICIPATE IN SAID PROJECT WITH THE USE OF CITY EQUIPMENT AND EMPLOYEE TIME) Motion by Alderman Graham that Resolution No. E94-45 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Dickerson. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. RECOMMENDATION OF ENGINEERING FIRM FOR WATER PLANT PROJECT: The Mayor stated that the city has interviewed four engineering firms for the water plant project and the committee recommended Morrison & Maierle. Bob Graham asked the council to pay attention to the letter in correspondence from HKM Associates. He apologized for not having been at the interviews but be is speaking in favor of HKM. Bob stated HKM has been with the city through various projects since 1982. He said they know our community better than any engineering firm in this area. The work they have done on the water and sewer plants has been of fine quality. Bob said there has been controversy and talk about problems with Volk Construction but in talking to various people, the statements and rumors were not true. Bob feels HKM has bent over backwards to help us. They are willing to do what we want and bring it down to our level so we can understand it. He feels they are very good at public relations and are always available. Bob said they know our community~ they know our problems and they have given us some very viable solutions to our problems. We will be starting from scratch if we bring in another engineering firm, even though they will have access to HKM~s data. We have got to move on the grant application and if we bring in another firm~ it may delay the application. Bob said the vote between the two engineering firms was very close. It was stated that the committee recommended Morrison & Maierle as the engineers for the project. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to accept the committee's recommendation to hire Morrison & Maierle as the engineering firm, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. There being a division of the house, a roll call vote was taken. Motion tied 4--4 with Alderman Ehrlick, Easton, Kellogg and Marshall voting, "YES" and Aldermen Graham, Dickerson, Kilpatrick and Minch voting, The Mayor called for a recess. (No recess was taken) The Mayor stated we have been with HKM Associates for a long period of time and there have been a lot of rumors floating around the community. People are commenting that we have been with them too long and isn't it about time for a change? They are also wondering why we won't give another engineering firm a chance? Chuck stated that former mayor, Bob Gauthier, had problems with them. Jim Kaercher, Engineer for HKM Associates, spoke to the council and said HKM's advantage is their experience. They can provide the engineering services for a lot less effort and cost and this is a point they tried to make in the interview. Jim said they have done an extensive amount of water treatment plants in eastern Montana, more than any other engineering firm. What this means to Laurel is that they have the capability, from their past experience, methodology in bidding and designing that they have developed that we benefit from, to save us money in the design and construction of the project. Jim addressed the issue of tile wastewater treatment plant. The plant was a good project that still ended up within the budget, even with the Volk situation. Before Volk got into our claim, the project had about $ 60,000.00 in change orders for a four million dollar system. Jim said he and Dave know that some Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of September 6, 1994 going to add before the bidding. But, because the price was decent on the bid, they were additions. Also during construction, the inspector spotted some unstable soil conditions underneath key structural bases. HKM brought this to the city's attention and recommended a change order where the contractor comes in and removes the fine sand pockets and replaces them with good material. This was part of the change orders and when it was spotted, they knew it had to be done. Jim said that if you think about customizing a wastewater treatment system and you have $ 60,000.00 in change orders on a 4 million dollar project, you have a clean job. Then, in comes the contractor. At the end of the job, he was in trouble, not only on this project but on other projects. Through the process of arbitration and other dealings, HKM learned that the state was also dealing with Volk in the same fashion, with the same a'ttorney from Denver, backing the same type of complaints. HKM went in with their inspection reports, which are detailed, and prepared a summary of the claims. This went to EPA, the city and the state where it was reviewed. After their review, the state agreed. HKM's first goal was to make sure the construction was completed of the quality that we paid for. Secondly, they immediately prepared the document response so it was fresh in everyone's minds. This document held up all the way through the process. Jim said there was one claim in the group of claims that had any justification. They recommended to the city to clean the digester. This is where all the heavy waste goes and no one had seen the inside of the tank in years. They thought they could flush and pump the sludge out so they could clean and recondition the tank. They found this could not be done. Volk had to bring in clam shells to remove the sludge and they felt they deserved extra because of this unforeseen event. Volk took this one claim and stuck it in amongst the other claims and never asked for a change order. HKM feels this was the only one that was legitimate. Jim said when it came time for arbitration and meetings with attorneys, HKM was there. They were making recommendations to people who were directly involved, Bob Gauthier and Jim Flisrand. About a year ago this issue came up and it was the first that Jim was aware of. A meeting was held with Bob Gauthier, Jim Flisrand and the Mayor and Jim said you can ask them about it. HKM was involved in the negotiations until the end and they did not back off. Their recommendation was to fight because they felt it was absurd, but they understand why Bob Gauthier chose to settle, because attorney fees are expensive. Bob used interest money that had accumulated on the project along with funds from EPA to pay the final costs. Jim said HKM stayed until the end. At the time of the last negotiation, they did not know if that would be the end of it but~ he found out it was when he stopped in to talk to Jim Worthington this summer. It was just an issue of settling on a number, the technical issue was not there. HKM helped close out the project when they prepared the final claim that was signed off by the city and sent in. Lonnie asked what the amount was that the city settled on with EPA? He understood that it was $ 150,000.00. It was stated that the total amount was $ 150,000.00 but we recovered $41,000.00 of that. Jim Kaercher stated that Bob Gauthier was pretty happy over this and a lot of the money was interest from the money being held. Lonnie said it doesn*t matter where it came from, we still had to pay it! Jim pointed out that we still stayed within the original project estimate. Lonnie said he is not real familiar with this project that were are going through, but is this Phase III that we are going through or rather Task I~ Task II and Task III? Jim said that when Larry Peterson was engineer in Laurel, he had wanted to do a study in phases because the city had a down turn on finances. HKM worked with Larry to lay it out in three phases. Phase I was to evaluate the existing system. Phase II was to evaluate the system for community development expansion where you find the boundaries of the service area. They looked at what they need to do to expand the facilities to accommodate~ not only the existing Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of September 6, 1994 of assessment or buying fees. This would take the value of the existing system, plus identify the value of your system for expansion and then set it up so ~he city has a justifiable method that would hold up in court to levy assessments for using your system to hook into for future developments. You do not want users of the existing system to have to pay for all new expansion. You want people who are coming in to share in the cost of the system. There was a methodology where HKM went in, valued our existing system and identified what it should cost for the right to hook into the system~ for new development. Jim stated that HKM was told to stop the work because of budget restrictions and this was back in 1987-88. They completed about two-thirds of the study before they stopped. Jim stated that since the late 1980's, new regulations have come on deck that Laurel is now having to face. The Mayor wanted to do a study, under the new regulations, to see what it would take to upgrade the treatment plant to meet compliance orders. They would also like to go back into Phase II, which is master planning for the future of the system, and upgrade it to 1994 standards. Laurel has problems in the distribution system, storage problems and pipe size problems. HKM had to upgrade the estimates, then interject the findings of the water treatment plant study into the document. Jim said this goes hand in hand with what the city is doing now and what Double Tree is trying to do by going after grants. This document is important because we need it for justification, to justify to Farmers Home why we want the money. Without the complete thought process in this document, they would question the situation. HKM has never got back into Phase III out there. They need to go back and standards. and that is an issue that is still hanging rework that part of it to bring it up to In order to help Double Tree ge't their pre-application in, HKM prepared side document for the master plan. They had a meeting with the Mayor and other committee members to talk about priorities, which needs to be firmed up. Jim said they have the document that Double Tree uses and they can revise the document in a day. Based on HKM's knowledge of the city, they can help us set priorities since the city does not have the money to do it all. Jim said HKM has a lot to offer. He has been in charge of water treatment plants since 1986 and has a lot of knowledge and information that would benefit US, The Mayor said another problem here is that Bob Graham was willing to put in quite a pitch for HKM because he is wanting to get a reservoir on his land. Bob said he has mentioned this quite a lot because he is caught between a rock and a hard spot. Someone mentioned that even before Bob brought it up, it has been brought up by others within the community. The Mayor stated that when Curt McKenzie was City Engineer, he recommended that the reservoir be placed on the highest point for future development of the city. Jim said this is one item that is identified in the study but, there are other issues and the city needs to work through their priorities. HKM can recommend priorities but, it is up to you to decide because it is your city. A city the size of Laurel should have two reservoirs. Bob Graham stated that in the correspondence there is a letter from the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences that recommends a backup reservoir. Albert Ehrlick stated that this reservoir was in the making long before Bob Graham got on the council. The Mayor stated this meeting is to clear the air and he said that Forsyth and Lockwood Water have been upset with HKM. After looking at it and seeing what some problems were and why they came about~ Chuck said the biggest downfall in the entire situation was a lack of communication. From the committees to the council and Mayor, they did not put their heads together and get on a project and stay on it. That is where problems are coming from. We did not follow a definite plan, The Mayor said it is important and he tried to get every council member to come to the interviews and the session down at the water plant so everyone is Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 7 Council Meeting of September 6, 1994 dropping any time limit. With Morrison & Maierle, it would take a few days to get into it. The other two candidates would take a longer period of time. Chuck said Morrison & Maierle came out on top in the interviews. Jim stressed that the numbers from the interviews are subjective. With a total of 600 points, the spread between HKM and Morrison & Maierle was seven points. One person weighing it differently, would offset the whole thing. Regarding the statement about changing horses in the middle of the stream, Gay said he does not feel we are even in the water yet. (Refer to HKM's letter of September 6, 1994 in the correspondence). In looking at this project, we will be working with this engineer for three or four years before this thing is really back on line. Then, are we locked into the same continuity, are we going to be in the same spot again when we enlarge our system? If we are dissatisfied, and there is the possibility of being dissatisfied, then what do we have? Gay does not feel we are in the middle of the stream, he does not feel we have even begun to swim. He said we are starting over. We went to all these interview and everyone did a good job. Morrison & Maierle did a water system in Hardin and they have no complaints with them. Gay feels all the firms did a good job and explained that the one strike against the third firm was that they are so far away. Gay said we had better take a good close look at this. The committee did a lot of hard work on it and he would not have any qualms with any of the firms because they all rated so close. You should give the credit to the committee...(not audible). Donna stated she was shocked the night when it come up about Morrison & Maierle because she did not feel they had a plan for the city. They gave us a generic overview of what might be done, what they could do and their experience, but as far as what had to be done, she did not hear them say. She assumes they will pick up on what HKM did. Gay said Morrison & Maierle was using the plan that anyone would use. Everyone has the knowledge of how the system works, it is not a secret. Any engineering firm could pick this up in a day or two and he doesn't think there are any problems about that. Bob asked if Donna is referring to the step procedures and how to develop it and she said yes. Donna said the other firms had ideas of what they are going to do but Morrison & Maierle just said we've done this before and we've worked on so many water plants and they gave us a generic idea, but nothing just for us. Bob agrees with Gay that any engineering firm can come in here and prepare a program. The point he is making is that it has already been prepared by HKM. We are ready to move on it. They already have their program and know what and how to do it. They showed us this in their walk through of the water plant. The other outfits will have to go back and do this. They will do it and Bob had no doubts that they will do it perfectly, but they have to go back and this is moving backwards instead of forwards. Ron Marshall feels that two of the engineering firms, including Morrison & Maierle gave a generic approach. Albert stated that he did not vote for either HKM or Morrison & Maierle but he does go along with what happened in committee. Barb Campbell said that as far as a deadline goes, they are just trying to get the October allocation of money. We are going to be in line but she has no guarantee that we will get the money and it may be spring before we get any. John Minch stated that two of the other engineering improvements that HKM has come up with. To him, this okay. They have already been through it. firms agreed with the is saying that they are The Mayor stated there were two parties he did not have a chance to contact today and he had a feeling the vote was going to come down to this. He stated that if everyone on the council would have attended those meetings and interviews, you would have had the answers before now. Chuck said he would still like to continue to address one of the other parties. By tabling 'the vote or voting no, it will put the city in a bind as far as the application. Barb said this is a critical decision. She went on to explain that there is only so much money available and the first one in line is going to get it. If Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 8 Council Meeting of September 6, 1994 the council's decision because Double Tree works with all interviewed. The Mayor broke the tie with a "NO" vote. firm was appointed. The Mayor stated this will give us time to some other parties. JANET WARREN - MCI: Janet Warren was not present at the meeting. FINAL PLAT OF AMENDMENT - LAUREL INDUSTRIAL PARK: RESOLUTION NO. R94-46 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE FINAL PLAT OF BLOCK 1, AMENDED the engineering firms Motion failed 5--4. No engineering look things over again and contact Motion by Alderman Kellogg that Ordinance No. 094-22 (first reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, LAUREL POLICY STATEMENT: "YES". Motion carried 8--0. RESOLUTION NO. R94-47 ADOPTING A POLICY STATEMENT FOR THE EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF LAUREL Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that Resolution No. R94-47 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Minch. Motion carried 8--0. Bob Graham questioned whether the union will have any input into this statement? It was stated that the union was present when this was reviewed both times. LAUREL PROCEDURES MANUAL: RESOLUTION NO. R94-48 ADOPTING A PROCEDURES MANUAL FOR THE CITY OF LAUREL Motion by Alderman Marshall that Resolution No. R94-48 be passed and adopted~ seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 8--0. FIRE INSPECTION FEES: This will be addressed in the License Committee minutes. SALARY OF THE CITY JUDGE: Public Hearing: OPPONENTS: Chuck Dickerson said he understands that ORDINANCE NO. O94-19 (second reading) SALARY OF THE CITY JUDGE this ordinance is to bring the salary LAUREL MUNICIPAL SERVICES (CIVIL AMENDING SECTION 2.88.020 OF THE CODE, FOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY DEFENSE) IN THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA Motion by Alderman Ehrlick that adopted, seconded by Alderman Kellogg. ENCROACHMENT PERMIT - COAST TO COAST: See License Committee minutes. CIVIL DEFENSE PLAN: Resolution No. R94-46 Motion carried 8--0. ORDINANCE NO. 094-22 be passed and first reading) LOT 5, LAUREL INDUSTRIAL PARK SUBDIVISION AS Page 9 Council Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Meeting of September 6, 1994 money. It has been brought to his attention that the individual who is holding this elected position, whose salary could increase to $ 19,000.00 a year, is also delinquent on 1993 property taxes and therefore not contributing his share towards his salary or the salary of other elected officials in this town. Albert said Larry pays his taxes but he waits three years until he is forced to pay. Chuck said we are elected officials who, by serving the city, are earning salary. How can we ask other citizens of this town to pay our salary if (elected officials in general} cannot contribute toward our own salary. our we In regard to a question, Chuck said that as of 5:00 p.m. today, Larry Herman is the only elected official who is delinquent in paying his 1993 taxes. Albert Ehrlick stated he voted no earlier because he feels the increase should be a stair step approach~ not take the jump that it did. Chuck stated that as aldermen, they are not just citizens serving as citizens. The job has gotten so complex in nature and there is so much that each aldermen needs to know and yet, the aldermen are not asking for an increase in salary because of the time involved. Don Hackmann, City Clerk, stated that Chuck's point is well taken, however if you read your budget document, you will see that there is a lot of other revenue, other than taxes, that go to support the general fund. Don said this was approved in the budget, so why wasn't it brought up during the public hearing on the budget? Chuck said this was brought before him and he said he would check into it. He's not saying that we shouldn't vote the raise in because the person holding the office has delinquent taxes. He just saying it doesn't look good to others. John stated that he voted no on it because we keep hearing how tight Laurel's budget is. Maybe other municipalities can afford to pay that wage but we can't. Just because Billings gets something new, that doesn't mean Laurel can do it too, because we don't have as large a tax base. Lonnie said he feels the issue is getting clouded here. The issue is whether or not we are going to give a salary increase to the judge. The issue of paying his taxes is a good point but it is one that is up to the power of the voters, not the council. Lonnie said that as far as the salary increase, he is going to vote for it because he feels he probably deserves it, but as far as paying his taxes and being an elected official, that is up to the power of the voters. Ron Marshall commented that this individual is a judge and a lawyer, he know the law and he knows how to stretch it to the limit. He is actually using the law to his own advantage and Ron doesn't agree with it. He doesn't feel this is a hardship case and he is going to vote against the ordinance. Bob Graham said he will probably vote against the ordinance but he agrees with Lonnie and firmly believes in the political system. We need to look at the fact that we are voting for a position. If the voters don't like the fact that. he doesn't pay his taxes, then they can vote him out of office. Chuck Rodgers said we go through the budget process and he doesn't know how many hours are spent on it, and we come up with a situation where this has been approved through the budget and also on the first reading of the ordinance and now you are debating it. Chuck Dickerson commented again that his intention in bringing this up was to serve the people he represents. The Mayor stated that since this is Chuck's intention, he wouldn't mind commenting about who asked him to bring this up? Chuck Dickerson said that in all reality he was asked not to disclose this information and it was actually several individuals. The Mayor said he is curious as to why it came down to this one situation? Chuck said he feels it was because it was in the Outlook for the town to read. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 8--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 10 Council Meeting of September 6, 1994 taken. Aldermen Ehrlick, Minch, Dickerson, Graham and Marshall voted, "NO" and Alderwoman Kilpatrick and Aldermen Easton and Kellogg voted~ "YES". Motion defeated 5--3. Don Hackmann commented that he can't believe the council members that sit on the budget committee~ go through the public hearing and everything and now you vote no! Bob said that sometimes after the public hearing they go out and hear from the public. Don said they should be looking at their budget documents and discuss it during the public hearing. Don informed the council that the office has already given him the raise because it was passed in the budget. Bob said we have freedom of the press and he is hearing from the people. is why he voted like he did. That COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Board of Adjustments minutes of August 17, 1994 were presented. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to enter the Board of Adjustments minutes of August 17, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of August 16, 1994 were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of August 16, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Minch. Motion carried 8--0. --License Committee minutes of August 25, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Vicki Metzger stated the committee moved to grant Coast to Coast an encroachment permit if they show proof that the city is included on the liability insurance policy. Vicki stated that this permit will be reviewed annually and they will pay a a $ 50.00 annual fee. Motion by Alderman Marshall to grant Coast to Coast an encroachment permit, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. Vicki stated that there was discussion about the license for Asphalt Supply but there were many people who could not attend this meeting so no action was taken on the license. A meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 7th to address this issue. The Design Hair Studio has applied for a business license and the controversy is whether a tanning bed can be put in with the hair salon business. Cal Cumin said the issue went before the Board of Adjustments. State law and the Laurel ordinances allow for a person who disagrees with one of Cal's decisions or that of any administrative officer of the city~ to appeal to the Board of Adjustments to override the decision. This is what Todd Linder did. Cal wrote him a letter when he first heard about the tanning bed operation and told him that putting a new tanning bed operation into his existing business was an expansion of the business and not allowed under the zoning. He is in a residential zone and his existing business has been grandfathered in and allowed to stay there. If they expand it, it has to come before the city. Cal then wrote them a letter telling them this was an expansion. Todd was appealing Cal's decision to the Board of Adjustments. He was trying to get the Board of Adjustments to overrule Cal's decision. The board did overrule it and Cal said he does not have a problem with that. Cal said that when he analyzed the situation, the ordinance states that when you expand a business you have to physically expand your building and they did not do so. They are operating under the existing plan and it does not change the zoning at all. Todd Linder appealed Cal's decision and the Board of Adjustments overruled his decision with one abstention. They did not say anything about getting a business permit or anything else, that is not the board's function. The Board of Adjustment is a semi-legal board. They cannot appeal to the city council. If you appeal the Board of Adjustments decision, you go to district court. page 11 Council Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Meeting of September 6, 1994 Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to grant Design Hair Studio a business license, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Bob Graham commented that the people who live in the area were not as upset when they found out that their zoning would not change because of the tanning booths. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. Vicki stated she would like to see the ordinance and resolution regarding fire inspection fees referred back to committee. The Mayor referred this back to committee and it will be put on the agenda for the next meeting. Motion by Alderman Marshall August 25, 1994, into the record, 8--0. to enter the License Committee minutes of seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried --Laurel Airport Authority minutes of August 22, 1994 were presented. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to of August 22, 1994, into the record, 8--0. enter the Laurel Airport Authority minutes seconded by Alderman Minch. Motion carried --Laurel Airport Authority minutes of July 26, 1994 were presented. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to of July 26, 1994, into the record, carried 8--0. enter the Laurel Airport Authority seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. minutes Motion --Parks Committee minutes of August 25, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman August 25, 1994, into the 8--0. Kilpatrick to enter the Parks Committee minutes of record, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried Attached to the minutes was a pool report and Donna stated that some things can' be taken care of and other are being worked on. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Chuck Dickerson requested permission to leave the state from September 15th - 19th. Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to grant Chuck Dickerson permission to leave the state, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. APPOINTMENTS: The Mayor appointed Jim Flisrand as Director of Public Works, effective November 1st or possibly sooner, depending on Jim's current job. Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to confirm the Mayor's appointment of Jim Flisrand as Director of Public Works, effective November 1st or possibly sooner, seconded by Alderman Minch. Motion carried 8--0. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, meeting was adjourned at 9:06 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk the Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the city of Laurel, Montana, this 20th day of September, 1994. Charles RodgerJ, M~or ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk