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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 03.15.1994Minutes of the City Council of Laurel March 15, 1994 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 Charles Rodgers at 7:00 p.m., on March 16, 1994. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: John Minch Albert Ehrlick Chuck Dickerson Donna Kilpatrick Gay Easton Bob Graham Ron Marshall Lonnie Kellogg COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Kellogg. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Marshall to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 1, 1994, as presented, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. CORRESPONDENCE: Recelved an invitation from the City of Billings to attend a Landfill Users Summit Meeting in the large conference room on the 4th floor of the Parmly Billings Library on Tuesday, April 5, 1994. Received a letter from Yellowstone County regarding the election on June 7, 1994, where the voters of Montana will be asked whether or not they want a study commission to review their local government. Received a letter from the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences~ Solid and Hazardous Waste Bureau, providing us a summary of our complaint investigation regarding the disposal of vactor truck waste. Received the February minutes and activity report from the Yellowstone County Air Pollution Control Board. CITY CLERK & CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of February were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that the City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of February~ 1994, be approved, seconded by Alderman Easton. Motion carried 8--0. PRESENTATION OF SERVICE AWARDS: The Mayor presented service awards to three individuals who recently retired. Jim Morrison has served a total of 24 years for the City of Laurel and Chuck said it has been a pleasure to work with him. Marvin Carter and Don Hedges both retired from the Volunteer Fire Department. Marvin has served a total of 23 years on the department and he also served 4 years as an alderman. Chuck thanked him for his years of service and all the time he volunteered to various committees over the years. Don Hedges has 26 years of service with the department and Chuck said he is one person who never drove the truck because he liked to ride on the back of the truck and be the first one to attack the fire. He will be missed. BARBARA CAMPBELL - DOUBLE TREE, INC.: Barbara Campbell stated that the needs assessment survey is now complete and this represents the first step on the road to developing a community development program. The committee met faithfully and really dug in and got the job done. The City now has a good foundation of base information that can be utilized to support a number of different planning documents and subsequent funding of community projects. Barbara said this is just the start and the City needs to progress from here into the planning stages and start structuring projects. The City has a compliance issue with th~ w~t~r +r~+m~n+ ,~1~.+ ,~h4~h Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of March 15, 1994 of the needs assessment survey does not bring you into a situation where you can access community development block grant funds for the project but there are other grants that Laurel can access. One program is moving money quite rapidly and Laurel could have the opportunity to put together a good financial package to solve the problems at the water treatment plant. Barbara said they would like to continue to work with the council and prepare three pivotal plans that they will use to support projects for funding. The first is the public facilities or capital improvement plan which looks at facilities and areas that serve the public. The second plan covers housing. Right now Montana is facing a crisis in housing with markets being stretched to the limit and we still have a migration of people into the state. Affordability is an issue because the price of housing is increasing while the household income is remaining the same. The local residents who are trying to make a living in the community are getting priced out of housing. Barbara feels housing projects are a real basic element in a community. If you don't have housing, you cannot attract new jobs. The third plan is an economic development plan which is written as a final document after they have looked at the other two areas. Barbara said she is here tonight to present a couple of options. The City can access block grants for housing projects but not for public facilities projects. There are a number of housing programs out there and their deadlines are October 1st. If you want to consider pursuing a housing project, you need to make a decision soon. Barbara said they have been very successful with these types of projects over the last several years. They usually bring about one million dollars into each project from several different sources. There are many different options that fall under housing and the City needs to address the most serious ones first. Housing rehabilitation projects are very positive in a community because they affect individual people and are good for community moral. Barbara explained that they are governed by State procurement laws in regard to housing projects but for water type projects, the City can hire directly because they are subject to federal procurement. Chuck said the City does need a grant writer and he asked for a motion to continue with Double-Tree, Inc. He said that we should be receiving an update from HKM soon and the City should meet the compliance schedule around May 30th. Once this is done, we need to get a project rolling. Motion by Alderman Graham to have the City continue with Double-Tree~ Inc. for grant writing services for both the public facilities/capital improvements and housing proposals, seconded by Alderman Dickerson. Motion carried 8--0. Barbara said the housing will have to be advertised and they will start immediately to look at what HKM is preparing under study. Barbara said the Mayor needs to decide what committee her group will be working with. It was decided that the same committee, with the addition of John Minch and Bob Graham, will continue working with Double-Tree. LAUREL CARE CENTER - ADDITION OF NEW WING: Joe Rude, President of Health and Marketing West which is the owner/ management group for the Laurel Care Center, presented his proposal for the addition of a new wing to the nursing home. The present facility was built eight years ago to meet the nursing home and long term care needs of the elderly population of this community. He is here tonight to advise the council of their plans to expand and to encourage the City to support their project. Nursing homes are a highly regulated field and it is necessary for them to appear before the Health Department to Net approval for expansion. They can do mo Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of March 15, 1994 Joe said that what has made this project more difficult is that a party named Lantis Enterprises from South Dakota has called for a hearing, which means the matter is now a competitive one. Lantis owns and operates the nursing homes in Columbus and Red Lodge and has recently been named the heir apparent on St. John's in Billings Heights. Their concern is that if Laurel expands, it may have some impact on projects they are operating in the area. Joe explained that it is now incumbent upon his group demonstrate that the project for this community is necessary. to The existing building is a 57 bed nursing home. It was originally built as a 40 bed nursing home with a 15 bed retirement wing called personal care. Over the years, the personal care unit has been converted into a nursing home wing to meet the demand. At this time, they have 57 residents and in excess of another 20 people on waiting lists. The waiting list varies from 20 - 30 people at any given time of the year. Joe said what often happens is that people from this community end up going into nursing homes in other communities, which are away from their families. In addition to adding a wing, they plan a renovation project which would include an Alzheimer's unit. Joe went on to explain the special needs and problems associated with Alzheimer patients and explained the regulations governing these patients. They intend to create an Alzheimer's unit which will have it's own separate dining room and security doors and this will keep these residents from wandering into other parts of the nursing home. They will also create an outside area that is separated by barriers from other areas. Joe said this unit will enhance the quality of life for both the Alzheimer patient and those in the regular nursing home by providing a level of security and privacy for both. The new wing would be built between the south and west wings. Joe went on to explain the other changes and said the net increase to the facility would be 22 beds. They are hoping the new wing will be able to serve the medicare scaled population. When these people go to the hospital, the length of their stay is regulated and often times, they are not ready to go home when they are dismissed from the hospital~ so they need a place to convalesce until they are able to return to their homes. This remodeling project represents about $ 700,000.00 of capital improvements. They estimate this will increase their property tax contribution to Yellowstone County by about $ 7,000.00 to $ 8,000.00 a year. They will add approximately 20 employees which represents a $ 20,000.00 increase in the labor market per month. Local purchases will also increase by about $ 7,000.000 to $ 8,000.00 a month and this does not include utility billing. This project is not only a benefit to the population it serves but it also represents a benefit to the economic community. Joe said that in the upcoming hearings, Lantis will argue that there is no need for our project. Joe went on to explain the need that exists in Laurel with the use of different graphs which determine people per bed ratios of many communities throughout the State. The overall average is around 30 to 40 people per bed and Laurel's ratio is 100 people per bed. We have a ratio that is higher than anyone else in the State. Joe said that according to our last census, 20% of Laurel's population is 65 and over. On a per bed ratio with this group, we are 250% short on the average for the State. Laurel Care Center has operated, since they opened, at an occupancy rate of 98% or higher. Industry norms are in the range of 91% to 93%. Joe said a hearing will be held with the State Health Department on Monday, March 21st at St.Anthony's Parish Hall at 9:00 a.m. The community will have the chance to express their views and show their support and Joe is asking for the council's support of this project also. Motion b.v Alderman support of the nursing Motion carried 8--0. Dickerson that the council go on record in home project, seconded by Alderman Graham. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of March 15~ 1994 In closing, Joe stated that all the nursing homes in Billings support our bid for this addition. PAT MULLANEY - ZONING: This item was cancelled by Pat Mullaney. LUCKY SIEBERT - POLISH DOG BOOTH FOR SENIOR CELEBRATION: Lucky Siebert, on behalf of the Senior Celebration Committee, is requesting permission to have a polish dog booth downtown on April 29th and 30th. The booth would be set up on the sidewalk by Coast-to-Coast and would be run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to allow a polish dog booth to be set up by Coast-to-Coast on April 29th and 30th, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. CHANGE REAR SET BACKS IN RESIDENTIAL MOBILE HOME ZONES: ORDINANCE NO. 094-5 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 17.16.020 AND TABLE 17.16.020 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO CHANGE REAR-SET BACKS IN RESIDENTIAL MOBILE HOME ZONES FROM TEN (10 FEET TO FIVE (5) FEET Public Hearing: No comments. Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Marshall that Ordinance No. 094-5 (second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, "YES". Motion carried 8--0. TRANSFERRING MONEY FROM SID #102 BOND SINKING TO SID REVOLVING FUND: RESOLUTION NO. R94-I2 BEING A RESOLUTION TRANSFERRING CERTAIN FUNDS OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA Motion by Alderman Dickerson that Resolution No. R94-12 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. CALLING FOR ELECTION ON QUESTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW: RESOLUTION NO. R94-13 A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR AN ELECTION ON THE QUESTION OF CONDUCTING A LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW ESTABLISHING A STUDY COMMISSION Motion by Alderman Kellogg that Resolution No. R94-13 be passed and adopted~ seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 8--0. COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of March ], 1994 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of March 1, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. In regard to a question about the worker comp. waiver for Marty Olsen~ Dave stated that we have not received it and no work will be done and no payments made until he has this waiver and proof of liability insurance. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 1, 1994 were presented. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 1. 1994. into the remnrd, mmnnndmd hv Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of March 15, 1994 --City'County Planning Board minutes of March 3, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the City-County Planning Board minutes of March 3, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 8--0. Chuck Dickerson said Cal Cumin requested that Larry Thomas be replaced on the Planning Board as he has missed the last three meetings. Chuck said he will talk to Cal and if anyone has any names to submit for the position, let him' know. --City-County Planning Board minutes of March 10, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the City-County Planning Board minutes of March 10, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Graham. HOME OCCUPATIONS Tom and Peggy Petrosky, 602 South Yellowstone, are requesting a home occupation to operate a credit counseling service out of their home. They would inform people of what they can do to improve their credit report. There would be no customer traffic to the home. It was stated that the Petrosky's live in the county and are not required to get a business license but Peggy said they would like recognition from the City that their business is in fact, a legitimate business. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to grant a home occupation to Tom and Peggy Petrosky at 602 South Yellowstone, with no traffic to the home, seconded by Alderman Dickerson. Motion carried 8--0. Mike Baney, 116 East 6th Street, is requesting a home occupation to run a home maintenance business out of his home. The majority of the work will be done at the customer's residence. Only a small part, 3% - 5%, will be done in his garage and he will be using small power tools at times. Bob Graham objected to allowing this home occupation because of the use of power tools in his garage. Lonnie Kellogg stated that there are probably 17 other contractors who live within the city limits and every one of them, no doubt, uses their garage to some degree in their business. Chuck Dickerson stated that the Planning Board recommended approval, subject to Mike keeping the noise within the confines of his garage. If he does not operate under these stipulations, then the license can be revoked when it comes up for review next year. Bob objected to the additional work that this creates for our police department. It was stated that things of this nature are handled on a complaints basis only. Mike Atkinson said there have been no complaints on other contractors in town who are doing this same thing. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to Baney, subject to him keeping the garage, seconded by Alderman Minch. Graham voting, "NO". grant a home occupation to Mike noise within the confines of the Motion carried 7--1 with Alderman At this time a vote was taken on the motion to enter the minutes. Motion carried 8--0. --Fire Committee minutes of February 28, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Lonnie Kellogg asked Darrell McGillen to explain Item 3 in the minutes. Darrell stated that the Fire Department is responding to a lot of careless fires and each time they do, it is costing the taxpayers money. There are guidelines that need to be followed when doing open burning and people are becoming negligent about following them. They often times start a fire to burn off debris and l~mvm th~ ~n~ ~ *h~ Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of March 15, 1994 Darrell would like to see the ordinance changed to allow the Fire Department to collect money from people who are negligent in following burning permit procedures. This would include arson type fires which can also be of an agricultural nature because someone has intentionally lit the fire. When agricultural type burning is done, the person must obtain a burning permit from the county, they must notify the local fire department, they must man the fire at all times~ they must have fire extinguishing agents on hand and it must be extinguished by a certain hour in the evening. Darrell said that in the case of someone who has followed all the procedures and the fire still gets out of control~ he has no problem with the department responding and there would be no charge. The fires caused by negligence are rapidly depleting the budget and he would just like to try and recover some of these losses and put the burden on the people starting them. Darrell reported that Larry McCann is now going back to re-inspect businesses that were found to be in violation the first time around. This will soon be computerized and we will have it in hard copy. Darrell said Larry is providing has come into play with this dealing with better than anyone a valuable service and his expertise new business. He knows what we are else in the City. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to enter the Fire Committee minutes of February 28, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 8--0. --Airport Authority minutes of February 22, 1994 were presented. Motion by Alderman Marshall to enter minutes of February 22, 1994, into the record, Kilpatrick. the Airport seconded by Authority Alderwoman Lonnie Kellogg commented that there are a lot of new buildings at the airport in the last few years. The City provides them with fire protection and they pay a fee of $ 250.00 a year. This is the same fee that we have received for years, even when there were far fewer buildings up there. Lonnie said that with the expansion that is going on, the airport continues to receive more and more tie down fees all the time and we should be receiving some of this money. Darrell explained that he has checked into this several times over the years. The fee we charge in the fire districts is based on the tax roles and for some reason or another, the county tax roles do not reflect all the new buildings that have been constructed. Darrell said that if there is some minor thing that has not been completed on the building, it is not considered finished and it is not on the tax roles. The county is not receiving tax money for them either. Darrell said the Fire Committee is going to have to sit down with the Airport Board and come up with an adjusted rate that reflects the growing changes. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. --License Committee minutes of March 10, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Graham to enter the License Committee minutes of March 10, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Marshall. In regard to Helena Chemical Company~ Chuck reported that the fire inspection was done today but he did not know the results of it. Darrell said the City met with Helena Chemical and explained our point of view. Now it is up to them to submit a certified plan back to the City of Laurel stating all the improvements they are going to make to the building. This plan would then have to be approved by the City and at this point, Larry McCann would step in and make sure they have met the requirements in the planning stages. Chuck said we do not have a certified buildin~ inspector so we wi]] Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 7 Council Meeting of March 15, 1994 State inspector to do this and his fee would be based on the dollar value of the renovation. Bob Graham commented that he does not like having a chemical storage business this close to our residential areas. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. --Public Utilities Committee minutes of March 14, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Dave said HKM is now doing a feasibility study which would give us some alternatives of what it would cost to bring the plant into compliance. They are also looking at any other mandates that are known at this time. Dave said that 10 years ago the water plant was in good shape and we were in compliance. But over the years, the federal government has issued rules that have now pushed us to the borderline of compliance. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to Committee minutes of March 14, 1994, Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. enter the Public Utilities into the record~ seconded by COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Lucky Siebert commended the emergency services that Laurel provides. He stated that within the last 45 days he has seen them in action twice. The first was an ambulance call for his daughter and he said the speed and care was appreciated. The second time was with the Fire Department who responded to a fire alarm at his neighbors within eight minutes. Lucky said he was quite concerned about the response time for emergency services when he moved to his present location but he found out first }land that the response time is excellent. MAYOR'S COMMENTS: The Mayor reminded the council of the special Council of the Whule meeting on Thursday, March 17th at ?:00 p.m. in the council chambers. The City received notice that they are invited to attend a short press conference by Rep. Russell Fagg in the council chambers on Monday, March 21st at 11:30 a.m. A reminder of the hearing for I:.he Laurel Care Center on Monday, March 21st at St. Anthony's Parish Hall. The Mayor asked the committee chairman to take more time and make sure that the minutes they turn in are legible and ready to be typed up. Dave requested a Personnel Committee meetiag immediately after the council meeting. There being no further business to come before the council at time~ the meeting was adjourned at 8:28 p.m. Cathy C~b r lan this Approved by the Laurel, Montana, ATTEST: Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City this 5th day of April, 1994. Charles Rodgers/ May~r Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk of