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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 02.01.1994Minutes of the City Council of Laurel February 1, 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 February 1, 1994. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Lonnie Kellogg Albert Ehrlick John Minch Donna Kilpatrick Gay Easton Bob Graham Ron Marshall Chuck Dickerson 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 January 18, 1994, as presented, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 8--0. CORRESPONDENCE: Bob Gauthier prepared the mid-year budget message for the council's review. Received the 2nd quarter and 1st half of the fiscal year hours from the Laurel Police Reserve. A copy of a letter to the Montana Water Quality Bureau from Mayor Rodgers, was made available to the council for their review and information. Received a letter from the Montana Department of Transportation regarding TranPlan 21. Received a letter from the Montana Department of Transportation regarding Community Transportation Enhancement Program funds for 1994. CLAIMS: Claims for the month of January 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 $ 385,281.68 for the month of January 1994, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. PUBLIC HEARING - COMMUNITY HOPE - SPECIAL REVIEW: This being the time and place advertised, a public hearing was held. The City Clerk distributed informational copies from the City-County Planning Board file. PROPONENTS Charles Fisher, Vice-President of Community Hope, has been involved with Community Hope for 1 1/2 years and his wife has been involved for ten years. Community Hope is a non-profit organization which helps serve human needs. Members that work there are all volunteers, receiving no pay for their time. Monetary donations come from the Laurel community but they do receive other help from United Way and the Food Bank in Billings. Charles said the money that is given for bills, rent and such, all comes from our community. Charles said the present building that Community Hope is in is too small and crowded to serve the needs of the people adequately. The proposed plan is for a residential style building to be located on Cedar Avenue and it would have 3200 square feet and the plan includes a driveway. The committee is trying to develop a plan that the Planning Board would recommend. They have addressed such issues as parking and a circle driveway that will keep the traffic flowing from their property onto Cedar Avenue and either South 4th Street or South 1st Street. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of February 1, 1994 donated to Community Hope for a building site and the money for the building will come from donations and grants. Charles said individuals have volunteered their labor to help cut costs. OPPONENTS: Judy Milliron, 207 Yellowstone Avenue, said she is opposed to the proposed location of Community Hope for several reasons and she has many concerns about it. She has a notarized letter from Pam Kimmell who has lived across from the present Community Hope location for several years. The letter outlines several occasions and several incidents that have happened to her that she feels are directly related to the location of her home to Community Hope. She is concerned about the transient traffic to the store. Laurel has a few transients that come through in the summer and stay in the trees by the railroad tracks, but for the most part, we do not have a problem with them yet. With Community Hope coming into their neighborhood, there is a strong possibility that the transient traffic will increase a lot. Judy said Laurel is becoming a popular spot for transients. Community Hope is saying that the proposed location would eliminate the transients by the trees and this may be so during business hours, but where will they go when the store is closed in the evening and on the weekends? Judy said some may go back to the trees but others will come into her neighborhood. Judy said she is alone during the week and does not cherish the thought of going out to her garage some morning to go to work and finding a transient in her vehicle, which is what Pam Kimmeii has found. Judy questioned whether any SID's would be required for this plan and would the south side residents be responsible for them. Is Community Hope considered a commercial property where a sprinkler system would be required in the building? Judy said in the drawing of the plan, it appears that there is parking in back, off the alley and a gate goes into the Community Hope area. ts the gate going to be locked all the time or is it going to be open just during the hours the store is open? Judy questioned if the parking in back is just for volunteers who are working and whether the patrons are to use the Cedar Avenue entrance. Judy said the area has a lot of elderly residents and children. A lot of people she has talked to are concerned about the children. She feels her neighborhood is very quite and very seldom do you see police patrolling the area. She is concerned whether or not police protection will be increased because of the amount of transients in the area. Community Hope is saying the drop off point will be maintained. They have a garage area where day drops can be made now but the new plans call for a night depository. Judy said she has been past Community Hope many times in the years she has lived in Laurel and the outside has always been a trashy mess where people make drop-offs. It wasn't until they came to the Planning Board for their building, that they started to clean it up and keep it that way. It does look great now and has for the past couple of months, but how can she be sure that it will be maintained like this all the time. Darlene Thormahlen, 208 Woodland, said she is very concerned about the children and the elderly in the neighborhood. The kids play on dirt hills which are close to the proposed building site and she doesn't feel her kids would be safe going there without adult supervision. Darlene said she has a husband who has be disabled shortly. She does not feel himself. had surgery and will probably he would be safe going out by Another concern is about police protection and the fact that the railroad tracks are sometimes blocked off. If there was ever a fire it could threaten the neighborhood because the houses are so close, Darlene stated that she shares all of Judy's concerns. Albert Ehrlick questioned why Community Hope has not addressed the traffic on South 4th Street since it is such a narrow street. He also Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of February 1~ 1994 Bob Graham has a concern that goes back to the Board of Adjustments and it is the same concern that Gerry Shay had. As Bob understands it, the council's purpose tonight is not to approve or disapprove Community Hope because the council does not have that right. Albert Ehrlick said that is a shame because the aldermen are elected by those people and we should be able to have our opinions. Since this is out of the council's hands, Bob said the council's job is to set the regulations, qualifications and standards that this building would be built under. He cautioned himself and the rest of the council to be careful in setting standards for them so we don't just make it a punitive issue, based on the fact that the council cannot vote for or against it. Let's keep this in mind and be reasonable in what we ask the people to do who are trying to build Community Hope, regardless of whether we are for or against it. Bob said he feels as frustrated as Albert that the aldermen cannot express their vote. In regard to the narrow street on the south side, Albert said he has had a lot of people run into his yard as they are coming off of Cedar Avenue onto Fourth Street and someone even hit his garage door and knocked the wall out six inches. Bob asked everyone to look at the map of the proposed area. One concern was regarding the turn-around in front of the building which Bob feels is inadequate. Cal Cumin has another drawing of what Community Hope has since proposed and it better addresses the turn- around in regard to safety and parking. On Cal's map, the driveway will come close to the building which will make a safer turn-around area which is not so sharp. This will also facilitate more parking in the area. Bob would like the council to request that they build the driveway as shown on Cal's map, address the additional parking this would create and landscape the front area. Another concern of Bob's is the night drop-off which could be a real fire hazard. If they do have a night drop, Bob feels they should be required to have a sprinkling system in the building. Darrell McGillen said that in Billings~ they have had numerous occasions where there are fire problems at drop-off points that are not manned 24 hours a day. He recommended that if they have a 24 hour drop-off and some of those hours are not being manned~ that a sprinkling system be installed. If they don't have the sprinklers~ they should not allow round the clock drop-offs. Charles Fisher said the drop-off point will be 15 feet away from the building. Claude Ingraham said that if no drop-off point is provided, people will still drop stuff off anyway. A lady in the audience said that from her experience of living else where, you will not be happy with a 24 hour drop-off because you can get anything in them. She cannot speak for Laurel but she assumes it would be the same here as it is in other cities. Darrell and Bob said they were not aware that the drop-off point would be separate from the building. Darrell said he understood that the drop would be directly into the building for security reasons and the comments he made were done so with this understanding in mind. Darrell said that if the drop is into a separate container, outside and away from the building, he does not foresee a problem. More discussion and it was stated that there are several different options for locating the drop-off container. Donna questioned what would be taken away if the enlarged. It was stated that there would be less buildings it would not effect the building at all. turn-around area is lawn in front of the Ron asked the Fire Chief how far away from the building should the drop-off container be located. Darrell said that would fall under the building codes, depending on what type of container it is. Darrell stated the Fire Department has n~v~r ha~ ~nv nvnh]~m~ ~Ti+h +h= Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of February 1, 1994 Being a business man in the location of Community Hope, he knows they have drop-offs around the clock. Darrell said he is just as guilty as anyone because on the weekend, if he decides to clean his garage and he doesn't want to put an item in the dumpster, he'll haul it to Community Hope and drop it off. Darlene questioned the fact that Bob said the council cannot vote for or against it. She and her husband wanted to have a place in this same area where they could store sprinkler system parts and they were denied this because of the increased traffic. What is the difference? Darlene said they were denied and others have been and yet the council cannot control who is over there? Cal Cumin said the difference is that Darlene's request would be for commercial use. Under the existing zoning ordinance in the City of Laurel, there are certain uses that are provided for in certain zones. But, they are only provided for~ subject to having to go through a special review process. That special review process then says you are allowed to be here but you have to put up a six foot fence, sprinkler system, cul-de-sac, etc. Under normal zoning, if someone comes in and wants to change their back yard into a pipe storage area, the city will say you cannot do that because it violates the zoning. It does not provide that if you put up a six foot fence~ you can just do it. You can't do that under your zoning. This process we are going through is called a special review. It is different. The use is allowed in the zone, but the city has the right to say that if it goes in here, we want all these things done. You cannot do that with the zoning itself. Darlene said the zoning was not the topic. The main problem at that time was the increased traffic in a residential area. Cal said it was a zoning issue because Darlene would have had to go before the Zoning Board or Board of Adjustments and the issue they were dealing with was changing the zoning. Darlene questioned what the open area in back is going to be used for. Jim Flisrand said the area in back on the drawing is just a lawn area, nothing more. There will also be optional storage and this would be sheds or whatever would fit the building codes for additional storage. Cal Cumin said he would like to give the council and the Mayor suggestions for getting through this process. He said they have a good understanding of what they are confronted with here. No decision has to be made tonight because this is just a public hearing where you receive input and this can be delayed for 30 days. He suggested that the Mayor appoint a committee with members from the council, both sides of the issue~ and from the public at large to sit down and work out the standards that we are going to require. He is concerned that if it gets approved or denied, that we will not know what width the street is~ how big the drop-off container is, where it will be located~ what it will be made out of or where the sprinkling system will go, etc. Cal said we need to get all this stuff worked out so when it is done, all this information is in the official record that this was approved subject to these requirements. Cal said he would be glad to participate in such a committee. It was the consensus of the council that this is a good Mayor said he would appoint three council members~ three three opponents and Cal Cumin as a member at large. idea. The proponents~ The council members appointed were Ron Marshall, Albert Ehrlick, and Bob Graham. The proponents from Community Hope will be Jim Flisrand, Steve Cosner, and Mary Elsenpeter. The opponents are Judy Milliron, Darlene Thormahlen~ and Mike Mathis. The meeting was [set for Monday, February 14th at 7:00 p.m. in the council chambers. Motion by Alderman Graham to close the public hearing, by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. seconded The meeting recessed at 7:42 p.m. for a short break and reconvened at 7:49 p.m. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of February 1, 1994 CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER: Jean Carroll Thompson said Christmas to Remember is here again for their yearly request that they have made in the past. They are planning on having a bazaar at the Movie Haus and the bus depot. This is a fund raiser for the committee and it was very successful last year. Jean Carroll said she is not sure if she has to come and get permission each time, but she is here. They plan to have the spring bazaar on March 18th and will rent spaces to craft people. They would like to expand if necessary, out into the street with food and a bake sale. The committee had an idea that during the summer, when it is nice, they would like to be able to sell pop and Jean Carroll was wondering if they have to come back each time and ask for permission. Last summer they sold hot dogs~ hamburgers and pop and the profit went to the Christmas to Remember Committee and it really helped to pay their bills, Jean Carroll said they would like to do it when the Movie Haus is having matinees because there is a lot of traffic downtown. Bob questioned whether Jean Carroll literally meant into the street and she said it would be just on the sidewalk and there would still be room for the public to walk. Jean Carroll clarified that the crafts would basically be inside the two buildings but it is nice to have something outside, either the food or bake sale, that will attract the customers attention and let them know something is going on. Ron Marshall said it has been known to snow in March and he wondered if this has been taken into consideration. Jean Carroll said they will basically be inside and there will be room for everything if the weather is inclement. Vicki Metzger asked whether the sale of hamburgers and hot dogs in the summer are for the Christmas to Remember Committee or for their own personal business. Jean Carroll said it is for Christmas to Remember. Vicki said she has never seen a sign that states it is for the committee. Jean Carroll said that if you look at the aprons, you will see "Christmas to Remember" on them. They do not have a box for money because they keep it all in the aprons that they are wearing. Jean Carroll said they do it for Crazy Days and for the sidewalk sale on July 3rd. If you had looked, you would have seen the name on the aprons. Vicki again asked her if they ever do it for their own private business. Jean Carroll said they mainly do it for Christmas to Remember. Vicki questioningly stated that they have done it for their own business. Jean Carroll said they have in the past but they generally do it for Christmas to Remember. The Mayor said it is more appropriate for the committee to come before the council each time they want to sell in order to keep a handle on it. If they start just doing it, others could to and it could get out of hand. Chuck Dickerson said Coast-to-Coast has done this and from his past experience on the council, he does not remember them coming to the council to ask permission to set up their pop machine and sell hot dogs. As far as he knows, this profit does not go to any type of charity, it goes back to Coast-to-Coast. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of Febrqary 1, 1994 The Mayor said we need to address it so it is uniform for If Coast-to-Coast is going to sell food on the sidewalk, need to come before the council for permission. everyone. they also Motion by Alderman Graham to allow Committee to have their bazaar on March 18, Dickerson. Motion carried 8--0. the Christmas to Remember 1994, seconded by Alderman ADOPT CABO ONE & TWO FAMILY DWELLING CODE - 1992 EDITION: ORDINANCE NO. 094-1 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 15.16.010 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE CABO ONE AND TWO FAMILY DWELLING CODE 1992 EDITION, INCLUDING AMENDMENTS Public Hearing: No comments. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Kellogg that Ordinance No. 094-1 (second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, "YES". Motion carried 8--0. ADOPT UNIFORM FIRE CODE - 1991 EDITION: ORDINANCE NO. 094-2 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 15.40.010 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE UNIFORM FIRE CODE 1991 EDITION Public Hearing: No comments. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 8--0. Motion_~ Alderman Marshall that Ordinance No. 094-2 reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Graham. (second Darrell McGillen wanted to make the council aware that in the 1991 Fire Codes, there are some articles that the City of Laurel does not have the expertise or manpower to enforce. In the past, the State of Montana has looked at the fire codes and elected to pull some of these articles out and not pass them within the State of Montana. Darrell said he is not aware of them doing this with the 1991 codes. One of these articles is in reference to underground storage tanks and the other is the dispensing of flammable liquids. These are very stringent codes and he wants the council to be aware that when they adopt the Uniform Fire Code 1991 Edition~ you are adopting the whole code. If you adopt the whole thing, we may not be in the same compliance with the state as we have been in the past. Ron Marshall withdrew his motion and Bob withdrew his second. This item will be put on the agenda for the February 15th meeting. ADOPT UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE - 1991 EDITION: ORDINANCE NO. 094-3 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 15.20..010 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE 1991 EDITION Public Hearing: No comments. Motion _~ Alderman Dickerson to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. Motion b.v Alderman Dickerson that Ordinance No. 094-3 reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Marshall. ( second A roll Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 7 Council Meeting of February 1, 1994 ADOPT UNIFORM BUILDING CODE - 1991 EDITION: ORDINANCE NO. 094-4 AMENDING SECTION 15.12.010 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE UNIFORM BUILDING CODE 1991 EDITION Public Hearing: No comments. Motion by Alderman Marshall to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that Ordinance No. 094-4 (second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Ehriick. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, "YES". Motion carried 8--0. COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of January 18, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of January 18, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of January 18, 1994 were presented. Motion by Alderman Marshall to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of January 18, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0, --City-County Planning Board minutes of January 13, 1994 presented and reviewed. were Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the City-County Planning Board minutes of January 13, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Easton. Cal Cumin reported on the issues surrounding land owned by Pat Mullaney on Montana and East Maryland and it lies adjacent to George Metzger's property. The Metzger's are wanting the right to put in a beauty shop on their property. Mr. Mullaney wants to be able to profit from his purchase of tax title property. He told Metzger's that they can request a land use variance from the Planning Board, which acts as the zoning commission. Cal does not think they can get it because they cannot prove a hardship. But, Mr. Mullaney could because his land is adversely affected by the existing use which is the stink of cattle and pig oder from next door. This is a hardship that really is not of his making. What bothers Cal is that Mullaney wants the property zoned commercial. Under the city zoning ordinances, you cannot request a zone change unless you have at least a square city block in size. If they get together they can do this. Cal said he does not know if this is in the best interest of the city. We adopted a Comprehensive Plan back in 1978 and we defined how the city would grow and where the commercial areas would be. Cai hates to see another commerc'ial area out here unless it is really justified. It was stated that neither Mullaney or Metzger's properties are in the city limits but the city does have jurisdiction for one mile outside the city limits. Cal said it is up to the parties if they pursue it any further. They have the right to apply for the application. Cal has been in contact with Mullaney for a couple of years but the Metzger issue has just come up. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 8 Council Meeting of February 1, 1994 The Planning Board asked the council to address the issue of having a replacement secretary fill in for their meetings if Cberyll is unab].e to attend. Don Hackmann commented that Cheryll has missed two meetings in tile last year and a half. One was when she was on vacation a year ago and the other was just the last meeting. Chuck said he has no problem with that and he does not feel that we need to select an alternate, he just wanted the council to address it so it can be taken back to the Planning Board. Cal said the council took it under advisement and it is not just the meetings that Cheryll gets paid for, it is spending hours trying to sort out the minutes and handle all the correspondence for the committee. Don said the $ 200.00 a month the Planning Board approves is just an internal transfer within the budget. Cheryll does not get paid this money, she receives her regular salary. When she takes the minutes, she is earning comp time that can be used at a later date. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. --License Committee minutes of January 27, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Easton to enter the License Committee of January 27, 1994, into the record, seconded by Alderman Motion carried 8--0. minutes Ehrlick. Discussion regarding the meeting to be held on February 8, 1994 where the bonding of contractors will be discussed. --Parks Committee minutes of January 28, 1994 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Parks minutes of January 28, 1994, into the record~ seconded by Easton. Committee Alderman Dave Michael stated that the field Cindy Chappel is requesting use of is located on East 8th Street, not South 8th Street. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. SALE OF SINGLE IMPROVED LOT - CHERRY HILLS: A written report from the Budget/Finance Committee meeting of February 1, 1994 will be presented at the February 15th meeting. A Haus of Realty received three offers for the single improved lot in Cherry Hills, 2nd Filing, Lot 12, Block 11. Discussion followed and the council decided the city will not pay for the following closing costs in regard to the sale, $ 35.00 for the deeds $ 146.00 for title insurances and $ 130.00 for closing fees. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to accept the Lambrecht offer for Lot 12, Block 11, Cherry Hills Subdivision, 2nd Filing, in the amount of $ 12,200.00 with the previous stipulations and to authorize the Mayor to sign the appropriate documentss seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 8--0. It was stated that this is a counter offer back to A Haus of Realty. They have the right to accept or reject it or they can come back with another counter offer. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Cal Cumin said Joe Bradley is Planning Board and they need a city appointee. no longer interested replacement for him. in being on the This would be a Chuck will speak with V. Joe Leckie and see if he is interested in serving on this board. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 9 Council Meeting of February 1, 1994 Joe Leckie is in Washington D.C. collecting $ 100,000.00 for the local Red Cross organization. There will be a Public Utilities Committee meeting on Monday, February 14th. The Garbage Committee meeting will be held on Monday, February 21st. Chuck Dickerson inquired about a letter from Joe Bradley that supposedly went out to all council members on January MOth. Chuck said it has been taken care of. Dave Michael asked for a meeting with the Personnel Committee after the council meeting. APPOINTMENTS: None MAYOR'S COMMENTS: Chuck commented on the letter to the Water Quality Bureau. A meeting will be held with HKM Associates next Thursday, February 10th regarding a contract where they claim we were in with them on Task I, II, III and they are claiming that we are still in Task III. Chuck said Jim Flisrand, Bob Gauthier, the Utilities Committee Chairman and himself will be involved in the meeting. Chuck reminded the council that the Governor's Conference on Emergency Management will be held in Billings on February 15, 16, and 17, 1994. Areas that will be addressed are fire, police and communications. We received a letter from the Department of Transportation regarding the ISTEA funds. The project that we are looking to address is the Chief Joseph memorial and we may also look at the log cabin. Chuck said this is a sore subject with many people but the lease with the railroad definitely states it will be used as an information booth and this will be a benefit to the city. Chuck said there is an ongoing effort to reopen the museum but it has had a difficult time coming up with a location. They were turned down by ISTEA because the proposal was for a new building and they prefer that it be located in some historical building. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:37 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 15th day of February, 1994. ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk