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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 02.02.1993Minutes of the City Council of Laurel February 2, 1993 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 2, 1993. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Norman Orr Albert Ehrlick L.D. Collins Donna Kilpatrick Gay Easton Bob Graham Ron Marshall COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Lonnie Kellogg INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Reverend Peterson. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Collins to approve the minutes of the meeting of January 19, 1993, as presented, seconded by Marshall. Motion carried 7--0. regular Alderman CORRESPONDENCE: Received a letter from the Director of the Senior Helping Hands Program, thanking the city for their support. Received a letter from Randall Schardt parking on South Fourth Street. (See minutes of January 21, 1993.} regarding the traffic and Street and Alley Committee Received a letter from the State of Montana Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Solid Waste Program regarding the application for a container site. 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 amount of $ 560,459.89 for the month of January, Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. all claims in the 1993, seconded by JOINT YELLOWSTONE HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD: Gall Kenson, staff planner for Yellowstone County, joint effort between the City of Laurel, the City Crow Tribal Council and the Yellowstone County establish a Yellowstone Historic Preservation Board. stated this is a of Billings, the Commissioners to This Certified Local Government Program is being created under the laws of the State Historic Preservation Office and the Department of Interior. This would allow communities to place historic buildings on the register, receive special funding for preservation projects and help fund the local CLG office. This program gives you more clout with the Federal Government when you go to do restoration projects. Gall said this brings the community together with the emphasis on preservation. This becomes a tool for economic development which creates more tourism. The planning department would like to see a network set up so when a tourist comes in, there is a trail set up throughout the county by which to see the historic places and sites. Gall said that as a department, they feel it is most effective to do it jointly or cooperatively with each municipality within Yellowstone County. The state prefers to fund only one Certified Local Government within a county. Each jurisdiction appoints one member to the nine member board. The remaining five members are appointed through an application process by which the names are submitted to the governing bodies and the majority vote appoints them. Gall said the the five members can come from any area of Yellowstone County but three of them must have professional backgrounds in archeology, architecture, planning, history or something that applies to historical preservation. Minutes of the Page 2 Council Meeting of February 2, City Council 1993 of Laurel In regard to a question, Gall said there is no financial obligation to be a part of this program. The funding process is one of matching funds so if your community would apply for a grant, matching funds would have to be raised. If your community is not involved in a project, there is no financial obligation. If there was a project in the Laurel area, the council would have the final say of whether they would want to take on the funding of the project. Each jurisdiction decides independently of the others, whether or not they are going to spend money. Gall said that once the CLG Board is established, there is a Historic Preservation Officer. The position can be paid or voluntary and the state will allot up to $ 1,500.00 a year towards a full time officer. Gall said her department feels the position should be filled by a qualified staff person within the department. In this way, there would be no expense to any municipality. There are several within her department who have the qualifications and they would like to appoint one of them as half-time preservation officer. CITY OF LAUREL RESOLUTION NO. 2634 A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, THE CITY OF BILLINGS, CROW TRIBAL COUNCIL AND THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY, CREATING AND ESTABLISHING A BOARD TO BE KNOWN AS THE YELLOWSTONE HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD AND PROVIDING FOR APPOINTMENT AND QUALIFICATION OF MEMBERS, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD, APPOINTMENT AND DUTIES OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER, AND PROVIDING FOR SCHEDULING MEETINGS Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that Resolution No. 2634 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. More discussion on the appointment of the five members at large. Gall said it is their hope that the board is well balanced with members from throughout the county. More importantly though, is that the remaining members are people who truly want to participate and serve on the board. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 7--0. AUTHORIZE EXECUTION OF INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT: RESOLUTION NO. 2635 AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY CLERK TO EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR THE CREATION OF A YELLOWSTONE HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that Resolution No. 2635 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. GARBAGE RATE INCREASE: This being the time and place advertised, a public hearing was held. PROPONENTS Bob Graham explained for those in the audience the reasons for the garbage rate increase. The Garbage Fund is running in the red and additional revenue is required to get it operating in the black again. The increase will help to maintain the current level of service, buy additional equipment and build a scale for the weighing of our trucks. Bob said an in depth study was done of the commercial area and their rates were adjusted accordingly. OPPONENTS Lee Plummet, owner of Little Scotty Mobile Home Court, stated he was not here to object to the rate increase but rather to ask for clarification of what he will be paying per trailer. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of February 2, 1993 Dave Michael stated that each trailer in a trailer court will be charged the same garbage fee as a single family residential home which is $ 10.25 per month. Bob Graham said the multi-family units will also be adjusted and each will pay $ 10.25 per month for garbage. Motion by Alderman Collins to close the public hearing, by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. seconded RESOLUTION NO. 2636 A RESOLUTION RAISING ANNUAL REFUSE COLLECTION FEES TO ALL USERS Motion by Alderman Marshall that Resolution No. 2636 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. L.D. stated that previously there was some confusion regarding the rate increase. He clarified that the increase is per unit of trash that is being hauled. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 7--0. DELETE PASSENGER LOADING ZONE: The Mayor said Burlington Northern requested that the second reading of Ordinance No. 1066 be postponed until the next council meeting. Motion by Alderman Collins to postpone the Ordinance No. 1066 until the council meeting on seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 7--0. second reading of February 16, 1993, PARKING LARGE VEHICLES PROHIBITED: ORDINANCE NO. 1067 (first reading} AMENDING SECTION 10.48.110 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ALLOW THE PARKING OF LARGER TRUCKS IN CITY LIMITS Motion by Alderman Marshall that Ordinance No. 1067 (first reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen present voted, "YES". Motion carried 7--0. COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of January 19, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick Committee minutes of January 19, 1993, Alderman Easton. Motion carried 7--0. to enter the Budget/Finance into the record, seconded by --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of January 19, 1993 were presented. Motion by Alderman Marshall to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of January 19, 1993, into the record, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. --Parks Committee minutes of January 28, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Parks minutes of January 28, 1993, into the record, seconded by Orr. Motion carried 7--0. Committee Alderman --Street and Alley Committee presented and reviewed. minutes of January 21, 1993 were Albert Ehrlick commented that he is not in favor of doing away with the parking on South Fourth Street. He said he has lived there since 1948 and he has never seen a car hit from behind when parked. Albert feels that the parked cars slow the traffic down on this street. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of February 2, 1993 Albert said he has called the police station regarding the speed of traffic in the area and he put in a complaint several years ago when his garage door was hit. Albert said he was told that he was the only one to complain. After talking to neighbors, he found that several of them had also registered complaints. Discussion followed regarding the narrow street. It was stated that when cars are parked on the street, two lanes of traffic cannot pass simultaneously. Gay Easton said he has been observing the traffic on this street at different times of the day for several days. He found that the only place where cars were parked on a regular basis was in front of the apartment building and that is because the tenants are not using their off street parking that is provided. Gay also talked to school bus drivers who use this on a daily basis and they have no problems with it. Gay said that Avenue since avenues. if there is a buffer zone, it should stop at Yellowstone the traffic dissipates as it goes up and down the Gay feels that if you restrict the traffic on this street, it will push it onto another street which is equally as narrow. He feels that this needs more study before a decision can be made. In response to a question, Mike Atkinson stated there were no accidents on South Fourth Street last year. When questioned, Darrell McGillen said this street is the fire department's main thoroughfare from the south entrance off First Avenue. Darrell commented that when the nursing home was located on the south side, he requested that the city widen South Fifth Street but there was opposition from one resident and the council backed off as far as doing anything. Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to enter the Street and Alley Committee minutes of January 21, 1993, into the record, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. Dick Clayton~ President of the Senior Citizens Center, stated he is very concerned about taking away their parking in front of the building. They have many wheelchair bound people that use this area along with the senior bus that unloads there. Joe stated that a public hearing can be held on the issue and letters can be sent to all residents along South Fourth Street, if the council so desires. Joe Bradley suggested that Albert Ehrlick write back to Mr. Schardt informing him that this issue was discussed but no action was taken at this time. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Jim Worthington reported that he did not attend the meeting put on by the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences in Helena on February 1st. When he called to apply, he was told that as a registered engineer, he can prepare the plans and specifications but he cannot review them so there was no sense in attending the meeting. (See Council of the Whole minutes of January 19, 1993) Ken Hageman, owner of Hageman Elevator, came before the council asking the city to do whatever is necessary to open the underpass drains. Since the new storm sewer was installed there is not much water there but when we do have a shower, it doesn't take much to force the closure of the underpass. Ken stated that in all the years that he has owned the elevators, he has never had a problem with ground water until two years ago. This has done countless damage to both elevators. Quite by accident, Ken found out that the refinery put a gate at the lower end of the pipe and for two years they kept the gate closed so the underpass would not drain. Ken went to the highway department and they had no knowledge of what was originally put in there. After that they would open the ~ate one dav and find if ~ln~d ~ Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of February 2, 1993 Ken said the gate has been open for the last few months but he feels the sand that is spread in the winter for traction, has washed in the drain and now has it plugged tight. Since the water cannot flow to the river as intended, it is seeping into the ground and causing problems. Discussion followed and Ken stated the gate is located east of the water plant. Jim Worthington said the line is owned and accepted by the State Highway Department. Two years ago a small amount of oil showed up where the water drains into the river and the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences ordered that that point be blocked. It was blocked on and off for a period of time. Jim said that the entire line has collapsed and deteriorated to the point where the manholes are activated by the water table. Jim said the highway department agrees with this and they have worked with Cenex to do some work on this. Three years ago they contacted the city stating that work would be done on it but nothing has been done so far. Jim said that the city cannot do anything because the line is owned and accepted by the highway department. The Mayor told Ken that we will try and contact the state and see where things stand. APPOINTMENTS: The Mayor appointed Dave Michael, Assistant Public Works Director Jim Worthington, Public Works Director, for two year terms. Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to confirm the Mayor*s appointment Dave Michael and Jim Worthington for two year terms, seconded Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. and of by The Mayor stated Mike Zuhoski effective January 29, 1993 position. has completed his probationary period, and he appointed him to a permanent Motion by Alderman Marshall to confirm the Mayor's appointment of Mike Zuhoski to a permanent position~ seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 7--0. The Mayor appointed Ryan Yeager to the Ambulance Reserve. Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to confirm the Mayor's appointment of Ryan Yeager to the Ambulance Reserve, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. MAYOR'S COMMENTS: Chuck complimented Bob Graham and the Garbage Committee for the outstanding job they have done. Chuck said that Dave Michael had a lot to do with that and he worked very hard to put the information together for the committee and they worked well together. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m. Donald L. ~ackmann, City Clerk Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 16th day of February, 1993. ATTEST: Charles Rodger~]~, Mayor