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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 02.16.1993Minutes of the City Council of Laurel February 16, 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 16, 1993. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Norman Orr Albert Ehrtick L.D. Collins Donna Kilpatrick Gay Easton Bob Graham Ron Marshall Lonnie Kellogg COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Collins. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Marshall to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of February 2, 1993, as presented, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. CORRESPONDENCE: Received the minutes and activity report for the month of January from the Air Pollution Control Board. Received a legislative bulletin from the Montana League of Cities and Towns. Received a copy of a letter to Keith and Jean Carroll Thompson from Joe Bradley, City Attorney. CITY CLERK & CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of January were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that the City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of January, 1993, be approved, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. PUBLIC HEARING - ISTEA PROGRAM: Cal Cumin stated the purpose of the public hearing is to provide an information overview of the ISTEA Act. This is a program that provides local counties and cities a considerable amount of money for transportation-related projects. In 1991 the Federal Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act provided this money. The funds are distributed by the Department of Transportation on a per capita basis. (ISTEA) Montana Laurel presently has approximately $ 65,014.00 dollars to its credit and if everything goes as planned, we will get an annual addition of $ 33,000.00 for the next four years. Laurel must match these federal funds with cash amounting to approximately 13.42 percent of a project's cost. With the amount we currently have to our credit, we would have to come up with $ 8,725.00. Col said cash is preferable to in-kind services because these must be approved by the Federal Highway Administration. Cal said this is a lot of money but he foresees problems with it. As with all federal programs that are funded, every federal act that deals with labor and disabilities requires that every "i" be dotted and every "t" crossed. Every kind of law that you can think of that applies to labor and construction programs and standards, applies to this also. Projects smaller than $ 10,000.00 will not be considered because of the high administrative costs. Projects may be phased over the six year life of the funding program. Each council member received a handout and Col went on to explain the required guidelines for the program. The type of projects that have been discussed in Laurel range from a bike and pedestrian path on West 9th Street to a railroad museum. The prioritization of projects that are submitted to the city will be based on the eii~ibilitw requirements, the hydra11 h~n~i~ ~ ~ Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of February 16, 1993 completed, the level of community SUpport, compatibility with other plans and programs, and the environmental impact. Preliminary applications will be submitted to the Planning Board within 60 days and they will not be considered unless the minimum information is included, as stated in the handout. Cal went on to explain the project review criteria. Cal reviewed the project selection process and stated that the City Council will ultimately make the final selection. The selected pro3ect applicant will then work with the Planning Board to provide as complete an application as necessary for submittal to Montana Department of Transportation. Acceptable projects will then be submitted to the Montana Highway Commission and upon approval, the MDT would secure funding for the project from the Federal Highway Administration. The final item on the handout is the ISTEA implementation schedule and Cal stated that we are now to the item that establishes a submittal deadline. In response to a question, Cal said the money goes back to the state if it is not used. Jim Worthington clarified that the money will be set aside in an account for Laurel until the end of the six year period and, if at that time it has not been used, it would revert back to the state. Motion by Alderman Graham to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Graham that the deadline for submittal of applications be 60 days from now (April 19th) at 5:00 p.m., seconded by Alderman Easton. Motion carried 8--0. ANNUAL REVIEW GREYHOUND BUS DEPOT LOCATION: Joe Bradley stated the Greyhound Bus Depot location is reviewed annually by the council. Mike Atkinson, Police Chief, said there have been no complaints or accidents due to the double parking of buses. In regard to the double parking issue, Mike questioned whether taxi cabs can double park when picking up passengers. He said the dispatch received a call from the owner of a cab, wondering if they can double park. The Mayor said that if the council gives permission, his big question is whether or not the city can be held liable if a accident occurs? Joe Bradley said the city could be held liable since we are allowing the buses to stop in the lane of traffic. City Hall received one call last summer from a mother whose child was crossing the street and couldn't see a car because of the bus. Bob Graham asked Keith how this would affect his business if double parking was denied. Keith said if it was denied, the buses would park in the alley and it would have no direct impact on him. Keith explained that the reason this was instituted years ago was because the city felt it would be much safer and convenient for the people who use the facilities to board out front rather than using the alley, which is full of ice in the winter. Keith said the city also considered it safer having the buses stop the way they currently are rather than pulling across the street from the alley. If double parking was denied, Bob asked Keith if he has any of whether or not the bus companies would deny service because of poor parking arrangements? knowledge to Laurel Keith said he has no knowledge or whether or not they would. They would have to give 30 day notice to the State Public Service Commission before they could dron Laurel of~ the ~h~d,,]~. W~4~h ~aiH Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of February 16~ 1993 Ron Marshall asked Keith if he is aware of other towns that allow double parking like we have. Keith said that when he has ridden the bus, this is typical in smaller towns. Sometimes they may not double park but because of the narrow streets and wide buses, it creates a problem much like what we have here. Keith said Big Timber, Park City and possibly Columbus~ have situations like ours. Vicki Metzger reminded the council that as of this time, Keith still does not have a business license for the bus depot. L.D. Collins stated that he went by a parked bus twice in the last week and by being careful, he was able to go by the bus without crossing the center line into the other lane of traffic. Bob questioned the feasibility of having a bus loading zone and said he is aware that this would take away several parking spaces. Mike Atkinson said he has noticed that towns the size of Laurel have their own bus loading zones. This would be ideal but he doesn't know how feasible it would be in Laurel. Given the situation, Mike would rather see the buses continue to double park rather than start parking in the alley. Joe agreed that a bus loading zone would be ideal but it would take three or four prime parking spots away. Joe reminded the council that the city is engaged in on-going litigation with the Thompsons' over the bus license. It has been appealed to district court and Joe said that if the council grants them permission to park buses in the lane of traffic, it could be used against the city in the lawsuit. Joe said the council should not be granting them any special permission that other businesses do not have. Joe responded to a question saying the council can postpone a decision until after the litigation but it should be limited. They could use it against us saying we are granting them special privileges, although we claim they should not be in business at all. The case went to city court and they were found guilty of doing business without a license. They should not be in the bus business at all because they have not bought a bus license. Joe recommends that the council not grant permission for double parking the buses and we would tell the police not to write any citations until the case is decided in Billings. L.D. asked if we could just postpone this until after the litigation is settled. Motion by Alderman Collins to postpone any action on this matter until after litigation~ seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Joe said the effect this would have is that he would not have permission to park the buses on the street. You are not granting permission for the buses to park. L.D. said that if we take away the double parking, couldn't their attorney say that we are applying pressure on him to make him buy the license and use this against us. Joe said that is the whole idea. We have the right to apply pressure. These are our ordinances and they require a license to run a bus depot. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion defeated 5--3. Motion by Alderman Graham to deny permission for buses to park in the street, seconded by Alderman Orr. Joe said that if this motion passes, the way we would proceed is that we would not notify Greyhound of this and we would allow the buses to continue parking as they have been. We would not write any citations until the time that district court makes a decision. Motion carried 6--2 with Alderman Collins and Ehrlick voting, "NO", Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of February 16, 1993 will not do anything until the appeal goes through the process in Billings. NORMA LARSON APPEAL - AMBULANCE COMMITTEE: Donna Kilpatrick is bringing Norma behalf of the Ambulance Committee. present her side of it. Larson's appeal to the council on Norma is present and she will Joe Bradley said it would be in order to make a motion to reconsider the committee's decision to uphold the firing. Once the motion is made and seconded, then Norma can address the council. But, if the council does not want to reconsider it, she would not be allowed to address the council. Joe suggested that the committee minutes be reviewed first. The Ambulance Committee minutes of February 9, 1993 were reviewed at this time. Gay Easton stated that many hours were spent looking into the problems. Everyone who had anything to do with it has been contacted and the committee tried to give everyone a fair chance. Gay said the details were not put into the minutes because of the personal nature of things but everything is on tape and on file. Gay commented that he still supports the committee's decision and felt they did a good job of looking at all aspects of it. Joe said the Ambulance Committee by-laws say the council always reserves the right to make the final decision. Now, the council decides whether they want to review what the ambulance committee went through. If you do, Norma will be given the chance to address the council and Gay can show the letter that was written to Norma explaining the decision. Bob Graham said that before he makes a motion to that effect, he feels it is Norma's right to go through all the steps for her discharge from the position. Norma has the right to call for a closed meeting but Bob said that if she doesn't, he wants her to realize that what will be brought out may possibly end up in the newspaper. Bob then asked Norma if she would request a closed meeting if he makes a motion to reconsider the committee's decision. Norma said she would not. L.D. Collins asked Norma if she felt she was given a fair hearing and he asked her to answer with a "yes" or "no". Norma said a yes or no answer is very hard to give. She said in some respects she felt it was fair and in others she felt it was not fair. She said she did not come here tonight to rehash the whole nine yards but rather to make a brief statement to the council. Motion by Alderman Collins to uphold the decision of the Ambulance Committee, seconded by Alderman Orr. Joe asked L.D. for clarification that he understands that this motion would not allow Norma to speak. Joe asked for a copy of the ambulance by-laws and said that the member who is disciplined or discharged has the right to appeal to the Ambulance Committee and that the City Council reserves the final decision. Ron Marshall feels Norma should be given the right to make a statement to the council. Lonnie Kellogg said that if he was in Norma's shoes he would want to make a statement. Norman withdrew his second to the motion. L.D. Collins said that if we are going to listen to it all again, what's the purpose of having the committee. You should have just brought it here in the first place then. Joe said Article 5, Section B of the by-laws states: Any member may appeal any decision of the director to the Ambulance Committee. The Ambulance Committee may review and modify ~nv d~n~inn n~ th~ Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of February 16, 1993 Article 5, Section C says: The right to veto any decision made Ambulance Committee. Mayor and City Council reserve the by the Ambulance Director or the Joe said that is the position the council finds itself in now, whether or not you're going to veto the Ambulance Committee's decision. Joe said Norma stated she did not want to rehash it but rather to make a statement, so he recommends that the council hears her out. L.D. withdrew his motion. Motion by Alderman Graham to hear Norma's comments, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 8--0. Norma thanked the council for hearing her. She said she is not as prepared as she would like to be tonight because she requested copies of all the material in her personnel file on February 10th at 1:20 p.m. from the Ambulance Director, Cheryl Marshall. Cheryl said she could not prepare it that day but could possibly do it on Thursday and she would call and let her know. Norma said she had not heard from Cheryl by Saturday so she called and left a message on her answering machine at home and never did hear from her. Norma feels that since she did not see that material, she does not know what it contains and she does not know what the disposition was of some of the older articles that are said to be in there. Norma said she still wants copies of all the material in her personnel file. She doesn't know whose responsibility it is to see that she gets it but so far she has been denied it and she feels she should have it. Norma said, "I entered this in a very naive state, to think that one person could buck City Hall and make a change. I come up against an attitude of the head of the department (that she) is 100 percent, unquestionably right and any decision or any action that is taken is 100 percent right. If anyone questions any of these decisions or actions, we're labeled a malcontent or a trouble maker and we therefore are 100 percent, totally, unquestionably wrong." Norma went on to say, "I feel I presented my case to a panel of fair minded, hardworking people who made an effort to look into this, however I find the fact that this committee has no written guidelines which tells it its scope of operation or its latitude of authority, could leave a lot of questions in these peoples minds as to exactly what they can or cannot do. This is the way governments are run, I understand that. That's why these people are on these committees. But what has happened, specifically in the last years, is I have noticed the problem progressing. The problem is, we are not solving the problems we are facing, all our problems have been fired. There has been no attempt made to delve into it because the director is right and those who question her are wrong, regardless of what we say or how we say it, we are labeled wrong." Norma continued by saying, "Cheryl and I are both hard headed people and Cheryl and I have not seen eye to eye for some time. But, that does not make her 100% right and me 100% wrong. I have worked on the ambulance service since 1986 and I have given it my everything because it is my true love. I do it because I want to. It is a service to my community that this community needs and I'm proud to serve on it." (The tape was turned over at this point) When the tape came on Norma was saying, "...I have done it well for eight years. In the process of this, my reputation has been tarnished, my integrity, and I guess everybody listened but nobody heard what I was saying. I'm really sorry that I'm the volunteer that paid for my own training to become an EMT. I have paid for a lot of my continuing education and the city has paid for continuing education for me. As a volunteer, a servant of my community, I'm being denied the right to serve. I think that is a sad thing, when volunteers are turned away, because they are hard to come by. I'm very disappointed in the outcome. I think the people tried hard but I just don't think they really heard what was being said. There are members on this council that are on that Ambulance Committee and I know none of you want to sit through three and one half hours, of stacks of paper and some papers that I feel are important to the case, that I have not Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of February 16, 1993 Norma said she did receive it but that is not a copy of the material in her file and she would like copies of all of it. She would like to see what was read and the interpretation of the newspapers. Joe explained that he talked to Cheryl and since Norma implied litigation over this~ Joe said that all information released should come through him. Joe said he was sorry the Norma did not get the message but we would be happy to provide Norma with copies of everything in her file. Norma thanked the council and said that if anyone has further questions~ she~s sure the council members who sit on the Ambulance Committee would be happy to fill you in on it. Norma left at this time. Joe said the next order of business would be a motion to veto the committee's recommendation. Gay asked if there were any comments about what Norma said and Joe stated that the letter to Norma should be read at this time. Gay said the committee did not interpret some of Norma~s statements the way she said. We have a different story coming from the director. Gay read the letter that was sent to Norma notifying her of the Ambulance Committee's decision to terminate her. Joe said it's not incumbent upon the council to discuss it anymore unless someone wants to make a motion to veto the committee's decision. If no one wants to make that motion, you can proceed with the next order of business. Ron Marshall questioned whether there was documentation of verbal and/or written warnings. Joe and Gay explained that there was on two different occasions. Chuck stated that the committee put a lot of time in on this matter and every effort was given back and forth. Names have changed off and on but what you are upholding is the credibility of the ambulance service itself. Joe said Norma was afforded the due process to which she was entitled. The by-laws require a hearing before the ambulance director before disciplinary action is taken by the director and Norma got that on January 19th at a regular crew meeting. She was given every opportunity to address the crew and the director and at the end of that meeting is when the director decided to terminate her. There was no motion to veto the committee's decision so the committee's decision to terminate Norma Larson stands. TRANSFER FUNDS - CAPITAL PROJECTS AMBULANCE: RESOLUTION NO. 2637 BEING A RESOLUTION TRANSFERRING CERTAIN FUNDS OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA Motion by Alderman Marshall that Resolution No. 2637 be passed and adopted~ seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. ADOPT POLICE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL: RESOLUTION NO. 2638 APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE POLICE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL Motion by Alderman Orr that Resolution No. 2638 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. In response to a question, Mike Atkinson stated he is very pleased with this manual. Joe said we hope to come back and amend this manual in regard to use of force and high speed chases. We are waiting for our insurance carrier, MMIA, to send us form guidelines for the~e and w~ w~]] ~dd Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 7 Council Meeting of February 16, 1993 A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. 1992-93 MID-YEAR BUDGET TRANSFERS: RESOLUTION NO. 2639 BEING A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING BUDGET TRANSFERS OR REVISIONS Motion by Alderman Orr that Resolution No. 2639 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. DELETE PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED PASSENGER LOADING ZONE: ORDINANCE NO. 1066 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 10.48.140 TO DELETE A PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED PASSENGER LOADING ZONE Public Hearing: Joe said this would delete the passenger loading zone in front of the BN motel on Colorado Avenue. This was established by the council at the specific request of BN. Joe said it is his understanding that they are not using it anymore. He spoke to an attorney for BN today and they have no objections to the deletion of the passenger loading zone. Motion by Alderman Orr to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Kellogg. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Orr that Ordinance No. 1066 (second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. A roll call vote as taken and all aldermen voted, "YES". Motion carried 8--0. Jim Worthington stated that due to the change in BN's use of their facility, they do not need the passenger loading zone since they are able to swing around back and unload passengers. They did comment though, that because in change in activity~ they would like to bring before the council at a future date~ the possibility of having a no parking or an unloading zone about 40 feet to the east of the area where they currently unload. This would give them the availability of unloading trucks and bringing in supplies to the main sidewalk which goes between the buildings. Joe stated this would be a freight loading zone for Intermotel Leasing Company which operates the motel. PARKING LARGE TRUCKS IN CITY LIMITS: ORDINANCE NO. 1067 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 10.48.110 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ALLOW THE PARKING OF LARGER TRUCKS IN CITY LIMITS Public Hearing: non Marshall stated he did some research regarding the length of vehicles. He called Pierce RV Motor Home Sales in Billings and they said the longest vehicles they normally sell or keep in their inventory is 34 feet. Some are made up to 40 feet but they are very rare. He then measured two other delivery type vehicles and they were approximately 30 feet in length. Joe clarified that this ordinance that can be parked on the street~ off the street onto your own lot. only limits the length of vehicles it doesn't limit what you can pull Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Marshall that Ordinance No. 1067 (second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion by Alderman Marshall to amend Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 8 Council Meeting of February 16, 1993 A roll call vote was taken on Ordinance No. 1067 as amended. carried 8--0. Motion ESTABLISHING ZERO SETBACK: ORDINANCE NO. 1068 (first reading) AMENDING SECTION 17.16.020 AND TABLE 17.16.020 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, ESTABLISHING ZERO SETBACKS IN RESIDENTIAL 6,000, RLMF, AND RMF ZONES IF APPROVED THROUGH THE SPECIAL REVIEW PROCESS Joe said this ordinance came from the Planning Board for certain higher density residential areas in which duplexes are already allowed. This ordinance would allow duplexes to be built square across lot lines with one unit on each side of the lot line so that the individual units on the separate lots could be sold separately. The two units would share a common wall. Joe said according to codes, this would only be allowed after going through the special review process on a case by case basis. More discussion and it was stated that this allows the units to be sold separately. Joe said we currently have ordinances addressing this as far as townhouses~ which are defined as three or more units but nothing addresses duplexes. Cai said this helps both the developer and the city. The developer can use lots that are too small for regular housing requirements and it helps the city by putting unused property back on the tax rolls. Motion by Alderman Graham that Ordinance No. 1068 (first reading} be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. A roll call vote was taken and the motion carried 7--1 with Alderman Collins voting, "NO". COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Ambulance Committee minutes of February 9, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Easton to enter the minutes of February 9, 1993, into the record, Orr. Motion carried 8--0. Ambulance seconded by Committee Alderman --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of February 2, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick Committee minutes of February 2, 1993, Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. to enter the Budget/Finance into the record, seconded by --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of February 2, 1993 were presented. Motion by Alderman Marshall to of the Whole minutes of February 2, Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. enter the City Council Committee 1993, into the record, seconded by --City-County Planning Board minutes of February 11, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman minutes of February 11, Collins. Motion carried Orr to enter the City-County Planning Board 1993, into the record, seconded by Alderman 8--0. --Garbage Committee minutes of February 8, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Graham to enter the Garbage Committee of February 8, 1993, into the record, seconded by Alderman Motion carried 8--0. minutes Ehrlick. --Laurel Airport Authority minutes of January 26, 1993 were presented. Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the Laurel Airport minutes of January 26, 1993, into the record, seconded by Marshall. Motion carried 8--0. Authority Alderman Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 9 Council Meeting of February 16, 1993 --Street and Alley Committee minutes of February 8, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Ehrlick to enter the Street and Alley Committee minutes of February 8, 1993, into the record, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Chuck said we had the rear loader truck from the City of Billings checked out. There was a minute trace of antifreeze in the motor oil and the mechanic could not tell where it came from. Chuck said it could be coming from any number of places, even off a persons hands. We would have to keep an eye on it. Chuck said there is a lot of life left in the truck and the engine was overhauled not too long ago. Chuck explained other checks that were done on the truck and he said it runs like a top and is just waiting to be picked up. Bob Graham explained that the financing of the truck was discussed at at the Budget/Finance Committee meeting. The city recently took out a loan for purchases and other expenses in the Garbage Fund. It was recommended that the city purchase both trucks from Billings, one for $ 6,000.00 and the other for $ 11,000.00. We will purchase two sets of scales now, instead of three and we will postpone the purchase of additional containers and the other scale (sensor cell) until a later date, possibly late summer or early fall. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Graham to accept the Budget/Finance Committee recommendation to purchase two trucks from the City of Billings and two sets of scales for our current garbage trucks, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 8--0. APPOINTMENTS: None COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Gail Kenson inquired whether an ordinance to adopt the resolution regarding the Joint Yellowstone Historic Preservation Board has been prepared. It was stated that it has not been prepared but it will be on the agenda for the March 2nd meeting. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 2nd day of March, 1993. C~arles Rodgers, ~yor ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk