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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 11.16.1993Minutes of the City Council of Laurel November 16, 1993 A regular meeting of the City Council Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and Charles Rodgers at 7:00 p.m., on November 16, of the City of Laurel, called to order by Mayor 1993. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Albert Ehrlick L.D. Collins Lonnie Kellogg Gay Easton Bob Graham Ron Marshall COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Donna Kilpatrick INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Collins. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Marshall to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 3, 1993, as presented, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 7--0. CORRESPONDENCE: Received "High Water", a floodplain management newsletter. CITY CLERK & CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of October were presented. Motion by Alderman Orr that the City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of October, 1993, be approved, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 7--0. ADOPT-A-COP PLA@UE: Mike Boyett and McGruff, representing the Community Crime Prevention Council, gave a presentation on some of their programs. Two of the more familiar programs that they sponsor are Crime Stoppers, which is seen on television and the Neighborhood Watch Program that some of you may be involved in. One program that you may not be aware of is the Adopt-A-Cop program. Mike is here tonight to honor four officers from Laurel who have participated in this program by adopting a school. They represent law enforcement by talking to the students, they take McGruff to visit, they distribute badges and coloring books and so forth. This is a nationwide program that they are very proud of. On behalf of the Community Crime Prevention Council, they are presenting the city with a plaque to honor officers, John Rosenberg, Dave Slaymaker, Rick Musson and Mary Ann Rangitsch who have each adopted a school in Laurel. McGruff presented the plaque to Brian Fischer who is the Crime Prevention Officer for Laurel. Mike Boyett presented officers which will be reference. letters of recommendation for each of the placed in their personnel files for future Mike thanked Police Chief Mike Atkinson for allowing his officers to participate in the program. AUTHORIZE COUNCIL TO SET FEES FOR CITY STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES: ORDINANCE NO. 1082 (second reading) ADDING SECTION 3.12.060 TO THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, AUTHORIZING CITY COUNCIL TO SET FEES FOR CITY STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES Public Hearing: No comments. Motion by Alderman Graham to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. Motion by Alderman Kellogg that Ordinance No. 1082 (second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded bv Alderman Orr. A roil Emil Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of November 16, 1993 ESTABLISH FEES FOR CITY STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES: RESOLUTION NO. 2677 A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING STORAGE FEES FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Motion by Alderman Marshal] that Resolution No. 2677 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 7--0. AUTHORIZE PUBLIC HEARING FOR RATE INCREASE IN SEWER: RESOLUTION NO. 2678 BEING A RESOLUTION SPECIFYING A PERMANENT SEWER RATE TO BECOME EFFECTIVE TEN (10) DAYS AFTER BEING FILED WITH MUNICIPAL CLERK AND REVISED RATE SCHEDULE FILED WITH THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Chuck stated that the city is required to put a certain amount of money into a reserve account~ according to the sewer plant bond issue. This money is to be used for maintenance and replacement of existing equipment and in looking at the budget~ we are falling short of this amount. Motion by Alderman Orr that Resolution No. 2678 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 7--0. COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of November 3, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Graham minutes of November 3, 1993, Marshall. Motion carried 7--0. to enter the Budget/Finance into the record, seconded by Committee Alderman --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of November 3, 1993 were presented. Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of November 3, 1993, into the record, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. --Garbage Committee minutes of November 15, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Bob Graham stated that the city garbage crew attended this meeting and brought suggestions for helping to solve some of the problems at the container site. Our ordinance states that we charge $ 6.00 for a cubic yard of garbage. The crew has a problem charging people who are on a limited budget this amount when all they are bringing up is one or two sacks of garbage in the trunk of their car. They suggested that there be a minimum charge of $ 2.00 or $ 3.00 for small items to individuals who are not on city garbage service. The committee passed a motion to allow the container site personnel to charge between $ 1.00 and $ 6.00 for small items. Motion by Alderman Graham to have Joe prepare a resolution to establish a fee of from $ 1.00 to $ 6.00 for small items, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 6--1 with Alderman Kellogg voting, "NO". Discussion regarding the difficulties of judging what a cubic yard of garbage is and the fact that this is not consistent between the different employees that work the transfer site. The ideal solution would be to have a scale installed but there is no money for this. It was felt that another article needs to be put in the Laurel Outlook explaining to the public the charges and what can and cannot be taken to the container site. It also needs to be explained that only those persons paying for and receiving city garbage service are allowed to dump free of charge. There have been Jndiv~d~m]m who Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of November 16, 1993 Bob said there was discussion at the committee meeting about the amount of revenue that is being collected and whether or not it could be used to purchase a scale. Don Hackmann reported that from July 1, 1993 to October 31, 1993, the city took in $ 1,101.00 in revenue at the container site. The prior two years were higher but that was due to the unusually large amount of shingling that was being done. Bob went on to say that there are problems with charging for demolition and construction type materials so the committee passed a motion to charge a fee for all demolition and construction type material dumped at the container site, regardless of whether or not you are on garbage service. More discussion followed and the Mayor referred this back to the Garbage Committee for further study. Another item discussed was the disposal of tires at the container site. The City of Billings only allows us to dispose of three tires per large container that we haul. At this rate we cannot get rid of all the tires that are brought to our container site so it was suggested that we charge a minimum of $ 1.00 for an automobile tire and more for larger ones. L.D. stated that the problem with tires in the landfill is that they are flexible and they will eventually work their way to the top of the pile. If the tire is cut into four pieces, the landfill will accept them with no problem. More discussion regarding shredding and cropping of tires. Motion by Alderman Easton to refer the issue of the tires back to the Garbage Committee for further study, seconded by Alderman Ehrlick. Motion carried 7--0. Motion by Alderman Graham to enter the Garbage Committee of November 15, 1993, into the record, seconded by Alderman Motion carried 7--0. minutes Collins. --License Committee minutes of November 2, 1993 were presented and reviewed. Gay reported that there are problems with a business known as Best Value Home Improvement Center. Captain Slaymaker reported at the committee meeting that the Police Department has been been investigating this business and they have 40 documented complaints, 22 of which involve money being paid out but no services having been rendered. Mike Atkinson reported that he spoke to the deputy attorney that is handling the case and it is not ready to be prosecuted yet but he advised us to pull their business license. Joe Bradley needs to write a letter informing them that they can continue to work on the contracts that they already have but they may take no new business and they must discontinue doing any business as of a certain date. By doing it this way, the city can prevent a loophole by which the business could not come back and say that the reason people did not get their services is because the city shut them down. Motion by Alderman Easton to enter the License Committee minutes of November 2, 1993, into the record, and that Mike Atkinson proceed with his investigation of this business and report back to the License Committee, seconded by Alderman Kellogg. Motion carried 7--0. --Public Utilities Committee minutes of November 8, 1993 presented and reviewed. were L.D. explained the problem at the Jessie Nelson residence at 509 Elm regarding the wrong meter head. He asked the council to look at the attached sheet which shows the water consumption at this residence, back to 1981, for comparison purposes. The committee recommended that we go back six months and adjust the water and sewer charges based on an average usage of 10. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of November 16, 1993 Mrs. Nelson was at the council meeting and L.D. showed her the consumption comparison sheet. Motion b~man Collins to adjust the water charges in the amount of $ 89.28 and the sewer charges in the amount of $ 98.28 at the residence at 509 Elm, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 7--0. Motion by Alderman Collins to enter the Public Utilities Committee minutes of November 8, 1993~ into the record, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Chuck stated that Jon Rutt of Culligan Water, attended a meeting in Helena and has information that he would like to share with the Utilities Committee at their next meeting. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 7--0. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None APPOINTMENTS: None MAYOR' S COMMENTS: Chuck stated that the Laurel Community Development Survey is being mailed out and he hopes that people take the time to fill it out and turn it in. Chuck thanked those who worked on getting the survey together and out, especially Gay Easton and Jim Worthington. The county helped by running all the mailing labels for us. Gay stated that the surveys need to be hand delivered to the apartment complexes tomorrow. If anyone has the time and is interested in helping, it would be appreciated. Chuck said the information that we would receive from the apartment complexes is crucial to the survey because of the income range. Don Haokmann said one of the major criteria for applying for grants and being successful is that you get information on low to moderate income brackets~ so it is necessary that we get the surveys back from as many people as possible, Double-Tree Inc. will be compiling all the data as it comes in. Chuck stated that there is an opening on the Metra Park Board. At this time, Laurel does not have a person on the board and he feels we need to be represented there also. Chuck said Carole Mayes has expressed an interest in serving on the board and if anyone would like to write letters of support for her, it would be appreciated. Chuck gave an overview of ISTEA Funds available for the projects being considered for Laurel, Billings and Yellowstone County. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel~ Montana, this 7th day of December, 1993. ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk