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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 01.21.1992Minutes of the City Council of Laurel January 21, 1992 A regular meeting of the City Council of the Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called Chuck Rodgers at 7:03 p.m., on January 21, 1992. City of Laurel, to order by Mayor COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Donna Kilpatrick Bob Graham L.D. Collins Lonnie Kellogg Ron Marshall COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Norman Orr Albert Ehrlick (A Third Ward Alderman position is currently vacant) INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Reverend Wilhelm. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Marshall to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 7, 1992, as presented, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 6--0. CORRESPONDENCE: Received a "Thank You" from the Laurel Senior Citizens for the money the city contributed to the center. Received a memo from the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Solid and Hazardous Waste Bureau regarding a solid waste management workshop in Helena on January 22, 23, and 24 at the Colonial Inn. Received a report from the Laurel Police Reserve regarding the hours logged in the second fiscal quarter 1991-92. CITY CLERK & CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of December were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that the City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of December, 1991, be approved, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 5--0. APPOINTMENT OF WARD III ALDERMAN: Motion by Alderman Collins to use paper ballots, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 5--0. Three letters were submitted for the alderman vacancy in Ward III. The candidates are Chuck Dickerson, Dan Lowell and Gay Easton and each one briefly addressed the council. Ballots were distributed and the council was asked to vote for two candidates. The vote was as follows: Easton ......... 4 Dickerson ...... 3 Lowell ......... 2 Olson .......... At this time the council was asked to vote for one candidate. vote was as follows: The Dickerson ...... 2 Motion by Alderman Kellogg to appoint Gaylord Easton as alderman in Ward III, effective February 1, 1992, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 5--0. The Mayor thanked the other two candidates for the interest they have shown. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of January 21, 1992 GARBAGE RATE INCREASE: RESOLUTION NO. 2573 A RESOLUTION RAISING ANNUAL REFUSE COLLECTION FEES TO ALL USERS Motion by Alderman Kellogg that Resolution No. 2573 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Graham. Discussion followed and Bob Graham stated he received a call regarding the increase. This person suggested once a week pick-up as a possible solution to the problem. Dave Michael said he was asked to pursue this idea several months ago and found there would be an eight year pay-off to cover the number of extra cans that would be needed. It was stated that Billings has once a week pick-up but Dave said they generally have two residents sharing one can. Even if pick-up was once a week, the same amount of garbage would still have to be hauled to Billings with the same number of trips, resulting in no savings to the city. L.D. Collins stated he realizes the rate increase is necessary but he voted against it because he doesn't feel the mobile home courts are being charged fairly. The first tenant is charged the full cost while any additional tenants are charged a reduced rate. Generally, the owner of the mobile home court pays the garbage charge for the entire court. L.D. feels mobile home tenants generate as much garbage as any residential home owner and they should be charged the full residential fee for every unit in the court. Lonnie Kellogg responded to L.D.'s comments. Lonnie said that when this was set up, the philosophy was that the trailers and multi-family dwellings are not always full and yet the owner is paying the full garbage bill every month. They feel this system gives the owner a break for the times when he is paying for an empty unit. Bob Graham said another point that was made was that in multi-family units, there may be one yard for the entire unit and this amounts to less trash and grass clippings that need to be disposed of. L.D. again stated he feels the mobile home courts and multi-family dwellings should be paying the full residential rate for each unit. At this time a vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 5--0. Jim Worthington stated a survey is to be taken in the next year to review the volume of commercial users and the multi-family rate. The rate will be in effect on the March utility bill. PARKING SPACE AGREEMENT WITH YELLOWSTONE BANK: RESOLUTION NO. 2574 APPROVING RENEWAL OF ONE YEAR AGREEMENT TO TRADE USE OF CERTAIN PARKING SPACES WITH YELLOWSTONE BANK OF LAUREL Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that Resolution No. 2574 be 'passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 5--0. CEMETERY LOT PRICES: ORDINANCE NO. 1007 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 2.84.100 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, LOT PRICES Public Hearing: No comments. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of January 21, 1992 Motion by Alderman Collins to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 5--0. Motion by Alderman Collins that Ordinance No. 1007 (second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Kellogg. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen present voted~ "YES." Motion carried 5--0. COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of January 7, 1992 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter Committee minutes of January 7, 1992, into the Alderman Graham. Motion carried 5--0. the Budget/Finance record, seconded by --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of January 7, 1992 were presented. Motion by Alderman Collins to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of January 7, 1992, into the record, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. At the City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on January 7, 1992, Bob Graham reported that Don Barclay is concerned about the walk bridge over the Big Ditch. This is adjacent to his property and kids ride their bikes over this bridge and dart out in front of cars on West 12th Street. He requested that this bridge be removed. The committee asked Jim Worthington to check into this. Jim Worthington reported that the bridge is located entirely on ditch property but the approach is located on a triangular piece of property east of Mr. Barclay. This land is undescribed on the plat and is still private property, owned by the developer, Mr. Murray. It was stated there would be no liability by Mr. Barclay. At this time a vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 5--0. --City-County Planning Board presented and reviewed. minutes of January 9, 1992 were Motion by Alderman Graham to enter the City-County Planning Board minutes of January 9, 1992, into the record, seconded by Alderman Kellogg. Motion carried 5--0. Joe Bradley reported that there is an application for a home occupation and business license, but the applicant is not present at the meeting and this will be put on the agenda for the next meeting. --Garbage Committee minutes of January 13, 1992 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Graham to enter the Garbage Committee minutes of January 13, 1992, into the record, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 5--0. Discussion regarding a complaint by Richard's Repair about being charged extra for dumping at the transfer site. Motion by Alderman Graham to forgive the dump fee charged to Richard's Repair, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 5--0. --Police Committee minutes of January 9, 1991 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Marshall to enter the Police Committee minutes of January 9, 1991, into the record, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 5--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of January 21, 1992 --Public Utilities Committee minutes of January 13~ 1992 presented and reviewed. were At this time the #414 before they follows: Mayor acknowledged left the meeting. the presence The members of Boy Scout Troop were introduced as Brad Ross Robbie Thompson Nathan Griffith Jonathan Friedt Larry Collins Bob Western, Scout Master, explained that in order to earn the merit badge, "Citizen in the Community", the troop is studying local government and must attend a council meeting along with writing letters of concern to the Mayor. The Mayor thanked Troop #414 for attending the meeting and expressing their interest. CENEX - WASTE WATER LINE Discussion regarding the request by Cenex Transportation that they be allowed to add a waste water line to accommodate the disposal of waste water from their premises which would include the waste water from the washing of their trucks. Ron Marshall commented that he doesn't feel the residue that comes off their trucks is much different than the residue from vehicles in our local car washes. Ron said the big concern at the meeting was that they may be flushing anhydrous ammonia from some tankers. The committee was not quite satisfied that this would be done at the refinery instead of at the truck wash bay. There was talk at the meeting of having an independent firm periodically test the waste water to monitor for hazardous waste. L.D. Collins and Bob Graham also expressed concern about what else they may be washing out of the tankers and how this will effect our sewer system. Bob said he feels that when a tanker is unloading, it is highly possible that residue from his product will get on the truck and this would then be cleaned off in the truck wash bay. L.D. stated that even though Cenex is willing to put in a water/oil separator, there are many hazardous products that are water soluble that this trap would not catch. This could destroy the balance at the sewer plant and we would have to start over, which would be a costly thing. Dave Michael stated that, without a complete analysis of what is coming off the trucks~ he would not recommend this. No action was taken on the request by Cenex Transportation and Jim Worthington will report this to them. WATER TAP - GIRLS SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION There was a request by the Girls Softball Association to hook up to a tap in the west end water line, located west of Wood's Powr Grip. This line is not in the city. It belongs to the West End Water Users Association and the Girls Softball Association would become a member and pay dues to the association. Motion by Alderman Collins to allow the Girls Softball Association to hook up to a tap owned by the West End Water Users Association, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 5--0. WATER SUPPLY FEE PAYMENT Dave Michael reported that the 1991 Legislature authorized the Department of Health to assess fees for funding of the Public Water Supply Program. Laurel has been classified as a community public water supply systems with 1759 service connections. Each connection will be assessed $ 2.25 for fiscal year 1992 for a total of $ 3,957.75. Dave said the city has to certify the State's numbers and the total cost may be closer to $ 5,000. Page 5 Council Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Meeting of January 21, 1992 Motion by Alderman Kellogg to enter the Public Utilities Committee minutes of January 13, 1992, into the record, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 5--0. COMHENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Laurie Parpart, 311 Colorado, came before the council in regard to keeping rabbits. She received a letter from Joe Bradley about a week ago stating that there is an ordinance prohibiting the keeping of rabbits within the city limits. She also passed out copies of letters that she received from several of her neighbors. Laurie gave a little background on how she acquired the rabbits. A year ago a neighbor lady about two blocks away had rabbits that ran all over. One continued to stay in their yard so they went ahead and fenced the yard. Laurie said she was not aware that the city does not allow them until she received this letter. After another rabbit insisted on staying in the yard, they ended up with a litter. They have kept them as family pets only, with no sale or use of them for food. After receiving Joe's letter, Laurie went to her neighbors inquiring if there has been a problem and wanted to find out what prompted the letter. One lady found two dead rabbits in her yard and had called the city to pick them up. Laurie would like to see the ordinance amended to allow rabbits as pets. She has given rabbits to the 4-H groups for projects and has sent some to Wyoming and the northeastern part of Montana. Scott Proctor, 906 2nd Avenue, came before the council inquiring what prompted the city to outlaw rabbits within the city limits. Scott stated he has owned two rabbits as pets, one for eight years and the other for four years. He has never had any complaints from his neighbors and he doesn't feel rabbits are as offensive as compared to a dog. Bob Graham stated that all the animals listed in the ordinance are there because someone has had a problem with them. The rabbit issue came up when the council was looking at the ordinance in regard to a complaint they had about someone keeping sheep in their house. Bob feels there may be people in town who have their garages full of rabbits and are raising them for commercial use while others raise them as pets. Joe Bradley said it is not the responsible rabbit owners that are causing the problem but rather, the ones who have unkempt, smelly cages that stink out their neighbors, that cause the problems. Scott stated that having owned both a dog and rabbits, the dog feces, if allowed to build up, is much worse than a rabbits. In defense of the rabbits~ Scott said there is a definite noise factor with a dog that you don't have with rabbits. Rabbits are considered a common pet as evidenced by the sale of them in most major pet stores. Scott said that if the ordinance is amended, maybe it should be amended against certain breeding and limit the number allowed, rather than banning them as pets altogether. Ron Marshall commented that he sees no problem with rabbits if they are well kept and not bothering the neighbors. Bob Graham stated that in regard to ordinances~ he feels that if we have an ordinance we need to enforce it and if we don't, we should not have the ordinance. He knows there are many people in town who keep rabbits. In regard to a question, Mike Atkinson said the department became aware of Parpart's rabbits through the call from the lady who had the two dead rabbits. In defense of rabbits, Mike said he does not recall ever having a complaint regarding smelly rabbit cages. Laurie stated the dead rabbits were not her rabbits since she is not missing any. Minutes of the City Page 6 Council Meeting of January 21, 1992 Council of Laurel Donna Kilpatrick questioned how rabbit owners control the number of rabbits they have. Laurie stated that when they have a litter, they find homes for the extras and Scott stated that he has a male and female and he keeps them in separate hutches. After discussion, Joe was number of rabbits to six. meeting. advised to draw up an ordinance limiting the This will be presented at the next council CHRISTMAS TREE DISPOSAL Jim Worthington stated he received a letter from the Yellowstone Conservation District in regard to our activities with the Christmas trees. They thanked us for our participation and Jim stated the city hauled two 40 yard containers for processing. COMPOST SITE In regard to a comment made by Jim Flisrand regarding a compost site, Jim Worthington said there is no location or details on it yet, but we will pursue it and if there is any way it will be of benefit to the city. MAYOR'S COMMENTS: The Mayor appointed Mike Kirschenmann as Police Reserve Captain. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to confirm the Mayor's appointment of Mike Kirschenmann as Police Reserve Captain, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 5--0. The Mayor presented his would like all comments finalized. committee list for review and comments. He by the first of next week so the list can be The Mayor also presented a list of proposed projects. Chuck Dickerson stated there is an unsightly area off West 12th Street~ west of Valley Drive. The weeds are so high that they obscure the mail boxes and he was wondering if the property owner can be located and made to do something about the weeds. It was stated that this property is in the county and Cal stated there is no County weed ordinance. The County Commissioners will be holding their regular meeting in the council chambers on Thursday, January 23, 1992 at 9:00 a.m. There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 4th day of February, 1992. C~fi'dck Rodg~rs, ~a~r ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk