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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Utilities Committee Minutes 03.08.1999MINUTES JOINT PARKS, STREET & ALLEY, PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMITTEES March 8,1999 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Gay Easton Ken Olson Bill Staudinger Mark Mace Larry McCann Jeanette Koch Bud Johnson Miles Walton Norman Orr Chuck Rodgers Duke Nieskens Lorraine Craig Phil Curry John Oakes Gay Easton opened the Street and Alley Committee meeting at 7:00 p.m. John Oakes - Complaints re ardin Village Subdivision. John Oakes, 2317 East Maryland Lane, recently gave a letter of complaint to Larry McCann. The letter addressed the problems regarding garbage cans and metal ramps being installed in the gutters. Gravel has been installed in many of the gutters to act as a driveway ramp. When the . change was made from the 300-gallon containers to the 90-gallon containers, most of the residents pulled the cans back to their house. A few residents left their cans at the curb, and now more residents are doing so. With the recent wind conditions, many of the garbage cans have been blown over and the garbage and cans have been distributed throughout the properties. Mr. Oakes said that there are many problems in this mobile home, low-cost housing area. There are twenty-five different landlords who rent properties in this area, and there are no regulations pertaining to this area. He stated that some of the tenants are good about keeping a clean property and some do not care. The same thing applies to the property owners. John thinks that the problem is getting out of control and he wants something done to address it. Gay explained that the community decay ordinance passed recently should help to address these problems. Since this is not a private trailer court, the problems will have to be addressed like any other part of the city. Gay said that the building inspector would need to go to the subdivision to inspect and enforce the ordinance. Gay suggested that Larry send letters to the residents, informing them that they are supposed to take the garbage cans back to their homes after they have been emptied. John mentioned that there are many property owners who are renting or leasing their property out. Since these people are making a business from their rental properties, John thinks that they should be held responsible and accountable for them. Larry McCann has a list of every owner in that area. He will mail out a letter addressing the garbage can issue, and he will notify the residents that drive approaches need to be put in their driveways and that gravel cannot be used for this purpose. Larry said that the community decay ordinance should be used to address these problems in this area, as well as throughout the whole city. Mr. Oakes thanked the committee for their help in addressing these problems. Purchase of tractor. A tractor was included in last year's budget. Recently they have been testing several models of skid steer loaders for ease of use and maintenance. It would be possible to use some attachments on the loader for various jobs, and a pavement-milling machine could be rented for the chip seal proj ects. Sweeper specifications. The sweeper specifications will go out for bid on March 17th, and the bids will be opened on April 5th. Since the specifications are quite detailed, there will be no question as to what we will receive. The truck specifications for the sweeper are standard, but other specifications are very specific. DNRC Grant for Willow Drive. It looks like this grant will be approved. An environmental impact study does need to be done, and it should only cost about $250.00, since there is no environmental impact. The Willow Drive residents have not decided whether or not they will raise the money. Larry has informed the residents that the City will not accept the money from the grant until they come up with the necessary money. The residents have talked with Roger Perkins about installing a drain on the downslope side of the ditch, but this would cost more than lining the ditch with bentonite. Fiberglass Structures - garbage cans. The mayor contacted Fiberglass Structures about designing garbage cans that will not tip in the wind. The can would probably have a big round bottom on it and will be used for the cans that are often tipped over by the wind. Larry mentioned that many cans have been picked up and stored at the shop until a resident calls to say that their can is missing. There is no way to know where the cans should be located, especially when they are blown around by the wind. Larry explained that they are considering producing a heavy molded piece with sand inside that can be bolted on to the cans to stabilize them. He does not want to use the metal rings to hold the cans in place. Laurel Liquor Store - garbage rate. Gay read a letter from Bill Hanna, the owner of the Laurel Liquor Store. Mr. Hanna stated that he has very little garbage and that a lot of their boxes are given away. He asked that his garbage rate be lowered from $15.38 to $10.25 per month. After some discussion, the committee agreed that the garbage rate should remain the same. If anything, the garbage rates should be increased rather than decreased. Larry mentioned that $7,500 has been designated to do a rate study on the garbage. He wants to include the container site so that he can decide what the cost is to run it. Fox Lumber has requested to have three forty-yard containers pulled three times a week. This would generate about $40,000 income per year, but it involves three pulls a week, which would be demanding on equipment and manpower. The garbage rate structure would be beneficial in analyzing such requests. Jan's IGA will be using a compactor, and that will require the roll-off truck. Ricci's will be required to use a compactor, too. Motion by Bill Staudinger to continue charging the Laurel Liquor Store the present rate of $15.38 per month, seconded by Norman Orr. Motion carried. Wheelchair ramps at the Laurel Senior Center. Norm Orr has received a request for wheelchair ramps to be installed at the Senior Center. Larry said that this can be done this summer, but they need to be installed at the end of the block, not the middle as they requested. Miles Walton opened the Parks Committee meeting at 7:29 p.m. Leases at Riverside Park. Since we have not received the information from MMIA, the lessees were not asked to attend this meeting. If we are going to get the event insurance that the City actually controls, Larry thought that we need to wait to renew the leases. Miles thought that Joe wanted the leases renewed for a year until the event insurance details are finalized. Miles suggested that the leases should be offered so the insurance issues are covered. Firemen's Park - Multiple Sclerosis Socie Bike Tour Fundraiser on September 12, 1999. The bike tour will begin in Red Lodge that morning and Firemen's Park will only be used for a short time around noon. There were no conflicts, and Larry told them it would be available. Darlene Tussing is coordinating the event. Pool Manager hired. Allison McMilan has been hired as the Pool Manager for this summer. The advertisement for lifeguards is out, and Allison will help select the assistant manager and head lifeguards from the applicants. Allison will do all of the lifeguard training and certification. Allison will continue to be employed at the Fitness Center throughout the summer and will be allowed to have a flexible schedule to complete her forty-hour week. Larry explained that the pool employees would all work forty hours a week and no overtime will be allowed. If they want time off, they will need to trade within themselves. Last year some employees did not work enough hours and other employees worked overtime hours. Electrici_y at Thomson Park. Larry budgeted $3,500 for the installation of electricity in Thomson Park. The Fourth of July vendors strongly requested the availability of electricity in the park. Larry was ready to have the electricity installed, and then he found out that the firemen might be looking at an alternate site for the 2000 fireworks display. Ken expressed his support for the installation of electricity in Thomson Park. 0 • There was discussion regarding the fireworks at Thomson Park. If the fireworks show is moved, it would still be necessary to keep the people in the park and away from the location of the fireworks. Having electricity installed in the park would make it possible to continue activities in the park, even if the fireworks show is relocated. Miles also expressed his support for having electricity installed in the park. Police Department address trespassing at Thomson Park. There have been several complaints about people parking in the area north of Thomson Park and south of the high school where plans are to put in grass. Even though there is signage, people continue to park there. The Public Works Department will send a formal request to the Police Department to begin patrolling the area and any vehicles parked there without a city license will be ticketed. Larry will notify the Little League Baseball Club and the Laurel High School that the Police Department will be patrolling the area. Park at Fir Avenue. Larry expected Peggy Miller and Sandy Cunningham to attend the meeting to discuss management of the recreation program. Larry met with them and their regional director on March 2"d. The group discussed how they would get started raising funds. At the present time, they plan to run their programs out of school buildings, churches, and other locations. They will pursue the Fir Avenue Park. The director said that leasing this park would be a very viable idea. If we sell the park, it has to go to the highest bidder. Since the Fir Avenue property does have to come up about two feet, Larry would like to use some of the rocks that will be removed from South Pond for this purpose. There will be one six-week summer camp program this summer. Larry is pleased with the quality of the program. There was some discussion regarding the lease amount for the Fir Avenue Park. Miles emphasized that the county needs to calculate the lease amount and the city needs to keep the information in written documents. If we annex the property, the city would have control over it. Ken and Bud attended the Yellowstone County Park Board meeting recently and initiated the conversation regarding the Fir Avenue Park. Ken understood that the Park Board was willing to do almost anything that the City of Laurel or the YMCA wanted to do to promote this type of activity. Larry will invite Peggy Miller and Sandy Cunningham to the next meeting to do a presentation on the summer recreation program. Riverside Park - water lines for camp spots and tree removal. Larry will be renting a highlift so that Dave Saylor can do some tree cutting at Riverside Park. The water lines and electricity will be run to seven campsites that will be available this spring. IS Miles questioned if any trees would be planted to replace the trees that are removed. The Highway Department has a policy that requires the approach to every highway to have a 70-foot landing, but they did not do that. Larry questioned why they did not do that there, and he suggested that they would clean it up and plant some climbing evergreens on that bank. South Pond history document. The South Pond history document is complete. The Council tabled changing the name to Laurel Lions Family Park. Pumping at South Pond will begin on March 29th, and gravel removal is scheduled for April 5th. The silt will be put on the railroad track to dry out and will be used for topsoil. The city crew will start work on the walkway berm next week. Larry wants to use the fill from the South Pond to raise the park property on Fir Avenue. Miles suggested that the county be contacted and asked if that could be done, as it needs to be done no matter how the park is used. Approach on east side of the underpass. Miles asked if there were plans to plant grass in this area. Larry explained that the Garden Club would be taking over our easement through this area. He has asked them not to put in grass, but to plant low, spreading evergreens there. Larry suggested that Gray Construction should contribute to the expense because they will not have to seed it. Norman Orr opened the Public Utilities Committee at 8:02 P.M. Pumps at the Water Plant_ The pumps for the Water Plant are in, but the mounting brackets are backordered. Cenex. Cenex will be using 500,000 barrels of treated water to test pipeline about April 6th. When questioned about the feasibility of providing this amount of water to Cenex, Duke Nieskens explained that it would depend on the schedule at the Water Treatment Plant. If circumstances are similar to the present time, he does not think we can supply that amount of water. We are on a temporary ten-inch bypass now, and we cannot pump over 1,000 gallons a minute. Duke said that this water could be supplied if the WTP is running at its designed capacity; however, he does not know how the WTP will be running at that time. Easement for water line. The easement for our water line is in progress. We have an easement for our line across the Cenex property. If we are going to dig on that pipe, they have to be notified. The easement does not include a legal description, so Jim Worthington will survey it soon. The goal is to annex the Water Plant, Sewer Plant and Riverside Park in late April. inspection on the 4-million and 1.5-million tanks. The reservoirs will be drained and inspected during April. Larry notified Morrison-Maierle that this would be done. If there are problems, the contractor will be responsible. 10 Sewer Plant. Larry asked if anyone had questions about the situation at the Sewer Plant. Duke Nieskens presented the problems with the effluent averages at the Wastewater Treatment Plant at the Pre- Council meeting on March 2nd. Miles asked if there were any alternatives for people to use for sump pumps, but the city's storm sewers are not very accessible to people for this purpose. Parks Committee - Request for Murray Park for soccer practice. The Laurel Youth Soccer Club has requested the use of Murray Park for their soccer program from. March 1St through May 31St. There was discussion about scheduling a public park for use by a single person or organization. Larry will require a schedule of games and a list of the officers of the Laurel Youth Soccer Club so that he will know whom to contact in case there is a question or problem. Larry will inform them that they can use Murray Park but cannot guarantee its availability because it is a public park. Motion by Bill Staudinger to allow the Laurel Soccer Club to use Murray Park, seconded by Ken Olson. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen City Council Secretary r? LJ * .. '3 00,? 00003 7<?- 1152so? oo?ll c:??c-w C-W Ag=Xoe?r erllle 4F THE LAUREL LIQUOR STORE PAYS $15.38 FOR HIS GARBAGE CHARGE. THE MINIMUM IS 10.25 THAT IS WHAT HE WANTS HIS GARBAGE CHARGE REDUCED TO. THE $15.38 IS THE RATE THAT THE LIQUOR STORE HAS ALWAYS • PAID FOR MANY YEARS.