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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 10.15.1991Minutes of the City Council of Laurel October 15, 1991 A regular meeting of the Montana, was held in the Council Chambers Bob Gauthier at 7:00 p.m., on October 15, COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: City Council of the City of Laurel, and called to order by Mayor 1991. Norman Orr Bruce Teeters L.D. Collins Chuck Rodgers None Lonnie Kellogg Bob Graham Ron Marshall Donna Kilpatrick COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: INVOCATION: Invocation was MINUTES: given by Reverend Reiser. Motion by Alderman Collins to approve the minutes of the meeting of October 1, 1991, Motion carried 8--0. regular as presented, seconded by Alderman Graham. Agenda items number 7, 13, and 14 were postponed until the next Council meeting. CORRESPONDENCE: Received the September minutes and activity report County Air Pollution Control Board. from the Yellowstone Received a card from the Henry Philhower family for the for his funeral. flowers sent Received a letter of protest from Donald and Carol Miller regarding child care center at 1238 4th Avenue. (Connie Klein) Received a letter of protest from Maynard and Jean Holland regarding a child care center at 1238 4th Avenue. (Connie Klein) CITY CLERK & CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of September were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that the City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of September, 1991, be approved, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. PUBLIC HEARING - SPECIAL REVIEW CHILD CARE CENTER (1238 4TH AVE,): This being the time and place advertised, a public hearing was held. PROPONENTS Connie Klein, 1238 4th Avenue, stated that she has operated a baby-sitting service out of her home for eight years. She has from 12 to 16 children a day and she is licensed by the State. Joe Bradley clarified that this is a zoning matter and the Council will decide what effects this will have on the neighborhood, how many children will be allowed, and what conditions the Council will put on the operation. Connie responded to questions from the Council. Connie stated that she can have from 12 to 16 children for a period of no more than two hours a day. This is stipulated in her State license and they do check to verify this amount. She has a helper in the morning and a different one in the afternoon. She was not aware that she needed a city license until the baby-sitting issue came up a few months ago. Regarding the complaint about an increase in garbage, Connie stated she has one sack of garbage a day. The only time the container is full or overflowing is during the summer months and this is because of the grass clippings. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of October 15, 1991 Connie said she has one child who arrives at 6:15 a.m. and the others come around 7:30 a.m. with the last ones being picked up by 6:00 p.m. The children can bring toys if they want but no one brings ghetto blasters that would create additional noise. The children play outside for approximately 3 1/2 hours a day between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. At that time, they go inside and nap until the school children arrive. Darrell McGillen stated that Connie's facility is very well run. His daughter has been using the facility for her son for approximately five years and is very pleased with the way it is run. OPPONENTS: The City Clerk received two letters of protest. Jean Hoiland~ 401 West 13th Street, stated the front of her house faces the side of Connie's house. When parents drop off their children on 13th Street and make a U-turns they are doing it in front of Jean's house. The traffic is heavy in the morning and late afternoon and Jean counted 11 cars that stopped just to pick children up. There would be about the same number in the morning and she is annoyed by the number of cars and the noise in a residential neighborhood. A school bus also dropped off a child at noon today. Jean said she feels that not only is it a nuisance to the neighborhood, but it is also a danger to the kids who play outside by the sidewalk which borders a fairly busy street. Jean said that kids are kids and they do make noise. She realizes this and understands that they cannot be kept inside. But because of this~ she feels that the day-care should be located in a commercial area where this will not disturb the neighbors. Jean stated she has lived at her residence the entire time that Connie has been baby-sitting. It has only been a problem since the number of children has increased to what it is now. Jean said that several times this from a ghetto blaster and she bookkeeping work that she does. summer there was loud music coming was unable to concentrate on the Connie presented a petition with 27 signatures on it from residents of her subdivision who have no objection to having a child care center in the neighborhood. Motion by Alderman Graham to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. Lonnie Kellogg questioned Joe about state law regarding baby-sitting services. By law, cities can regulate homes that have 13 or more children. Joe said that by state law, the city has no authority to do anything about or put any conditions on day-care homes that have 12 or fewer children. But, our city ordinance allows for seven or more children by special review only but this conflicts with state law for homes that have seven to twelve children. The special review process means it is compatible with the residential use and you go through the review for the purpose of putting conditions on it which will allow it to co-exist with the neighborhood. Regarding the school bus that was mentioned earlier~ Bob Graham stated the bus is probably a special transportation bus that is dropping off a special education child who is enrolled in the school district program. Three times a week this child is dropped off at Connie's. It was stated that the day-care provider does not have to include her own children in the total child count if they are over six years of age. Connie's children are six and ten years old. It was questioned what the Planning Board's recommendation was. Joe stated it was recommended to approve Connie just as she is operating Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of October 15, 1991 now. Gal said that if Chis were a proposal for a new neighborhood you would put conditions on her but, if you look at ConnieYs track record and the neat and clean appearance of her residence, there is no reason to impose a lot of conditions. If U-turns were prohibited, who would enforce it? People would be circling the block and this would create more problems than the U-turn are causing. Cal said state and federal laws are adamant about allowing these kinds Of homes in residential neighborhoods. In regard to the noise from ghetto blasters, Joe said the city has an ordinance dealing with loud or unusual noise and this is prosecuted as disorderly conduct. Our own court interrupts this as having loud noise late at night or early in the morning. Generally, loud noise during daytime hours is not considered disorderly conduct. Connie stated her six year old plays her ghetto blaster on the porch and from the inside of the house Connie does not feel it is too loud but if others do, she will have her turn the volume down. Up to this point, it has never been an issue. It was questioned whether there have been any complaints filed with the police department regarding problems associated with Connie's day-care. Mike Atkinson stated that to his knowledge there have been no noise or traffic complaints filed. In response to a question, Connie stated that the school age children play outside in both the front and back yard and Connie watches them from the house or porch but someone is not outside at all times with them. They play football or basketball and occasionally, when the ball goes into the street, the children go and retrieve it. Children five years and younger are confined to a fenced yard when they are outside. More discussion regarding the children who go into the street and whether a front yard fence would eliminate this problem, Joe said you need to look whether a front yard fence would fit into the neighborhood. , It was clarified that the issue before the Council is a zoning issue and the safety issue is more a care issue with Connie. Cal said only one person has complained about this and that is not sufficient enough to require her to install a fence or place this restriction on her. It was stated that the issue here is the difference of four children. Connie can operate legally with 12 children and the city can do nothing about it but she has been honest about the number of children and the Council's feeling is that four children will not make that much difference. Motion by Alderman Collins to grant the special review for a child care center at 1238 4th Avenue (Connie Klein), seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. LAUREL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT: Barbara Cambell stated that she is with Double Tree, Inc. from Bridget and they are grant writers but they do much more than just writing grants. They structure projects for businesses, for start of business and for expansion along with funding public facility expansion and housing projects. They are currently under contract with Carbon County, the Stillwater County Commissioners, and the towns of Fromberg, Bridget and Joliet. Barbara stated this is a long and involved process but she is quite an advocate of it because she does not feel the rural communities get their share of tax dollars. She fights for all kinds of public funds and they have been quite successful in doing so. Barbara was contacted by Ken Miller of Big Sky Laminates and their proposal for Big Sky Laminates is that they have a major jump to a national market. This would require capitalization to acquire equipment and remodeling of their building. Barbara stated she is here tonight to get permission to allow them to work on this project. She said the Block Grant process is a wonderful Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of October 15, 1991 opportunity for communities. This does not raise the taxes in any way and there is no liability to the community. She would like the Council to make a motion and agree to run an advertisement for grant writing and administrative services. They will prepare the publication and submit it to our local paper and the Billings Gazette. The city will have to read through the responses, including their's and then choose a company. If they are selected, they would proceed with the grant writing application. In response to a question, Barbara stated there are three people in the office and they draw a wage. They have a commitment to their small town of Bridger and with the ghost town reality in Montana, they do not want their community to become a victim. There is no prospect for their children to stay in Bridget because there are no jobs. That is what started them on this process and they have tapped into every program they can and have uncovered at lot Of money that is out there for small communities. If they work closely and put in a lot of time with a business, they charge an hourly fee. If they are retained by the City of Laurel, they charge a consultant fee which is included in the grant. The expenses to Laurel would entail the legal publications which may run four to five hundred dollars. To clear up a misconception about grants, Barbara said the money is always to the city and the city in turn, loans it to the business. The Department of Commerce is very specific regarding the terms of the loan. More discussion regarding different aspects and details of the process. Motion by Alderman Graham to authorize an advertisement calling for proposals for technical services for grant writing, seconded by Alderman Orr, Motion carried 8--0. BUSINESS LICENSE - PETE'S RECYCLING: The business license for Pete's Recycling has been tabled until the next meeting. ORDINANCE NO. 988 - ALLOW ANIMAL PARADES BY PRIOR PERMIT: ORDINANCE NO. 988 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 6.04.040 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ALLOW ANIMAL PARADES BY PRIOR PERMIT Public Hearing: No comments. Motion by Alderman Marshall to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Marshall that Ordinance No. 988 ( second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Graham. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, "YES." Motion carried 8--0. ORDINANCE NO. 989 - PROVIDE FOR OUTDOOR PARTIES ON PERMIT BASIS: ORDINANCE NO. 989 (second reading) AMENDING SECTION 5.12.100 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROVIDE FOR OUTDOOR PARTIES ON A PERMIT BASIS Public Hearing: No comments. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Graham that Ordinance No. 989 (second reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, "YES." Motion carried 8--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of October 15, 1991 ENCROACHMENT ON PUBLIC PROPERTY: ORDINANCE NO. 990 (first reading) AMENDING SECTION 12.16.040 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE TO REQUIRE A PERMIT FOR ANY ENCROACHMENT ON ANY PUBLIC PROPERTY Joe Bradley stated that this ordinance is a revision of the encroachment ordinance that was presented previously. This one authorizes the Council to grant the permit instead of the Street and Alley Committee. Discussion followed and clarification was made between the permit fee and the rental fee. Motion by Alderman Graham that Ordinance No. 990 (first reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, "YES." Motion carried 8--0. ESTABLISH RENTALS FOR ENCROACHMENT PERMITS: ORDINANCE NO. 991 (first reading) AMENDING SECTION 12.16.100 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ESTABLISH RENTALS FOR ENCROACHMENT PERMITS Joe Bradley stated that along with the encroachment ordinance should be this ordinance, establishing a rental fee for permits. Motion by Alderman Orr that Ordinance No. 991 (first reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Kellogg. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, "YES." Motion carried 8--0. JoAnn Colburn from H & R Block questioned when she could possibly have the ramp. Joe said there is still no guarantee that she will get it but the earliest would be a month after the next council meeting. JoAnn said she feels she has had a total run around regarding this. Joe explained that the council is acting on it but the wheels of government do move slowly. Mr. Colburn stated he gets the feeling that there are several councilmen who object strongly to this. He said when you are talking encroachments, he has been around this town and he has pictures which can show case after case of encroachments. Examples are the city's garbage cans, Coast-to-Coast, and Thomae Lumber. He feels there is discrimination going on here since no others have been charged a fee. He stated there are national laws on the disability act which are being violated in the City of Laurel. One example is that a handicapped person cannot attend a council meeting. L.D. Collins stated this is an issue dealing with encroachment and not the handicap issue. Mr. Colburn stated it takes an encroachment to take care of the handicapped and Joe Bradley said this is not so since H & R Block can put the ramp on their own property. Joe said what H & R Block is asking for is that the city give them some of our land so they can put a handicap ramp up and there is no law requiring us to do that since they have their own property on which to build it. RENTAL OF REAR LOADER GARBAGE TRUCK FROM BILLINGS: RESOLUTION NO. 2563 A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF LAUREL AND THE CITY OF BILLINGS, SAID AGREEMENT RELATING TO RENTAL OF REAR LOADER GARBAGE TRUCK Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that Resolution No. 2563 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of October 15, 1991 EMERGENCY BUDGET - HAIL DAMAGE: RESOLUTION NO. 2564 BEING A RESOLUTION DECLARING AN EMERGENCY EXISTS REQUIRING ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES NECESSARY FOR REPAIRING CITY BUILDINGS DAMAGED BY HAIL. Joe Bradley explained that state law allows a city to change its adopted budget, but only by unanimous vote and only in the event of an emergency. This resolution sites that the hail storms in June caused the emergency and caused damage to city buildings which require immediate repair. The total amount of damage to city buildings is estimated at $ 122,000.00 and insurance will cover everything. The city has received a check for $ 81,000.00 and as the buildings are completed, we will receive the balance. Motion by Alderman Marshall that Resolution No. 2564 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen voted, "YES." Motion carried 8--0. CLASSIFICATION APPEALS: The classification appeal for working foreman and the police dispatcher are postponed until the next council meeting. COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of October 1, 1991 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter Committee minutes of October 1, 1991, into the Alderman Teeters. Motion carried 8--0. the Budget/Finance record~ seconded by --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of October 1, 1991 were presented. Motion by Alderman Marshall to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of October 1, 1991, into the record, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. --City-County Planning Board minutes of October 10, 1991 presented and reviewed. were Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the City-County Planning Board minutes of October 10, 1991, into the record, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 8--0. HOME OCCUPATION: Wava Robison, 2715 Lackawanna, has applied for make craft items in her home. She will sell shows and in downtown stores. There will be no a home occupation to these items at craft traffic to her home. Motion by Alderman Kello~ to grant a home occupation to Wava Robison, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. --License Committee minutes of October 8, 1991 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Collins to approve a city license for Aspen Development, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. There was discussion regarding day-care homes. The state has three categories which are broke down according to the number of children in a home. With the first two categories, 3-6 children and 7-12 children, the city can exercise no control. Joe said the question is whether the city even wants to require a special review for them since we cannot put limitations on them. The Planning Board felt it was good to continue to hold special review hearings so the neighbors can voice their complaints if they have any. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 7 Council Meeting of October 15, 1991 The third category is for 13 or more children and the city can totally regulate these homes. Joe said our ordinances should be amended to bring our words for the types of homes into conjunction with the state wording, thus eliminating confusion. In regard to fire inspections, homes that are license by the state are routinely checked for fire safety by the State. Joe was directed by the Council to update the definitions of the different child care centers. It was also the consensus of the Council to keep in place the special review hearing. Motion by Alderman Collins to enter the License Committee minutes of October 8, 1991, into the record, seconded by Alderman Kellogg. Motion carried 8--0. --Public Building & Parkin~__QRmmittee minutes of October 8, 1991 were presented and reviewed. Discussion regarding moving back into the was taken. the interest the Chamber has shown in regards to log cabin building in Firemen's Park. No action In regard to the Williams property that was purchased, the committee recommends that the buildings be vacated immediately with demolition to follow as soon as the budget and manpower will allow. Motion by Alderman Kello~ to direct the City Attorney to vacate the buildings on the Williams property, effective December 1st, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Kello~ to enter the Public Buildings and Parking Committee minutes of October 8, 1991, into the record, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. --Street and Alley Committee minutes of October 11, 1991 were presented and reviewed. Mo___tion ~ Alderman Collins to enter the Street and Alley Committee minutes of October 11, 1991, into the record, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. Chuck Rodgers commented that he feels the city should allow H & R Block to start the ramp they have requested. Joe said you have to be careful about granting favors. They have the area to construct the ramp on their own property and yet they want the city to give them land for it. L.D. Collins stated it is an encroachment issue, regardless of what they want to use it for, not a handicap issue. M~a,,YOR'S COMMENTS: Election day falls on November 5th so the Council meeting needs to be changed. Motion by Alderman Kello_q~ to change the next Council meeting from November 5th to November 6th, due to the municipal election day, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. The Mayor appointed Dave Slaymaker as Police Captain, effective October 16, 1991. Motion by Alderman Rod e~ to confirm the Mayor's Dave Slaymaker as Police Captain, effective October 16, by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. appointment of 1991, seconded The Mayor stated that through the interview processes that have taken place over the past several months, it has become apparent that the sergeant's position needs to be filled. This would allow each shift to have a command person who can address the problems of that shift. This would also address the liability issue that has come up, by covering each shift with two officers who are able to back each other up in an emergency. Page S Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council Meeting Of October 15, 1991 The Mayor stated that they do not anticipate having to hire another officer at this time. With the staff we have now, there would be three in command positions and five patrolmen. The department has some very qualified people and they deserve the opportunity to be promoted. This will make for a more organized department. Dave Slaymaker agreed with what has been'said and he feels it would be a good reenforcement of policy to have a supervisor available on all shifts. When problems arise, they tend to get out of hand when they are not handled immediately and this would alleviate those problems. John Rosenberg stated that in the years he has been here, the sergeants position has been filled twice, both times because of disciplinary action. Under these conditions, he never felt that this position was a functioning position. We now have the opportunity to take this position and make something of it. Larry Erb stated he has worked in law enforcement for 10 years with three other agencies. He has always found that there was a command person on each shift at all times. There is a liability factor involved when you only have one person on shift and there is a delay in responding to a call that requires two officers. At times the department gets a request from other agencies for assistance and without a command officer on shift, there is a delay in responding. Larry has observed that officers become stagnant when they are constantly on the night shift. By rotating the Captain and Sergeant's positions between the afternoon and night shifts, Larry feels you will eliminate this problem. Each shift deals with different elements, and by rotating them~ it keeps everyone fresh. Mike Atkinson stated he has a plan of duties that he would like to see each command position be responsible for. He was on straight nights for four years and he suffered along with the department. Mike said he would not do that to the officers and he plans to rotate the shifts. They would each do investigations~ they would be patrolmen~ and they will answer calls. The burden will be shifted and all three command positions will be on the streets. He feels the time to do it is now. Jennifer Feldhaus stated she has been a journalist for 13 years in two different states and this is the first department where the command position has not been filled around the clock. She realizes that this is her problem but it makes it difficult to do her job and create a good working atmosphere with the police department. It was stated that this position would be a non-union position. Motion by Alderman Collins to fill the sergeants position, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 7--1 with Alderman Kellogg voting~ "NO." The Personnel Committee will address this position and make a recommendation to the Council. There being no further business to come before the Council at time, the meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann~ City Clerk this Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 6th day of November, 1991. Bob GautSier, Mayor ATTE ST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk