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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Head Meetings Minutes 07.28.2009MINUTES DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING JULY 28, 2009 3:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ken Olson Mary Embleton Mark Guy Bill Sheridan Kurt Markegard Jan Faught Sam Painter Nancy Schmidt James Caniglia Council Workshop Agenda - June 28 2009 Laurel Urban Renewal Agency Presentation Shirley McDermott will represent the LURA at tonight's council workshop. Fire Dwartment: • Resolutions - Fire District Contracts There was no discussion, as Derek Yeager went to a fire call. Clerk/Treasurer: • Resolution - DNRC Grant for Water System Improvements Mary explained that the $100,000 DNRC Grant contract is ready for council approval. The council approved the contract for the $625,000 TSEP Grant last week, and the letter of approval in lieu of a commitment agreement has been received from SRF. Pat Murtagh will attend tonight's council workshop to explain EDU's and the water rate structure. Public Works Department: • Alder Avenue / Fir Avenue Project with Yellowstone County Kurt spoke with Tim Miller regarding this project today, and Mayor Olson and Commissioner Kennedy will meet this week for discussion. Kurt will explain the project to the council tonight. The county wants to use some millings on Fir Avenue and would provide some equipment and manpower to lay and compact the millings on both streets. Kurt stated that the school district also requested millings for use on parking lots, particularly the lot by the Mogan soccer field. He would be willing to let the school use some of the city's old millings for their project and would allow the school's contractor on the city's leased railroad property to get the old millings. Kurt stated that 3,000 cubic yards of millings should be available from the East Main Street project. Chief Administrative Officer: • Construction of sound barrier wall by Elena Subdivision Bill and Sam discussed this issue today. Bill stated that Sam will give his recommendation to the council tonight. Executive Review: • First Avenue - striping or signage Kurt stated that a mill and overlay was done on First Avenue several years ago and there are markings on the street. Department Head Meeting Minutes of July 28, 2009 Mayor Olson asked Mark if a vehicle could pass on the right of a left-turning vehicle on First Avenue. Mark stated that a vehicle can pass on the right as long as it does not leave the paved portion of the roadway. There was discussion regarding striping on First Avenue. The city will stripe the crosswalks on First Avenue in August before school starts. • Letter from UPS Mayor Olson stated that the council can decide what to do with this request. • Decay Ordinance Mayor Olson stated that the city enforced the decay ordinance once at a residence on 4"' Avenue. • Council Issues: o Update on the Asphalt Plant (Ernelie Eaton / Doug Poehls) Kurt stated that MRL has received bids to dismantle the Asphalt Plant. Joe Gentry will provide an update by the end of this week after MRL awards the bid to the contractor. o Removal of dirt pile in Murray Park (Norm Stamper) The dirt pile is located in Nutting Park. o Electrical issues in the council chambers (Ernelie Eaton) Bill explained the proposal to move the vehicle license office into the area next to the council chambers. Jan stated that the ambulance uses that room for training a few times each month. Mayor Olson and Jan will discuss this further. • Trees in boulevards (Chuck Dickerson) There was no discussion. Review of draft council agenda for August 4 2009 • Public Hearing - Ordinance No. 009-09: Ordinance to amend the official zoning map of the City of Laurel, Montana, to change the zoning designation of a parcel of property located in Yellowstone County from Residential Manufactured Horne to Light Industrial Zoning. (First reading - 07/21/2009) James will explain the issue zone change and the issues discussed by the Planning Board at tonight's council workshop. Department Reports: Ambulance Service Jan stated that the ambulance has been receiving multiple calls at one time. Jan stated that the ambulance fees need to be increase in order to keep up with Medicare rates Clerk/Treasurer • Budget Mary stated that she does not have all the budgets. A conference call with the Department of Revenue regarding the certified mills is scheduled today at 3:30 p.m. 2 Department Head Meeting Minutes of July 28, 2009 Mary mentioned that Mountain West Benefits has asked to schedule health screenings in Laurel on December 1st from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the fire hall. Mary will check with Derek. Fire Department 0 Preparations for new fire station Bill stated that the city is waiting to hear about the grant funding. • Fire District contracts The last two fire district contracts are on tonight's council workshop agenda. • Status of Fire Department grants Bill stated that other grants are available. Lim • Status of City of Laurel's website Nancy has started making changes to the website but has not yet posted the updated information. She asked if the city should continue paying $24/month for Zee Creative to host the website. She thinks that the site could be hosted for $12/month. PDF files will be used to post the council minutes to the website. Nancy stated that the library has some surplus items. There was discussion regarding citywide surplus items, the process for surplus items, the need to compile a list and schedule an auction, and the possibility of storing items at the storage building. Department heads need to compile a list of surplus items. Police Department • Status of Chiefs recovery Mark stated that the city was awarded the grant for a new police officer. Rick was in on Monday to sign time tickets and check on things. City Planner • Various grants for "Laurel Dump Cleanup" James stated that Great West submitted a work plan on Monday. James and Kurt will coordinate a time for the engineers to use the city's backhoe at the old city dump site. James received a request from Ricci's to place a shipping container for storage behind their building. The container would look like a huge dumpster. James suggested that an ordinance might be needed to address such issues. There was discussion regarding enforcement, the fact that other businesses have storage units behind their buildings, and the need for further research. Public Works D artment • Construction of a storage building Kurt stated that the 40x80' building will go to bid soon. • Status of street project with Hardrives Construction Hardrives is back in town and continuing with the street project. Department Head Meeting Minutes of July 28, 2009 • Status of water distribution upgrade Kurt asked that a special council meeting be scheduled after the council workshop on August 11 h to award the bid for the project. Since bids close on August 5th, a special meeting would allow the bid to be awarded before the next regular council meeting on August 18'. Mayor Olson stated that the special meeting should be scheduled at 6:00 p.m. prior to the council workshop. • Alder Avenue Kurt stated that work is progressing on Alder Avenue. • Status of Main Street from 1St to 8th Avenues Kurt received word from MDT regarding this project. If ARRA funds are available for this project, the task order with Great West might be null and void. * 1" Avenue South and SE 4t" Street Kurt stated that the milling for the curb and gutter started today. Kurt and James will present the agreements to the business owners on Wednesday. • Report on progress with South Laurel Business SID There was discussion regarding this project. Chad Hanson needs to know whether to proceed with the SID. Mayor Olson stated that SE 4th Street will be a spring project. Kurt would like to impose a five- year moratorium on street cuts in SE 0 Street in order to get the property owners to hook into city services prior to the project next spring. Kurt stated that a policy is needed for street cuts. • Status of Wastewater Plant upgrade Kurt stated that Morrison-Maierle completed the survey for the water line. An agreement is needed with CHS for a new water line easement. • Solid waste truck purchase Kurt is working on this. • Ditch mitigation ARRA grant project -- 7th Street Kurt stated that Chad Hanson assigned an engineer to survey the elevations, and the final design should be done by the end of next week. The bid documents will be prepared soon. Kurt stated that someone should be hired for the Maintenance Superintendent position soon. Advertisements need to be prepared for the other positions. Kurt stated that East Railroad Street was nominated for pavement preservation. He stated that the city's pavement management system needs to be updated. Kurt told Gary Neville that the update would be completed in one year. There was discussion regarding the need for additional training on the pavement management system and for an intern to update the information. City Attorney Sam is working on modification of the water regulations. Sam has received calls from Community Hope regarding garbage issues. He will send them a letter with a copy of the ordinance. 4 Department Head Meeting Minutes of July 28, 2009 Sam will work on a permit system for the city parks. Mayor Olson There was no discussion. Chief Administrative Officer • 120-day moratorium on water resale rates and other water rates Bill stated that work is being done on this. There will be further discussion at tonight's council workshop. • Impact Fees Bill is working on one or two impact fees. • City's lease of railroad property on Main Street for various uses Bill stated that the city will talk with the railroad regarding various uses of the property. • Water service to MRL property on the south side of Main Street Bill stated that work is being done on this and a sewer line might be needed. • Bus Transit System Bill stated that the consultant is working on this. Other Mayor Olson stated that he will approach the council regarding how to address revenue shortages in the parks. In the budget process, essential services must be met first and the park budgets are often cut. He stated that park maintenance districts were included in the Subdivision Improvement Agreements for Elena and Iron Horse Station Subdivisions. He asked that park maintenance districts be added to the next department head agenda. There was a lengthy discussion regarding park maintenance districts, the initial estimate to install sprinklers in Elena, Subdivision Improvement Agreements, methods of assessment for park maintenance districts, the administrative issues of subdivision PMD's versus citywide PMD's. Mary stated that the city's goal is to set up a citywide PMD, a vote is not needed to do so, and creating one PMD makes the most sense. Sam stated that it would be easier to defend having one PMD than districts in certain areas. Kurt will be on vacation on Monday and Tuesday next week. The meeting adjourned at 4:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen Council Secretary 5