Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 05.15.1990Minutes of the City Council of Laurel May 15, 1990 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Bob Gauthier at 7:05 p.m., on May 15, 1990. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Ron Marshall Donna Kilpatrick Norman Orr L,D. Collins Lonnie Kellogg Bob Graham Bruce Teeters COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Chuck Rodgers INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Reverend Holt. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Collins to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of May 1, 1990, as presented, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. Without any objection from the council, reconsideration of Town Pump's Special Review was added to the agenda as item SA. CORRESPONDENCE: Received the April newsletter from the Montana Municipal Insurance Authority. Received the April minutes and activity report from the Yellowstone County Air Pollution Control Board. CITY CLERK & CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of April were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick Treasurer's financial statements for approved, seconded by Alderman Collins. that the City Clerk and City the month of April, 1990, be Motion carried 7--0. MUSEUM LEASE: RESOLUTION NO. 2443 A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF LAUREL AND THE LAUREL MUSEUM, INC., SAID AGREEMENT RELATING TO A THREE (3) YEAR LEASE OF THE OLD LAUREL LIBRARY BUILDING Motion by Alderman Orr that Resolution No. 2443 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 7--0. SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL: At this time, the Garbage Committee minutes of May 14, 1990 were reviewed. Discussion followed regarding Phase I (transfer site), Phase II (full transfer site), closing date for our current landfill, dump fees at the Billings landfill and what fees should be charged to county residents using Laurel's transfer site. RESOLUTION NO. 2444 A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF LAUREL AND THE CITY OF BILLINGS, SAID AGREEMENT RELATING TO SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL Motion by Alderman Marshall that Resolution No. 2444 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. Page 2 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council Meeting of May 15, 1990 SALE OF LAND IN YELLOWSTONE SUBDIVISION: In a letter to the council dated March 6th, Steve Schreiner requested permission to purchase a small piece of land adjacent to his own property at 108 Durland Avenue. The description of the land is a portion of Lot 1, Block 3, Yellowstone Subdivision. RESOLUTION NO. 2445 AUTHORIZING SALE OF CITY LAND Motion by Alderman Kellogg that Resolution No. 2445 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. RECONSIDERATION OF TOWN PUMP'S SPECIAL REVIEW: Joe Bradley stated that in order for Town Pump's Special Review to be reconsidered, an alderman who voted against it at the last meeting would need to bring it up before the council tonight. If this motion passes by a simple majority it would only reopen the matter for discussion. Then, the Special Review would need to be voted on again. Motion by Alderman Marshall to reconsider Town Pump's Special Review, seconded by Alderman Orr. There being a division of the house, a roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Marshall, Graham, Orr, and Kellogg all voted, "YES." Alderwoman Kilpatrick, and Aldermen Collins and Teeters voted, "NO." Motion carried 4--3 when Bob Graham changed his vote from "NO" to "YES" later on in the meeting. (See Town Pump discussion under Mayor's Comments) DEANNEX PORTION OF CHERRY HILLS SUBDIVISION: RESOLUTION NO. 2446 VACATING AND ABANDONING CERTAIN DESCRIBED PORTIONS OF CHERRY HILLS SUBDIVISION, SECOND FILING, IN THE CITY OF LAUREL, AND EXCLUDING SAID VACATED AND ABANDONED PORTIONS FROM THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE MUNICIPALITY Motion by Alderman Graham that Resolution No. 2446 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. Cal Cumin stated that as part of the approval process Mr. Cantrell has to prepare a final plat. Cal would like to see, as one of the conditions of the final plat, that the drain ditch is dug and the fence is built to the specifications of the City Engineer or himself. He said if this plat is approved without final inspection of these items the city has no further leverage. Discussion followed regarding what the description of the fence should be, what authority the city has to enforce maintenance of the ditch and the fence at a later time, will the taxes be paid and how will the city maintain the buffer zone of lots if this passes. Bob Graham asked Mary Jo Devener if she would be satisfied with this action by the council. She stated the buffer zone will sufficiently separate her property from the wire fence but her concern is with the situation in the future. She does not feel that Mr. Cantrell will maintain either the fence or the drain ditch and eventually the cattle will get out and flooding may occur because the ditch is not properly cleaned out. Mary Jo said her only recourse at that point would be a civil suit and she does not want that. Motion by Alderman Graham to amend the motion to include Sub Paragraph (E) that Mr. Cantrell show on the final plat, to the satisfaction of the city, what he is going to do about the drain ditch and what kind of fence would go in there, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. At this time the vote was taken on Resolution No. 2446, as amended. Motion carried 6--1, with Alderman Collins voting, "NO." Page 3 Council Meeting of May 15, 1990 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of May 1, 1990 were presented and reviewed. It was questioned and discussed regarding the 24-8' light bulbs for $ 724.00. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of May 1, 1990, into the record, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of May 2, 1990 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of May 2, 1990, into the record, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of May 1, 1990 were presented. Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of May 1, 1990, into the record, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 7--0. --City-County Planning Board minutes of May 10, 1990 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Orr to enter minutes of May 10, 1990~ into the Collins. Motion carried 7--0. the City-County Planning Board record, seconded by Alderman Discussion followed regarding the building permit jurisdictional area. --Garbage Committee minutes of May 14, 1990 were presented. Motion by Alderman Graham to enter the Garbage Committee of May 14, 1990, into the record, seconded by Alderman Motion carried 7--0. minutes Collins. Bob Gauthier commented that the city is going out for bid on a truck for hauling the garbage containers. It was discussed at the Budget/Finance Committee and decided that having the garbage trucks going down the road is not a good long term solution. Discussion regarding the heavy weight of the new garbage truck. It was stated that the new truck has better weight distribution and should weigh less per axle than the old one. --Parks Committee minutes of May lO, 1990 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to allow the city to grade the cinder track on the school property by the Graff School if there is a letter of approval from the School District, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. In regard to concerns about maintenance of the ball fields, the Mayor stated he is working with Fred Feuerbacher to find a solution to this problem. Motion by Alderman Kellogg to of May 10, 1990, into the record, carried 7--0. enter the Parks Committee seconded by Alderman Orr. minutes Motion MAYOR'S COMMENTS: In regards to the Town Pump issue, the Mayor stated there are questions whether this is ignoring the issue or not. Bob said that if it is a zoning issue and it fails, beware that our liability insurance does not cover zoning issues and if Town Pump sues us, it has to come out of the city's pocket. Page 4 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council Meeting of }4ay 15, 1990 Joe Bradley stated there is no question that it is a zoning issue and our insurance company will deny coverage of it. Joe said it is still not too late to get out of it. Any one of the four who voted against it can ask the council's permission to change their vote. One more vote would put it back on the table for discussion and Joe stated he would like to discuss it some more. Joe said the council has not had the benefit of Cal Cumin's advice since he was not at the last council meeting. Joe said the issue can still be voted down again but he feels the council needs to know the risks the city takes because of this denial. Joe said the city will have to pay the fees for our own defense and also the lawyer's fees for Town Pump, if they should win. Town Pump's attorney stated at the hearing that this license would not bring that much more business in and they do not expect to sell that much more beer. Joe said this should help our defense because they would not have that much economic damage, by their own admission. Joe said the issue they would take is that a special review is a zoning procedure and it needs to be examined on the basis of how it affects the zone in that area of town. Town Pump received a copy of the minutes and as Joe recalled, there was very little discussion in reference to the zoning. Bob Graham stated that although he is still opposed to this he would like to discuss it further. Due to an article in the paper, Bob said many people felt this issue would be reconsidered and passed and therefore did not come tonight. Bob feels they should be present if the issue is debated again. Joe said the appropriate way to do this is if one of the four who voted against it will ask the council for permission to change their vote. The motion to reconsider will then pass 4--3 and the item can then be tabled for discussion until the next meeting when representatives from both sides and the media can be present. Donna Kilpatrick stated there is another petition from Rev. Cunningham, but Joe said the council cannot accept it into the record since the public hearing was over at the last meeting. Joe warned the council that if this is reconsidered, they do not want another public hearing. He said the council can ask specific questions of the audience but it will not be open for general comment or submission of petitions. Joe said you could open it up to public comments, but he recommends not doing this because we already had the public hearing and the council does not need to listen to the same comments again. Bob Gauthier said that we pay Joe Bradley and Cal Cumin for their advise and expertise and he would like the council to give them a chance and listen to their opinion of what is right and wrong and the consequence of the council's action. Joe Bradley said you can still turn it down, but he would like the discussion directed to the effects it will have on the zoning in this area. Will it adversely affect the neighbors in that zone? Joe's not saying the council can not come up with valid reasons on those grounds to turn it down, but he does not know what they are and these arguments would be the basis for our defense. It was stated that the public hearing scheduled for May 14th in Helena has been postponed indefinitely. Joe said the state requires that Town Pump have the proper zoning from the city and as long as they do not have it, the state will not listen to them. Joe said it would probably stay postponed until after they sue us and a decision is made by the judge. It was stated that Albert Ehrlick is circulating a petition regarding the traffic in and out of Town Pump and Joe said this would be a legitimate zoning issue. Donna Kilpatrick stated that the Planning Board could see nothing wrong with the zoning at the time it came before them and so it was Pages Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council Meeting of May 15, 1990 passed on to the council to look at the bigger picture of how this will affect Laurel. Donna stated that this larger picture is what she based her decision on. Joe said that by a larger issue he does not mean if liquor licenses are good or bad. The state has reserved for itself the power to decide how many liquor licenses will go in the city and to whom they will go. They do not have any rules prohibiting gasoline sales from businesses with on-premise liquor licenses. This is allowed all over the state and a lawyer in Helena told Joe there has never been a problem with this. Joe said the legislature is responsible for changing the rules regarding who can hold the liquor license. The city has no power over this. Joe said even the Department of Revenue will probably not turn Town Pump down just because of the gasoline issue. Cal Cumin said you can explore the exclusion of this kind of thing in the zoning. The city could separate gas sales from zoning under certain provisions to prevent stores from turning into mini-malls but it is to late for this particular issue. Cal said the city's ordinances allow this type of thing in that area. Joe said the Planning Board went through such criteria as off-street parking, landscape, access from the highways and putting hedges up if it bothers the neighbors. The last time an on-premise license was denied was at the old VFW Hall because there was a resident within feet of that building and this could be said to adversely affect the character of the neighborhood. There was discussion whether Town Pump's leased property is considered their property when addressing the footage distance between neighbors. Cal Cumin said the council needs to listen to Joe Bradley and give him some fuel to fight with if they are going to turn this down. He feels it needs to be opened up for debate so when and if it gets to court, Joe can say these issues have been evaluated, which they have not been so far. Cal feels it would be best to allow it and put conditions on it. It is more of an emotional issue than it is a factual one. At the public hearing the manager stated the conditions he intends to abide by in his business and Cal feels these conditions need to be put in as provisions of the special review. This can only be done at the time of application and they are not provisions that the council is putting on, but rather provisions the manager said he is putting on. In regard to a question about enforcement, Alan Crowe stated the police department is governed by state law concerning alcohol and he feels they have no authority to enforce specific conditions that may be put on. Joe Bradley said a zoning complaint would have to be filed stating that Town Pump violated the terms of their special review. Alan said they have never investigated zoning problems and Joe said it is a city ordinance and they are violating a city permit which makes it a criminal violation of the zoning ordinance. At the public hearing, Town Pump proposed to come back to the council in six months to see if they still have any problems with the license. Joe said it is not possible to give a temporary permit because the state would not pull their liquor license if the city changed their minds at a later date. Donna Kilpatrick repeated what Town Pump claimed, that they probably would not sell that much beer. She feels their real idea is to bring in the poker machines when the intent of the law and the reason it has to be in a bar is because you have to be 21 years old to be in there. How then, are you going to keep 16 year old's away from the poker machines? Joe said bar owners in Laurel have this same dilemma. Darrell McGillen said that in a bar you are a minor if you are under 21 years of age and he doesn't allow minors to be in his bar unless supervised Page 6 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council Meeting of May 15, 1990 by an adult. Joe did say that the law allows minors to walk into bars unsupervised and the city cannot pass a law keeping them out. It is up to the owner whether they post house rules that may prohibit minors from being there unsupervised. Joe stated that often times you go into a bar and see adults with children in their laps punching buttons on the machines. Why would you treat Town Pump any differently than other establishments where this happens all the time? L.D. Collins said the difference is that someone like the Palace does not sell gas. Joe said you cannot say that because the state allows for it. This cannot be an issue unless the city has it separated in their zoning ordinances, and we do not have it separated! It is something that can be done in the future, but it is to late for this item. Joe impressed upon the council that the state has always reserved the right to grant or not grant liquor licenses and the council cannot change that. This has to be done by talking to the elected officials. Cities have never had the power to decide who gets liquor licenses, based on the type of business they run, unless you've got a zoning issue. Lonnie Kellogg stated Town Pump has one violation and if this is approved and they come up for renewal of their license and have a couple more violations, does the city have any recourse of action? Joe said that if there are continual problems we would have to contact the state and they will act. They are fined for each violation but Joe did not know at what point their license would be suspended. The city itself does not have any recourse as far as issuing the license. Cal also impressed upon the council that they need to reconsider this issue and give some basis for turning it down. He knows of nothing to base this refusal on because our ordinance do not address it. Donna Kilpatrick questioned why it should be discussed again when Joe has been telling the council that they have no grounds to stand on anyway. Joe said it has to be discussed or the city is going to end up paying money out of their own pocket for attorney fees on both sides. Donna asked why they didn't just go ahead and do it and not bother the council in the first place? Joe said it has to go through the procedure. Town Pump is a little bit different because they already are an established business as opposed to a new business wanting to come in and having to meet all the zoning requirements from square one. It was stated again that even if Town Pump loses the lawsuit, that liquor license will still be located somewhere in Laurel. It will not cut down on the amount of liquor sold in Laurel. It was stated that Billings recently lost a judgement due to council action, which was not based on zoning laws but rather on opinions. Joe said the council is using a cut and dried zoning procedure to basically legislate morality. Bob Graham asked the council's permission to change his vote to, "YES" on the motion to reconsider the Town Pump Special Review. Motion by Alderman Marshall to allow Bob Graham to change his vote on the motion to reconsider the Town Pump Special Review, seconded by Alderman Orr. A roll call vote was taken and all aldermen present voted, "YES." Motion carried 7--0. Motion by Alderman Graham to table the discussion and a on the Town Pump Special Review until June 5th, seconded by Collins. Motion carried 7--0. decision Alderman In regard to minors, Darrell McGillen stated this is controlled by state law. If a minor is caught playing a machine or drinking, the business can lose their gaming and liquor licenses. Under the Palace Page7 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council Meeting of May 15, 1990 Bar & Lanes house rules, minors cannot play the machines or drink if they are under 21 years of age. Darrell said one of the problems bar and tavern owners have is that the legal age for playing machines is 18 but the legal age for drinking is 21. As it was explained to Darrell at a Gaming Commission meeting in Billings last week, if a machine is in a bar atmosphere and a minor, which is anyone who is less than 21 years of age, comes into that bar, they cannot play the machines under the restrictions of the liquor law because it is a controlled atmosphere with restrictions for those under 21 years of age. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City Laurel, Montana, this 6th day of June, 1990. Bob Gauthier, Mayor of ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk