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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 03.21.1989Minutes of the City Council of Laurel March 21, 1989 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 7:03 p.m., on March 21, 1989. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Ron Marshall Donna Kilpatrick Chuck Rodgers L.D. Collins Chuck Dickerson Bob Graham Bruce Teeters Norman Orr COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Collins. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Dickerson to approve regular meeting of March 7, 1989, as presented, Collins. Motion carried 8--0. the minutes of the seconded by Alderman CORRESPONDENCE: Received a "Thank you" card from the Laurel Senior Citizens Center for the $ 250.00 contribution the city gave them recently. Received a letter from the Laurel Museum, Incorporated regarding an open house on March 20th. Received a letter from the Laurel Centennial Steering Committee and a schedule of activities to be held during Centennial Days, June 24 to July 4, 1989. Received the minutes and activity report for January and February from the Yellowstone County Air Pollution Control Board. Included was a report on the Status of Total Suspended Particulate Sulfation Rate and Carbon Monoxide in the Billings/Laurel area. CITY CLERK & CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of February were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that the City Clerk and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of February, 1989, be approved, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. The Mayor commented that the balances of the funds are starting to improve with the exception of the sewer fund. This is partially due to the fact that there are seven positions within the city that are vacant at this time. TOM FRANK - EQUIPMENT FINDERS BUSINESS LICENSE: Tom Frank turned this matter over to his alderman, Ron Marshall. Ron stated that Tom is the owner of Laurel Trailer and Equipment Sales and he has questions about Equipment Finders which is owned by Bob Erickson. The questions he has are about the general nature of the business. He would like to know if the building where he conducts his business has had the proper building, sanitation~ and fire inspections required? Does this business have all the proper licenses required by the city and the state? Also, he would like to know what the legalities of being in business are and what is required by the business to comply. Motion by Alderman Marshall to establish a committee to review and report back to the council on April 4, 1989~ regarding the legalities of businesses and what they are required to do to comply, seconded by Alderman Graham. Joe Bradley stated that Tom Frank has made these allegations before and Jim Flisrand, the building inspector, has been down to Equipment Finders several times. Jim is not present at this meeting and Joe informed Tom that he would not be and suggested that this matter be Page 2 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council Meeting of March 21, 1989 postponed until the next meeting when Jim will be present and we get his input. Joe feels Jim has done a lot of the work that committee would be asked to do again. can the Chuck Dickerson stated there was discussion during the Committee of the Whole meeting that there are other establishments in town that present similar problems and this committee would look at all of these problems and start preparing some solutions before the April 4th meeting. Leo Yeager spoke on behalf of Tom Frank, stating there are a lot of facts that they could interject at this time but hopefully they wiii be uncovered at the time of an investigation. He is willing to assist anyone who is interested in finding out what is happening at Equipment Finders. Leo stated this matter has been going on since June of last year and it is still not resolved. They feel the primary issue is that a local businessman is being placed in an unfair competitive advantage by allowing what appears to be going on. He does not feel the licensing procedures were followed in granting the license, in regards to the codes, so they are questioning the validity of the license itself. The second question Leo has, aside from the present license, is whether Equipment Finders is operating within the city codes and any state or city zoning ordinances. They believe this deserves special attention and they are not satisfied with the fact that Mr. Flisrand has been down there a few times. Leo stated that if he is operating within the codes and has a legitimate city business license, then they have no case. But if he is not, what is the remedy? Leo said they will leave that up to the city but they do expect answers and feel this deserves a specific investigation. Bob Graham stated there has been some ongoing investigation and facts have been presented and even though the motion is for a general committee to handle this, specific concerns and examples will be addressed. If an infraction is found the remedy would then be up to the City Attorney and the police. In the area of licensing, Bob stated the correct procedure was followed in issuing Mr. Erickson a city license and at the time he did meet the requirements but maybe these procedures need to be amended and this is what the committee will find out. At this time the motion was voted on and it carried 8--0. Joe then stated what he understood the purpose of the committee is and that is to look into compliance of license holders and possible revisions of the licensing procedure. The Mayor appointed Cai Cumin, Jim Flisrand, Joe Bradley, Ron Marshall and himself to serve on the committee. As a final point before leaving, Leo Yeager stated he could not believe that this council totally ignored their request. Here a local businessman came before them with a specific request in regards to a situation that has been going on for nine months and they get a general committee as an answer, which will look at licensing and zoning in general. CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND - THOMSON PARK: RESOLUTION NO. 2383 A RESOLUTION TO CREATE A CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING REST ROOM AND OTHER FACILITIES AT THOMPSON PARK Motion by Alderman Dickerson that Resolution No. 2383 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of March 21, 1989 TRANSFER REVENUE SHARING FUNDS TO CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND-THOHSON PARK: RESOLUTION NO, 2384 A RESOLUTION TRANSFERRING CERTAIN FUNDS OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA Motion by Alderman Dickerson that Resolution No. 2384 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Marshall. Motion carried 8--0. COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of March 7, 1989 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick Committee minutes of March 7, 1989, Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. to enter the Budget/Finance into the record, seconded by --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 7, 1989 were presented. Motion by Alderman Collins to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 7, 1989, into the record, seconded by Alderman Dickerson. Motion carried 8--0. --City-County Planning Board minutes of March 9, 1989 were presented. Motion by Alderman Collins to enter the Board minutes of March 9, 1989, into the record, Dickerson. Motion carried 8--0. City-County seconded by Planning Alderman BOME OCCUPATION: Motion by Alderman Collins to grant a home occupation to Alden and Nina Gonzalez subject to no clients coming to the home, seconded by Alderman Graham. Motion carried 7--1 with Alderman Collins voting, "NO." --City License Committee minutes of March 16, 1989 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to table the granting of a business license to Dan Duke Advertising and Northwest Funding until Mr. Duke can come to the council meeting, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--1 with Alderman Teeters voting, "NO." Motion by Alderman Marshall to grant a Diamond Box A Bar N, seconded by Alderman Orr. with Alderman Collins voting, "NO." business license to Motion carried 7--1 Motion by Alderman Collins to enter minutes of March 16, 1989, into the record, Motion carried 8--0. the City License Committee seconded by Alderman Orr. --Parks Committee minutes of March 9, 1989 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Parks minutes of March 9, 1989, into the record, seconded by Dickerson. Motion carried 8--0. Committee Alderman COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Sandy Stevenson came representing the Centennial Steering Committee which is a subcommittee of the Laurel Chamber of Commerce. He presented a letter to the council and gave a presentation of the events planned for the centennial celebration. On behalf of the Steering Committee, Sandy is asking for the formal support of the Laurel City Council in their endeavors to organize this centennial celebration. They would like June 24th to July 4th proclaimed as Laurel Centennial Days. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of March 21, 1989 Bob Graham commended the Steering Committee on the work they are doing. In regards to further discussion by Sandy in reference to the street dance that is put on by the Jaycees, Chuck Dickerson recommended a letter be written asking the Jaycees to present their plans for the street dance at a meeting in May. Joe Bradley will write the letter. Chuck Dickerson stated that at a prior council meeting it was brought up as to what the council could do to participate in the centennial celebration. Chuck stated he has given this a lot of thought and he suggested that a 3~ x 5' flag be made in the school's colors with the seal of the City of Laurel on it. He would then like the Mayor to present this flag to the city at the June 20th council meeting which he would like to see held in Thomson Park with everyone in traditional garb. He would like to invite Boy and Girl Scouts and anyone else who would like to attend and at this time make the proclamation for June 24th to July 4th as Laurel Centennial Days. The flag would then be flown below the American flag at City Hall. Sandy Stevenson stated that the proclamation would need to be done before the June 20th council meeting so it will be on the agenda for the April 4th meeting. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to hold the June 20th council meeting at 6:30 p.m. in Thomson Park in centennial dress and invite the local public and any scouting groups to attend, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 8--0. The Mayor will contact Jim Seaton and Tom Sprigler to see if their art classes could design a flag. MAYOR'S COMMENTS: The Mayor reminded all department heads to turn in their budgets by the end of the month. Cable Montana was at the Budget/Finance meeting and it is the recommendation of the committee to extend their current franchise until their license expires on July 1, 1989 to allow more time to investigate. A resolution will be presented at the next council meeting. There will be a meeting for the newly appointed Special Committee on Tuesday, March 28, 1989 at 4:30 p.m. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Approved by The Mayor Laurel, Montana, this and passed by the City Council of the City of 4th day of April, 1989. Bob Gauthier, Mayor ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk