Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 04.05.1988Minutes of the City Council of Laurel April 5, 1988 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the council Chambers and called to order by Bob Gauthier, at 7:05 p.m., on April 5, 1988. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Ervin Wood Donna Kilpatrick Chuck Rodgers Norman Orr Chuck Dickerson Bruce Teeters L.D. Collins COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Bob Graham INVOCATION: Invocation given by Reverend Speare. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Dickerson to approve the minutes of regular meeting of March 15, 1988, as presented, seconded by Alderman Collins. Carried 7--0. the Motion by Alderman Rodqers to approve the minutes of the special meeting of March 28, 1988, as presented, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Carried 7--0. CORRESPONDENCE Received copies of letter to Andrea Bennett, Insurance Commissioner and Harold Hanser, County Attorney, from Dr. George Sheckleton, Director of the City-County Health Department regarding the termination of Professional Liability Insurance. Received the March newsletter from the Montana Municipal Insurance Authority. Received "High Water", a Floodplain management newsletter from the Montana Department of ~atural Resources and Conservation. CLAIMS Claims for the month of March were reviewed by the Budget/Finance Committee and recommended that they be paid, except for possibly not paying the one to Hunting Shack, Inc., Missoula, Montana. Discussion followed. Alan Crowe reported that they have been dealing with the Hunting Shack out of Missoula for about 8 years. One of the reasons, other than the cost, is that they can deal in large quantities with a good discount. Another major consideration is that they carry liability insurance backing their product~ Whereas, locally no one would offer liability coverage. Meaning that if a bullet exploded out on the firing range, the Hunting Shack would stand behind it, other than the City. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to approve all claims in the amount of $ 209,237.24 for the month of March, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. TEMPORARY SIGN ORDINANCE Roy Williams reported to the Council that the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has taken a position on the temporary sign ordinance. Their recommendation is that the Council address only the safety issues involving temporary signs and perhaps, at a later date, review this position if it's felt the temporary signs are causing problems in other areas. Their recommendation was based on the economic situation of the area and they did not want to burden the businesses any further. Joe Bradley stated the sign ordinance that we currently have limits temporary signs to 60 days and it also puts a stipulation on the size. page2 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council meeting of April 5, 1988 This has not been enforced so Joe feels the ordinance should be changed to reflect the way the Council plans to handle~it. Chuck stated the reason for this review is not to penalize businesses for having a temporary sign but to be able to enforce the placement of the sign so it doesn't create problems. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to write an o~dinance in such a way that it can be enforced, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. More discussion followed and Jim Flisrand stated that the UBC code makes it mandatory to adopt the whole code and adhere to it, due to Laurel's size. We can enforce stricter stipulations on this code but we can not take away from the code. Jim will check into this further and report back at the next meeting. At this time, Alderman Dickerson withdrew his motion and Alderwoman Kilpatrick withdrew her second to the motion. BID OPENING - LIQUID ASPHALT This being the time and place advertised, the bid received was opened and read aloud. Farmer's Union Central Exchange, Inc. (Cenex) Laurel, Montana 30,000 gallons (125 T) MC-800 25,000 gallons (107 T) CRS-2 $ 127.50 per ton $ 112.00 per ton $15,937.50 $ 11 984.00 $ 27,921.50 The bid was referred to the Street and Alley Committee for a recommendation a% the next Council meeting. SUPERHOST PROGRAM Roy Williams stated the Laurel Chamber of Commerce would like to be designated as the sponsor for the Superhost Program. This program is under the direction of the Department of Commerce and it would provide information to tourists. The Chamber would like to compile information that would be of interest to the tourists. Some examples Roy gave were updated lists of churches, eating establishments and recreation activities available around Laurel. These lists and information would be placed with business people in Laurel and would be made available to those who stop. Roy stated the Superhost sponsor requires the endorsement of the local government entity. RESOLUTION NO. 2329 SUPERHOST A Visitor Service Program for Montana Communities Motion by Alderman Dickerson that Resolution No. 2329 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. AMBULANCE BASE RATES The resolution increasing ambulance base rates will be postponed until the next Council meeting. DEPOSIT FOR WATER METERS: The Mayor stated an ordinance has not b~ndrawn up yet and he would like to know if there is any discussion on this before it is written up. This item came up in response to a complaint by George Fox, developer of Village Subdivision. He has many renters who abandon the property page3 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council meeting of April 5, 1988 and run out on him. During the winter, these water meters often times freeze up and the repair costs then go on his taxes. George is asking the City to require a deposit on the water meter before it's installed, then damage costs could be taken out of the deposit. Joe felt this could cause real problems by singling out George's trailer court and also, the burden it would place on the Clerk's office to handle it. L.D. Collins reported that George felt he made no contract with the City for water meters. The contract is between the renter and the City and he has no obligation to charge the renter for the water meter because he did not sign up for the meter and the City did not require him to. Once the renter abandons the property, George stated he has to legally wait 60 days to get on the property. By that time the meter had frozen and the City puts the charge on his taxes. More discussion followed and it was felt this would be discriminating against mobile home occupants. Joe stated landlords do have some rights of inspection and he can enter an abandoned premise to protect his property. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to drop from the agenda the ordinance requiring a deposit for water meters, seconded by Alderman Wood. Motion carried 7,-0. FIRE SERVICE AREA Don stated this is an amendment to item #2 in the Memorandum of Understanding concerning the Fire Service Area. Joe said the current contract states the County Commissioners will be the governing body and this is true for Billings but may not be for Laurel. The change states the County Commissioners intend to appoint a Board of Trustees to govern and manage the affairs of the Laurel Urban Fire Service Area. This Board is then responsible for entering into the contract, not the County Commissioners. RESOLUTION NO. 2330 RATIFYING COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AMENDMENT TO MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING, PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY RESOLUTION NO. 2328 Motion by Alderman Dickerson that Resolution No. 2330 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. Chuck Dickerson, Council President, asked the City Attorney whether he has the authority to sign documents in the Mayor's absence. Joe stated he does not have that authority and when he presides over a meeting he is still a voting member of the Council. COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget/Finance Committee minutes of April 5, 1988 were presented and reviewed. MOTION BY Alderman Orr to accept the Committee's recommendation to sell a metal building, which was purchased in July of 1984, to Merle Cherry for $ 1,000.00, seconded by Alderman Dickerson. Motion carried 7--0. MOTION BY Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of April 5, 1988, into the record, seconded by Alderman Rodgers. Motion carried 7--0. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to advertise for the sale of the porta-patcher, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. page4 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council meeting of April 5, 1988 Cemetery Committee minutes of March 22, 1988 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the Cemetery Committee minutes of March 22, 1988, into the record, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. Alan Crowe, Police Chief, reported that officers are patrolling the cemetery a couple times a night. He stated the people who enter the grounds at night and leave beer bottles are apparently entering on foot because there is no indication that the gates are being tampered with. City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 15, 1988 were presented. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 15, 1988, into the record, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. Fire Committee minutes of March 21, 1988 were presented. Motion by Alderman Rodgers to enter the Fire Committee minutes of March 21, 1988, into the record, seconded by Alderman Dickerson. Motion carried 7--0. Garbage Committee minutes of March 21, 1988 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Collins to enter the Garbage Committee minutes of March 21, 1988, into the record, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 6--1 with Alderwoman Kilpatrick voting, "No." Discussion followed regarding the proposed garbage containers for the downtown area. Ervin stated he has access to a metal roller and he will work with the high school student to come up with a more acceptable container. Park Committee minutes of March 24, 1988, were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Park Committee minutes of March 24, 1988, into the record, seconded by Alderman Dickerson. Motion carried 7--0. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Ernie requested a special Personnel Committee meeting following the Council meeting. Ervin Wood requested permission to leave the State April 16th through the 22nd. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to grant Ervin Wood permission to leave the State April 16th through the 22nd, seconded by Alderman Dickerson. Motion carried 7--0. Jim Flisrand stated there is alot of interest in extending the lighting district by Kiwanis park. He asked for some direction to go ahead with this. Joe stated he will draw up a resolution and it will be on the agenda for the next meeting. MAYOR'S COMMENTS The Mayor stated a change will be made with the Committee members. Chuck Dickerson requested to be changed from the Budget/Finance Committee to the Police Committee. The Mayor would like to grant the Village Subdivision Homeowner'!s permission to use the council chambers for their meeting. They will page~ Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Council meeting of April 5, 1988 contact Don as to the specific date. Motion by Alderman Dickerson to grant the Village Subdivision Homeowner's permission to use the council chambers for their meeting, seconded by Alderman Collins. Motion carried 7--0. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 19th day of April, 1988. ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk