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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 03.16.1999 IINUTES OF THE CITY COUN(IL OF LAURI L March 16, 1999 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 Chuck Rodgers at 7:00 p.m. on March 16, 1999. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Dirk Kroll Bud Johnson Ken Olson Miles Walton Gay Easton Norman Orr Bill Staudinger COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Gary Temple Mayor Rodgers asked the council to observe a moment of silence in behalf of Miranda Fenner and her family. MiNUTES: Motion by Alderman Kroll to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 2, 1999, as presented, seconded by Alderman Olson. Motion carried 7-0. CORRESPONDENCE: a. Montana League of Cities and Towns Legislative Bulletin - CI-75 Invalidated. b. David Michael - Letter of resignation from the Yellowstone City-County Health Board. c. Air Pollution Control: March 9, 1999 Agenda; January 12, 1999 minutes; February 1999 Activity Report. CONSENT ITEMS: a. Clerk/Treasurer Financial Statements for the month of February. b. Committee Reports. --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of March 2, 1999 were presented. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 2, 1999 were presented. --Joint Parks, Street and Alley, and Public Utilities Committees minutes of March 8, 1999 were presented. --Joint Ambulance, Fire, and Police Committees minutes of March 9, 1999 were presented. The mayor asked if there was any separation of consent items. There was none. Motion by Alderman Johnson to approve the consent items as presented, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carded 7-0. SCHEDULED MATTERS: a. Confirmation of Appointments. Ambulance Reserves: Mayor Rodgers appointed Scott Wilm to the Ambulance Reserves. Motion by Alderman Kroll to confirm the appointment of Scott Wilm to the Ambulance Reserves, seconded by Alderman Olson. Motion carried 7-0. b. Ordinance No. 099-5: Ordinance amending the Laurel Municipal Code adopting the Uniform Building Code, 1997, and repealing specific provisions of the City's code relating to inspections and permits that are inconsistent with the Uniform Building Codes, 1997. Public hearing and second reading. Council Minutes of March 16, 1999 ORDINANCE NO. 099-5 ORDINANCE AMENDING THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE ADOPTING THE UNIFORM BUILDING CODE, 1997, AND REPEALING SPECIFIC PROVISIONS OF THE CITY'S CODE RELATING TO INSPECTIONS AND PERMITS THAT ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE UNIFORM BUILDING CODES, 1997. Mayor Rodgers opened the public heating. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any opponents. There were none. Motion by Alderman Walton to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7-0. Motion by Alderman Walton to approve Ordinance No. O99-5, seconded by Alderman Orr. A roll call vote was taken on the motion to approve Ordinance No. 099-5. All seven aldermen present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. Ordinance No. 099-6: Amending Chapter 15.08 of the Laurel Municipal Code, to adopt the Uniform Housing Code 1997 Edition. Public hearing and second reading. ORDINANCE NO. O99-6 AMENDING CHAPTER 15.08 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE UNIFORM HOUSING CODE 1997 EDITION. Mayor Rodgers opened the public hearing. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any opponents. There were none. Motion by Alderman Orr to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7-0. Motion by Alderman Orr to approve Ordinance No. 099-6, seconded by Alderman Johnson. A roll call vote was taken on the motion to approve Ordinance No. 099-6. All seven aldermen present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. Ordinance No. 099-7: Amending Chapter 15.16 of the Laurel Municipal Code, to adopt the Cabo One and Two Family Dwelling Code 1995 Edition. Public hearing and second reading. ORDINANCE NO. O99-7 AMENDING CHAPTER 15.16 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE CABO ONE AND TWO FAMILY DWELLING CODE 1995 EDITION. Mayor Rodgers opened the public hearing. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any opponents. There were none. Motion by Alderman Johnson to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 7-0. Motion by Alderman Staudinger to approve Ordinance No. 099-7, seconded by Alderman Johnson. A roll call vote was taken on the motion to approve Ordinance No. 099-7. All seven aldermen present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. Ordinance No. O99-8: Amending Chapter 15.20 of the Laurel Municipal Code, to adopt the Plumbing Code 1997 Edition. First Reading. Council Minutes of March 16, 1999 ORDINANCE NO. 099-8 AMENDING CHAPTER 15.20 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE PLUMBING CODE 1997 EDITION. Mayor Rodgers opened the public hearing. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any opponents. There were none. Motion by Alderman Staudinger to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Easton. Motion carded 7-0. Motion by Alderman Easton to approve Ordinance No. 099-8, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. A roll call vote was taken on the motion to approve Ordinance No. 099-8. All seven aldermen present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. Ordinance No. O99-9: Amending Chapter 15.24 of the Laurel Municipal Code, to adopt the Model Energy Code 1993 Edition. Public hearing and second reading. ORDINANCE NO. 099-9 AMENDING CHAPTER 15.24 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE MODEL ENERGY CODE 1993 EDITION. Mayor Rodgets opened the public hearing. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any opponents. There were none. Motion by Alderman Easton to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Olson. Motion carried 7-0. Motion by Alderman Easton to approve Ordinance No. O99-9, seconded by Alderman Olson. A roll call vote was taken on the motion to approve Ordinance No. O99-9. All seven aldermen present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. Ordinance No. O99-10: Amending Chapter 15.36 of the Laurel Municipal Code, to adopt the Sign Code 1997 Edition. Public hearing and second reading. ORDINANCE NO. O99-10 AMENDING CHAPTER 15.36 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE SIGN CODE 1997 EDITION. Mayor Rodgers opened the public hearing. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any opponents. There were none. Motion by Alderman Olson to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried 7-0. Motion by Alderman Olson to approve Ordinance No. O99-10, seconded by Alderman Kroll. A roll call vote was taken on the motion to approve Ordinance No. O99-10. All seven aldermen present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. h, Ordinance No. O99-11: Amending Chapter 15.40 of the Laurel Municipal Code, to adopt the Fire Code 1997 Edition. Public hearing and second reading. ORDINANCE NO. O99-11 AMENDING CHAPTER 15.40 OF THE LAUREL MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ADOPT THE FIRE CODE 1997 EDITION. Council Minutes of March 16, 1999 Mayor Rodgers opened the public hearing. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Rodgers asked if there were any opponents. There were none. Motion by Alderman Kroll to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried. Motion by Alderman Kroll to approve Ordinance No. O99-11, seconded by Alderman Walton. A roll call vote was taken on the motion to approve Ordinance No. O99-11. All seven aldermen present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. i. Cal Cumin - City/County Planning Update. Cat Cumin reported that the Laurel Revitalization Association had Dave Reetz, from Powell, Wyoming, speak at their March meeting. Mr. Reetz was the driving force behind the renovation that was done in Powell. One of the points Dave Reetz made was that Powell diversified their economy, instead of remaining a one-shot economy town, something Laurel has learned with the railroad and the refinery. It is important to develop your niches, markets and small economic opportunities. He also emphasized the importance of getting the city and the residents to make a major commitment to change. This has not been accomplished in Laurel yet, as it is still difficult to get people to attend the meetings. Powell did a bond issue in the community, and charged their downtown people $1.00 a front foot. The chairman of the Laurel Revitalization Association has tried to get our downtown business people to contribute towards their mailing expenses, but was unsuccessful. Dave also talked about how communities build on the enduring qualities of the community. The questions of what makes Laurel a nice place to live and what do people like about this community are important ones to consider. Those are the issues that create a community and create places where people want to live. When you find places where people want to live, corporations and business like to be there because there will be happy and satisfied employees available. Dave Reetz emphasized that they have a commons area in Powell which provides a meeting place for farmers' markets, parties, and a place to celebrate everything they do. When you get people downtown, people spend money. It is important to get the people downtown, not the cars. Powell has a development group that actually buys land that the city wants and they develop it. The City of Powell also develops their gateways. Mr. Reetz emphasized that, if the city will not invest in its future, why should anyone else do so. The RC&D, our grant writers for this process, are working very well, They are integrating what they are trying to do with other plans, other projects, and other grants. Cal is very satisfied with their work. Cal spent time last week submitting the graat application for the Transportation and Community System Preservations Program. Laurel was the 0nly community in Montana, and one of 49 communities out of 550 nationwide that applied for the grant, that was invited to make the application. This is an $85,000 grant and we have to provide $25,000. The purpose of this transportation planning study is to analyze the impact that the transportation systems in Laurel have on the community. Laurel is extremely fragmented by the different transportation systems within the city. The highway program is very interested in how small communities address such situations and still improve their localities. This study will be a great asset in analyzing ways to make our community a nicer place to live in spite of the fragmentation caused by the transportation systems. Cal informed the council that many well-qualified organizations will be assisting in this endeavor. One organization focuses on downtown revitalization, another one on sustainable transportation options, and one on sustainable land use practices. Qualified people will also be assisting with the transportation system. Available data will be collected regarding traffic growth, traffic demand, travel demand, and infrastructure prudence. The data collection will focus on utilizing available data from sources including the Montana Department of Transportation on land use changes, City-County Planning, development projections, local school projections, safety routes, vehicle turning movements, travel time, existing exits, travel routes, bicycle routes, pedestrim~ counts, inventory of vehicle and bicycle parking and selective license plate surveys. The present capacity and future demand will be addressed in this study. Cal is excited about the future opportunities if this grant is approved. If the grant is approved, we will have to publish an evaluation process that will go back to the Federal Highways Administration. With the team he has put together, he thinks this requirement would be easily accomplished. There is about $10,000 available in the present planning budget that Cal would like to use for this grant if it is Council Minutes of March 16, 1999 approved. The decision on this grant is made at the national level and should be decided by the middle of May. Cat mentioned the team involved in this process. They include: the Laurel Revitalization Association; the Laurel City Council; Larry McCann; the City-County Planning Board; Chris Allen, project manager in the National Center for Appropriate Technology's (NCAT) Sustainable Energy Program; Dan Burden, founder of Walkable Communities, Inc., a non-profit consulting firm in High Springs, Florida; Hank Dittmar, Campaign Director for the Surface Transportation Policy Project's Trm~sportation and Quality of Life Campaign; Kathy Harris, a professional traffic engineer with Carter & Burgess, Inc., in Helena; Maria Larson, an economist with the Pollution Prevention Bureau of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality; Barron Parks, Billings District Engineer for the Montana Department of Transportation; John Williams, a consultant with Tracy-Willian~s consulting in Missoula; Paul Zykoski, Director of the Center for Livable Contmunities (CLC). There was some further discussion about the possibilities and issues that are involved in the planning process. Bud Johnson agreed with Cal that it is an exciting process and that Laurel should be involved, instead of letting it go on around us. Cal said that volunteer groups generate the excitement in Billings, and he believes that a similar excitement is growing in Laurel as the South Pond Project is progressing. Ken Olson thanked Cal for his presentation and voiced his enthusiasm and support for the project. Mayor Rodgers also thanked Cal for his presentation. UNSCHEDULED MATTERS: None. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 7:39p.m. Cindy Allen, SeT~tary Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 6th day of April, 1999. Attest: Donald L. Hackmann, Clerk-Treasurer