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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 11.10.2009MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 10, 2009 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Ken Olson at 6:30 p.m. on November 10, 2009. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: x_ Emelie Eaton _-x Kate Hart _x_ Chuck Rodgers Alex Wilkins OTHERS PRESENT: Sam Painter Mary Embleton -x Doug Poehls Mark Mace _x Chuck Dickerson _x Norm Stamper James Caniglia Rick Musson Derek Yeager Public Input (three-minute limit): Citizens may address the Council regarding any item of City business not on the agenda. The duration for an individual speaking under Public Input is limited to three minutes. While all comments are welcome, the Council will not take action on any item not on the agenda. There was no public input. General items There were none. Clerk/Treasurer: • Resolution - Agreement with Municipal Code Corporation Mary Embleton stated that the agreement with Municipal Code Corporation is for legal review of the Laurel Municipal Code. A review is recommended every few years to compare the municipal codes with state statutes and is important with the passage of the charter. Codes will be reviewed to ensure compliance, continuity and agreement with federal, state and local statutes. Municipal Code Corporation will work closely with Sam and the price is reasonable. They also offered to post the city's codes online with a link to their website so people can access the codes online. The service will be free for the first year and would be reconsidered in a year. Mary and Sam recommend approval of the agreement. • Resolution - CTEP Project Agreement Amendment Mary stated that the CTEP Project Agreement was for the sidewalks, curb and gutter on the west side of South First Avenue. The initial estimate for the project was $67,000, but the costs came in lower and the agreement was amended to $37,953. Mary has already done the reconciliation and the project ended up even under that. This housekeeping item will get the agreement in line with the actual work done. Mary recommended approval of the amendment to the agreement. • Ordinance - Setting the Judge's salary by resolution Council Workshop Minutes of November 10, 2009 Mary stated that the council approved the non-union wage increases after the budget was passed. The dollar amount of the judge's salary is specifically set by ordinance. The ordinance process takes time, as it should because an ordinance has the level of law. The judge's position is the only one that has the dollar amount stated in ordinance, and other positions are referred to in ordinance as being set by resolution. This allows the council more flexibility and it is an easier process. The proposal is to take out the wording that defines the actual dollars and basically sets it by resolution like other positions. If the council chooses to approve this proposal, the resolution for the four percent increase for the judge's salary would come forward close to the effective date of the ordinance. The first reading, public hearing, and second reading need to be scheduled. Mary asked the council regarding the timing of the council wage increase. Doug stated that it should come forward at the same time as the judge's increase. Mary stated that it would include all elected officials. Chief Administrative Officer: a Resolution - Lease Agreement with the Laurel Jaycees Mayor Olson stated that Bill could not attend tonight's meeting. He spoke regarding the lease agreement with the Laurel Jaycees and read the verbiage on page 3, Section C., which states that the "Lessee acknowledges the City is unable to provide running water during the winter unless weather permits." The statement was recently added to the agreement. Page 9, Article XXI, Potable Water, includes a description of the water issue. The Laurel Jaycees have not yet signed the lease aFeement. If it is signed by Thursday, the resolution and agreement will be on the November 17 council agenda. If the agreement has not been signed, it will be on a future council agenda. Mayor Olson stated that there are some issues with the water pipe going to Riverside Park, and the Public Works Department is investigating other ways to provide water during the winter months. That includes consideration of a well or another way to get water from the Water Treatment Plant to Riverside Park. Executive Review: • Intake lids Mayor Olson asked for council discussion regarding the intake lids. Kate Hart stated that, based on what the letter provides, it sounds like the city has a case. She asked regarding the next step if the city decided to pursue it. Mayor Olson read the consultant's statement from page 10: "Engineers practicing in Montana who design water intake structures in high-flow river environments are best suited to answering the legal question as to whether HKM failed to exercise due care and diligence in their intake cover design." Mayor Olson stated that those are considerations that must be looked at for further investigation. Doug asked if the city should investigate that beforehand or do it during the due diligence process after the suit is filed. Sam stated his recommendation not to file immediately because that would lock the city in. He stated that the city has not yet contacted HKM with this information, and he thinks that it is only fair to meet with them. He stated that part of the report contains discussion of the company's unwillingness to meet with city staff and help staff through the entire process once the lids were missing. The point 2 Council Workshop Minutes of November 10, 2009 was well taken that, if the company would have reacted and helped the city through the situation, it would have been considered differently in the overall opinion. But the fact remains that HKM took no responsibility. At the time, city staff seriously questioned the whole problem. Kurt could reaffirm that it was a crisis situation when he discovered the lids were missing. When Kurt contacted the company, there was basically a "too bad, you are on your own, here's what we suggest" type response. Sam recommends presenting the information to HKM to see what they are willing to do before filing a lawsuit. In a perfect world, the company would have some sort of responsibility as to making it right with a customer. The City of Laurel has been their customer in the past and could be a customer in the future. If that falls through, the city could still file a lawsuit, but that will require spending some money for the experts. When he was directed to look around for engineers, there were not a lot of engineers in Montana who wanted to look at this as they all work together on projects and are not willing to take a contrary position overall. That is going to be a difficulty. If the city filed a suit, it would have to get an expert opinion through this person or another one. It could cost between $40,000 and $50,000 to get an expert for the whole process, and there would also be attorney's fees. Mark stated that HKM contradicted when they said that Laurel should have known that the lids would come off in the spring. Then they wrote a letter stating that the new ones would probably come off, too, if they were not fastened down. Mark questioned why that was not considered during the initial design. Mayor Olson stated that Mark was talking about page 8, item H., where HKM in their conclusion stated: "There is a chance that the new lids would also disappear if not permanently fastened, which would effectively eliminate access to the screens for future inspections and repair." Mayor Olson thinks it curious that they made that supposition that we did use their idea and replaced the lids when there was low water. So they said if the lids come off; we would not be able to inspect, and yet the city was able to replace the lids. That shows that the lids can be changed. Mayor Olson thought the analogy with like projects and like conditions in like Montana cities was interesting. He was on the council in 2003 when the project was decided and there was discussion about putting the lids on compared to what Glendive does. However, the conditions in Glendive and in Laurel are not the same. Laurel has the confluence, or the rapidly stressing of the water after the bridge, impacting the lids. The report states that Laurel has a unique set of circumstances, and the contractor should have recognized those circumstances and taken steps to assure they were addressed. He believes that the report shows the contractor failed in that particular aspect. There was discussion regarding how to proceed. Sam stated that, from staff's point of view, the thought was to present the preliminary report to the council. The next step is for Sam and the Public Works Director to contact HKM to schedule a meeting regarding the report. If nothing happens, then the city can send formal letters with deadlines for a response. The next time this issue is presented to the council will be for a decision whether or not to authorize litigation or to accept some sort of a settlement. Other items There was no discussion. Review of draft council agenda for November 17, 2009 Mayor Olson stated that the lease agreement with the Laurel Jaycees would be removed from the agenda if it has not been signed. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of November 10, 2009 Attendance. at the November 17, 2009 council meeting All council members present will attend. Mayor Olson will not attend. Announcements Mark Mace asked regarding the schedule for completing the underpass and installing the stoplight. The curb is being installed on the south side of First Avenue and pavement was laid today. Mayor Olson will contact MDT tomorrow and e-mail the information to the council. Stefan Streeter recently told him that the red book was going to be jumbled and he did not know if the Main Street project from 15t to 8th would survive. However, today Bill informed Mayor Olson that the Main Street, 1st to 8th, project should be ready for early next summer. The city needs to complete work on the easements for a couple properties. Chuck Dickerson asked that the schedule for the generator in Murray Park be on the next council workshop agenda. Chuck Rodgers stated that the headstones in the Veterans' section are being straightened. Emelie Eaton received an e-mail today from Fred Bicha of the DNRC regarding the grant application for $19,000 for the Tree Board. Fred said that the committee was willing to grant $11,900 and he specified how that was to be broken down. The preliminary bids in the grant included an estimate of $800 to $850 for evergreen trees for South Pond Park and Riverside Park. Trimming the cottonwood trees at Riverside Park was a cost of $650, and the committee was agreeable to that amount. The committee took objection to the cost of the trees that the Lions Club wanted to plant at South Pond Park. The Lions Club wanted to plant all evergreens, and the Tree Board successfully explained the need to have a variety of trees. That brought the cost down, but the committee is only willing to pay $200 per tree. Fred recommends having six different species, asking for a specific diameter of trees, asking for burlap trees, going beyond the Billings/Laurel nursery area, and asking for wholesale prices. If Emelie can get all the information needed by November 20th, the committee will allow the City of Laurel to proceed with $11,900 for the project. Mayor Olson thanked Emelie for her work. Emelie spoke regarding the Scream at the Stream Halloween event. Three organizations, Laurel Alive, Laurel Jaycees, and the Laurel Historic Preservation Society, were the core of people that put on the event. The organizations met today and distributed the money to pay the bills. All bills were met, which was remarkable for a first-time event. The organizations look forward to next year's event. Mayor Olson stated that the Yellowstone County Veterans' Cemetery dedication is scheduled at noon tomorrow. Mayor Olson received an invitation to the Independence Hall dedication on Veterans' Day, November 11th, at 3:00 at the 710 Elmo Drive in Billings. Governor Brian Schweitzer will be the honored guest. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of November 10, 2009 Mayor Olson stated that stars proposal regarding bulk water sales will be on the November 20' council workshop agenda. Mayor Olson is scheduled for back surgery on November 17th and will require a recovery time of three to six months. The council workshop adjourned at 7:04 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen Council Secretary NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of the Council for the listed workshop agenda items. 5