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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 11.17.1998 MINIJTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF IAIIREL November 17, 1998 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 November 17, 1998. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: MINUTES: Dirk Kroll Ken Olson Gay Easton Bill Staudinger Bud Johnson Gary Temple Miles Walton Norman Orr Motion by Alderman Iraoil to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 4, 1998, as presented, seconded by Alderman Olson. Motion carried. CORRESPONDENCE: Letter from Dale Anderson Information from MSU regarding the Children at Risk Conference on March 10-12, 1999. Letter from Bob Dantic - resignation from City-County Planning Board. Minutes of Yellowstone County Air Pollution Control Board meeting - October 13, 1998. CONSENT ITEMS: a. Clerk/Treasurer Financial Statements for the month of October. b. Resolution No. R98-56: Resolution amending the job description for City Clerk- Treasurer. RESOLUTION NO. R98-56 RESOLUTION AMENDING THE JOB DESCRIPTION FOR CITY CLERK-TREASURER. c. Committee Reports. --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of November 4, 1998 were presented. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of November 4, 1998 were presented. --City-County Planning Board minutes of November 12, 1998 were presented. The mayor asked if there was any separation of consent items. There was none. Motion by Alderman Walton to approve the consent items as presented, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried. SCHEDULED MATTERS: a. Confirmation of Appointments. None. Mayor Rodgers mentioned that there is an opening for a City Representative on the City-County Plarming Board and there are two vacancies on the Board of Appeals. b. Roger Perkins, Aquoneering - Intake Report. Roger Perkins distributed some information about river intakes. A copy of an aerial view of the Yellowstone River showed that the river is very braided and carries a heavy sediment load of sand and gravel. The river is quite dynamic and will shift its channels, generally from one side of the Council Minutes of November 17, 1998 river to the other. Since the 1997 flood, the river has shifted channels in many places. This has occurred at the intake, which has changed from a southerly course to a northerly course. The northerly course puts the intake on the inside of the stream where the velocities are usually slowest, and sediment has a tendency to drop out at that point. Presently, the intake is on the edge of the water and is about half in and half out of the water. The problem will come when the colder weather causes it to ice over. He expects that the channel will probably continue to migrate to the south. Mr. Perkins presented a copy of a study showing geologic logs done by the Montana Department of Transportation in 1988. At that time, shale was at a minimum at the deepest part of the river and it was fairly deep to gravel at the margins. Another exhibit compared the differences in the Yellowstone River when it was profiled in 1988, March 1998, and September 1998. There was a dramatic degradation, especially on the south side. There is a lot of shale in the river, indicating that the high water probably actually eroded out the shale. The result is that the water level of the river is lower than what it has been historically. Roger presented a possible solution to the problem. He distributed some information about Johnson Standard Intake Screens. The criteria for an intake which keeps fish, trash, flow ice, and debris out of the intake, is to keep the inlet velocity between 24 and 25 feet per second. This velocity would also allow small fish to escape from the screen. He recommends that the screen be submerged about one-half of a screen diameter above the bottom and have one screen diameter of water over the top and the distance between the screens should be about one screen diameter. He recommends that the orientation be parallel to the current so that there is a sweeping velocity to sweep any trash or ice downstream. He designed the air cleaning for the intakes in Lockwood and Hardin. A small air compressor installed by the large tank periodically releases a small burst of air that lifts any debris from the screen, cleaning the surface in a few seconds. As debris lifts off the screen, ambient currents move the material away. Roger Perkins suggested using a twelve-inch diameter high-density polyethylene pipe that has a standard dimension ratio of 17, which is the ratio of the thickness of the pipe to its diameter. Unlike PVC pipe, this pipe has very good resiliency and will withstand a lot of abuse. It has a density relative to water of about .95 or .96, so it will float. It could be anchored to a concrete block with a nylon strap so that it would always float off the bottom of the river. There are several manufacturers that will mechanically or drill pipe in any width, and them are saws that will saw high-density polyethylene pipe without melting it. Polyethylene pipe can only be joined by heat and a fusing machine must be used. Northwest Pipe has a machine available that will fuse the twelve-inch pipe, but fusing machines for joining larger pipe are not available locally. The high-density polyethylene pipe would have a lifetime of about a hundred years. The design particulars would include 5,000 gallons per minute or about 11 cubic feet per second, which is close to maximum capacity. The pipe would have a slot opening of about one-tenth of an inch, and there would be two slots oriented at about 160 degrees. There would be 32 rows with an open area required to get the 4/10 of a foot per second. Approximately 240 feet of screen pipe would be needed, The pipe can be bent at a radius of about 25 times its diameter; since this is a one- foot dian~eter pipe, it can be bent on a radius of 25 feet without damaging it. At the upstream end, the pipe should start approximately 500 feet above the intake. There is approxirnately two feet of drop from where he proposes to start the screen to the upstream end of the intake. The screen would go into shale and be encased in concrete and then bent out on the 25-foot radius. Then it would go along the bed of the river, weighted about every ten feet with a concrete block and held with a nylon strap. The upstream intake will be just above the new highway bridge. The downstream gate would be left open to divert the maximum amount of water. This would sluice any sediment that would get into the pipe on through. The water depth of the river currently ranges from about 11 feet in the deepest holes to about three feet near the channel by the intake. With six inches off the bottom and a one-foot diameter, we would end up with about one and one-half feet of water over the top. The pipe costs about $20.00 per foot. If the pipe was purchased at Northwest Pipe, it would cost $12.00 to $15.00 per foot, and there would be additional expense to have it fused together and installed in the river. He estimated that it would cost between $25,000 to $30,000. Council Minutes of November 17, 1998 The polyethylene pipe is currently being used in the intake in Lockwood. When Miles questioned what would happen if the river changed, Mr. Perkins said that it is possible to move the polyethylene pipe to a new location without any difficulty. The polyethylene pipe has a lot of advantages over corrugated metal pipe. This pipe is not conductive. When cool water, with a temperature of about 31.5 degrees, hits anything that is conductive, it will instantly stick to it. This causes a buildup of ice, which increases the resistance. The corrugated metal pipe is corrugated, and the polyethylene pipe is smooth. Ice has about half of the crushing strength of the polyethylene pipe. This year-round intake would remove trash and most of the fish. Mr. Perkins estimated that it would take about a week to install this type of system. Mayor Rodgets invited Mr. Perkins to return with further information at another time. Curt Cory - City of Billings Public Works Director Presentation on SIDs and other fund methods. Curt Cory, the Public Works Director for the City of Billings, gave a presentation on the overall Special Improvement District process, curb and gutter and sidewalk programs, and the Street Maintenance Districts and distributed information about each subject. A Special Improvement District (SID) is a group of properties that collaborate to provide some type of public improvement project. The Montana statutes provide a very detailed and comprehensive series of procedures that local government must follow to create a Special Improvement District. SIDs generally involve a collective, adjoining group of properties and they primarily come forward by petition. There is a council resolution and public hearing process. In the event that 50 per cent or more of the property owners protest against the improvements proposed under the SID, the council may not proceed with the work. Financing for SIDs across Montana is typically through the sale of SID bonds. The advantage of this is that property owners are afforded multi-year financing through competitive SID bond interest rates, typically for a twelve to fifteen year period, with recent interest rates of about five per cent. SIDs provide a means to make improvements of curb, gutter, sidewalk, street improvements, sewer, water, storm drains, street lighting, traffic signals or various other public improvements that a group of people might want to pursue. Mr. Cory said that it is not necessary to create a Special Improvement District to do curb, gutter and sidewalk work. Montana statutes have a separate specific section allowing city councils to approve new curb, gutter and sidewalk or maintenance curb, gutter and sidewalk by council resolution without regard to protest. That puts it more into the political arena than the practical, so the success of this type of program would depend on how it is marketed to the neighborhood. By ordinance, the City of Billings requires installation of curb, gutter and sidewalk and street improvements and other missing infrastructure concurrently with the development process. In Billings, the cost of new or maintenance work on curb, gutter and sidewalk is assessed directly to property owners. Mr. Cory reviewed a sheet he had distributed that showed the typical project costs in the City of Billings. He also mentioned two of the current policies that the City of Billings uses to address the economic impact. Those were the comer lot subsidy and the Community Development Block Grant Program. The time element involved in this type of program is between seven to nine months. This includes the resolution of intent, a public hearing, council approval, advertising for the bids, awarding the construction contract, and completion of the construction. In order to pursue this type of action during 1999, it would be necessary to begin by the beginning of February. Based on his experience in Billings, using these programs has brought a community-wide social benefit to the neighborhoods in which they have been implemented. Street Maintenance Districts are another funding option authorized by Montana statute. They are not necessarily designed to deal with curb, gutter and sidewalks, but it is the means available to maintain the streets once they have been constructed. There are numerous assessment methods allowed under the law. In Billings, a property area basis is used: the larger the property, the larger the street maintenance assessment. It is possible to use a frontage basis, an assessed value basis, a per each basis, or some combination of those depending on what works. The statute allows a city council to adopt by ordinance without public vote, prior to CI-75, the implementation of Street Maintenance Districts within the community under which a certain number of dollars is assessed each year. This money can be used for a wide variety of street maintenance purposes. The rates are established by a city council each year, adopted by resolution, and passed following a public hearing. Just under $3,000,000 is generated each year through this particular mechanism in Billings. The City of Billings is divided into two Street Maintenance Districts. One comprises the downtown business district, and the substantially higher rate that is assessed for this district is based on the level of 3 Council Minutes of November 17, 1998 service requested by the property owners. The other single district encompasses the rest of the City of Billings. They did incur some significant increases on these assessments in the current fiscal year, but even with that a 9,600 square foot single family property in Billings paid about $47.00 per year for street maintenance activities. That includes the chip seal program, leaf pick up, street sweeping program, alley maintenance and all the other types of street activities. Curt used a pie chart to show where the 1998/99 tax money would be spent that was collected on an $85,000 home with a 10,000 square foot lot. The total tax was $1,645.75, with the Public Works amount being $176.12. This chart is used to show Billings residents where their tax dollars are spent. Mr. Cory offered to return to another council meeting to answer any questions. The council took a five-minute recess at 8:01 p.m. The meeting resumed at 8:06 p.m. Planning Board recommends approval of a home occupation request by Bill and Margret Thomdahl of 909 3rd Avenue to run a wholesale gem sales business out of their home, subject tO no customers coming to her home. Motion by Alderman Temple to approve the home occupation request by Bill and Margret Thomdahl of 909 3rd Avenue to run a wholesale gem sale business out of their home, subject to no customers coming to the home, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried. Planning Board recommends to the City Council that Karrie Sean~an of 615 Hazel DOES require a home occupation for a housecleaning business. Karrie Seaman, 615 Hazel, applied for a business license for a housecleaning business. There are no customers coming to her home since she cleans in other houses. Since she only uses a bucket and three cleaning items for this business, and she has minimal paperwork, Karrie felt that she should not be required to get a home occupation. The situation was discussed, but since she listed her home address as the business address on her business license application, a home occupation is required. Gary Temple said that he is adamantly for business, but we all have to accept the rules that are in place. Cal Cumin stated that, if she wants a business license for her home, she needs a home occupation. Miles Walton said that if she wants her home listed as her place of business, then it has to be considered as her place of business. No matter how much business she does away from her home, she has still listed as her place of business. Motion by Alderman Temple to deny a waiver for a home occupation to Karrie Seaman of 615 Hazel for a housecleaning business, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried. Planning Board recommends to the City Council that the request to waive the fee for the home occupation be DENIED for Kathelene Prather and Kelly Moon for a Welcome Wagon business at 1121 '/2 West 4th Street. Kathelene Prather requested that the $150.00 fee and the neighboring consent be waived for a home occupation application to start a Welcome Wagon in Laurel. She is a disabled, single mother who is on disability assistance, but she wants to go to work to provide for her family. This is a job that she can do, but she carmot afford the money to pay for this fee. Since she lives outside the city limits, cannot see her neighbors from her home, and lives in the center of her parent's property, she requested that the neighboring consent requirement be waived. Mayor Rodgers explained that, in the past, some basic guidelines and rules were set down to give direction to those requesting the license. Kathelene read part of the code that applies to home occupation and stated that it did not say anything about a $150.00 fee. Cat explained that the city charges for home occupations are set by city ordinance and this was revised a few months ago. They are not included in the code book because it would have to be changed every time a revision was made. The city does have the structure set up to charge the fee. Cal stated that the neighboring consent requirement would not be applicable in this case because the application states that it is required if you are within 100 feet. Motion by Alderman Temole to deny the request to waive the fee for the home occupation for Kathelene Prather and Kelly Moon for a Welcome Wagon business at 1121½ West 4th Street, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried. ~ r/ Council Minutes of November 17, 1998 Planning Board recommends approval of zone change from light industrial to residential manufactured home at 602 South 6th Street. Two properties are located here. A sawmill is located to the west and a residence is located to the east. The residence to the east is zoned light industrial. Someone wants to purchase the property and renovate it. It is located fight behind a school and a park, and Cal said that it should not be zoned light industrial. The buyer wants to change the zoning so that he can get financing for his house. The financing company will not provide financing because a house cannot be rebuilt if it burned down when it is zoned light industrial. There were no protests to the zoning change. Motion by Aldennan Walton to approve the zone change from light industrial to residential manufactured home at 602 South th 6 Street, seconded by Alderman Temple. Motion carried. h. Change orders - Water Plant project. Change Order No. 1 for R. H. Grover addresses the electrical changes associated with the horsepower modifications for the lift and backwash pumps and also with the tire-rated doors. The conflict arose from the specifications required for the plant. Dave Mosser stated that Morrison- Maierle might be involved in regard to cost sharing on the change order. One way or the other, the issue needs to be completed since the contractor has stated that this work needs to be done. Morrison-Maierle does not have a contract with the contractor. Since the contract is strictly through the City of Laurel, the city has to make the payment to the contractor. The issue with Morrison- Maierle can be handled later. Motion bv Aldennan Orr to approve Change Order No. 1 for R. H. Grover in the amount of $13,880 for the Water Plant project, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried. Dave Mosser presented a status report. The water line project has been completed and the streets have been repaved. The contractor, representatives of the City of Laurel, Morrison-Maierle, and the Montana Department of Transportation recently completed a walk-through of the project. A list of work items that still need to be completed was prepared. Most of the work that remains is cosmetic, and the core water line project is completed. Substantial completion was issued to Gray Construction on Friday, November 13th, when the paving was finished. There was a delay in the completion of the project because of a leak that occurred during the pressure tests. The pressure tests done on the water line ran from Railroad Street noah underneath the railroad tracks to Main Street. The leak was found in an existing city valve, the valve was replaced, and then the system tested out correctly. The Water Treatment Plant project is approximately 60 per cent complete. Based on the schedule prepared by Grover, he estimates that it will be 80 per cent complete by the end of December. The major issues left after January 1999 will be general site work, which cannot be completed until spring. This includes sidewalks, curb and gutter, asphalt paving, and general site grading. Some pipe demolition and replacement is being done in the existing plant to make things pipe into the new building. Since the new pumps will not be in until February 1st, complete demolition and replacement cannot be done now. The new building is enclosed and watertight, and work can continue inside. The majority of the underground piping work is complete. UNSCHEDULED MATTERS: Mayor Rodgers stated that the ayes and nays for the council votes should be recorded. Joe Leckie will prepare a resolution to revise this procedure. Mayor Rodgers commended the Police Department for their diligence and work during the recent tragedies in Laurel. He stated that our community would never be exempt from this type of activity. It is here and we are sorry it is here, but we would like to control it so that it does not increase any more. It will take a great amount of effort for every person in the community to help to control it. He encouraged the use of Neighborhood Watch and ward ~neetings. He thanked the Police Reserves for their dedication to and support of the Police Department. There is fear in the community after the recent events, but the Police Department and Police Reserves are here to maintain a good safety atmosphere. He asked the community for their support of the Police Department, as they are extremely busy now. Council Minutes of November 17, 1998 Dirk Kroll stated that, though we have to deal with the recent crime ~n our community, we do not have to accept it. We need to stand up in this community and say, "Not in this town" as much as possible. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:56 p.m. Cin~r~ec~&It/ Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this first day of December, 1998. a~rle~Rodgers, M/~ayor~''''''''' Attest: Donald L. Hackmann, Clerk-Treasurer