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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Head Meetings Minutes 01.26.2010MINUTES DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING JANUARY 26, 2010 3:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ken Olson Mary Embleton Rick Musson Bill Sheridan Kurt Markegard Derek Yeager Sam Painter Nancy Schmidt James Caniglia Council Worksho Agenda - Janua 26, 2010 General items Clerk/Treasurer: * Mid-Year Budget Review Mary prepared the report and Bill previewed it. Mary stated that the presentation would not present a rosy picture, but it would be accurate, as the city is feeling the pinch. She asked department heads to monitor their monthly reports and to let her know if there are questions or mistakes. Mary stated that the MCA Title 7, Chapter 6, Part 40 provides the city the authority for budgets through the Local Government Act. Bill spoke regarding yesterday's memo requiring CAO and/or Mayor approval for purchases over a certain amount. Mary read MCA 7-6-4005, which states that expenditures should be limited to appropriations and addresses personal liability issues. Public Works Department: * Discussion - Request from Jack Roma to purchase right-of-way from the City of Laurel Kurt stated that the water and sewer maps will be distributed to the council. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the ROW request, North 5th Street, which exists on the plat but has not been built, Jack Roma's willingness to pay $600/year for the easement on the city's property, concerns about a private road not being built to specifications, responsibility for bridges, the purpose of the road, and concerns about building a road over an existing water line. Kurt stated that staff would not recommend that the city allow this. * Resolution- Right=of--way easement from James Horton- West Main Street project Kurt explained the right-of-way easement for Lot 10A, which used to be a street and has been abandoned. Mayor Olson stated that MDT representatives will speak regarding the West Main and 8th Avenue projects at this time on tonight's council workshop agenda. Bill asked Kurt to provide a picture of the Horton right-of-way. Kurt stated that Lot 10A was the old street. * Water Improvement Project update Kurt stated that electrical work has been started at the Water Treatment Plant. Periodic shut downs will be done, but ACE Electric will be on site and available to hardwire the pumps in case of a fire in the Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2010 city or at CHS. Kurt told the chief operator that C11S and Chief Yeager need to be notified when the pumps are down and when they are back on. Planning: • Bus Transit Program James recently spoke with the representative regarding advertising on buses and benches. Thirty percent of the advertising revenues would go to the city. • Report on energy audit James stated that Johnson Controls submitted the costs for the following improvements: replacement of the boiler - $45,000; temperature controls - $39,000; and replacement of all windows - $62,500. The rep from Anderson Windows cannot provide the energy cost savings needed for the grant, but an engineer might be able to help with that. The application is due on Friday. Chief Administrative Officer: • Resolution - Great West Engineering, Task Order No. 15 for the library roof Bill stated that the task order is for the engineering of the library roof replacement project. Mary asked if the end result would be specs to go out for bid. Bill will make sure that will be the case. • Resolution - Schedule of Fees and Charges Derek stated that the medical charges remain the same since Medicare and Medicaid charges are being reviewed and could decrease in the next couple months. Executive Review: Mayor Olson mentioned that the C1P items are listed on the white board in the conference room. • Cemetery land Mayor Olson explained the County Commissioners' request to put a shop building on a small section of the city's cemetery, which was part of the Rosselot land. The Cemetery Commission recently discussed this issue and recommends giving the County one acre in the northwest corner of the city's cemetery for this purpose. Mayor Olson stated that the City of Laurel and the County Commissioners will meet for further discussion. • Update on wastewater project Mayor Olson mentioned a letter written to Carl Anderson to cease work on Phase 2A2 of the wastewater project. Morrison-Maierle was asked to provide the claims to date. A meeting with Morrison-Maierle is scheduled on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. • Proposed retreat on Saturday, February 6th The retreat will begin at 8:00 a.m. with coffee and donuts, break for lunch, and then continue until about 3:00 p.m. Bill and Mayor Olson will meet to discuss the agenda items in order to give department heads time to prepare for the retreat. • Proposed joint meeting with the City of Billings Mayor Olson proposed an evening coffee/dessert meeting with the City of Billings for discussion of joint topics. * Proposed joint meeting with the County Commissioners - agenda items 2 Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2010 The County Commissioners will contact the City of Laurel regarding scheduling a joint meeting. Department Rloorts: Clerk/Treasurer There was no discussion. Fire /Ambulance • Preparations for new fire station • Location for fire station Derek stated that the Fire Company informed him that the Firefighters' Memorial Park is not available for expansion of the FAP building. He will continue reviewing the railroad leases for property on East Main. There was discussion regarding the Fire Company's plans for the memorial park area. Derek explained that the Company wants to try to raise funds for another year. Library • Roof replacement There was no further discussion. • Status of City of Laurel's website Nancy received a call from the Laurel Middle School teacher regarding posting the Lego Robotics project to the city's website. Nancy will post the revised schedule of fees and charges after it is approved by the council. Police Department Rick is still looking for a new police vehicle. LaserShot will give a demo of the shooting simulator on Thursday, February 4'h, at 9:30 a.m. at the fire hall. The city received a $10,380 grant and allocated CIP funds for a shooting simulator. City Planner • Various grants James has been working on the energy grant. The Planning Department has received more calls in the last couple weeks. Sam mentioned that the City of Billings recently approved an 18-month building restriction with a one- year extension. Kurt said that Laurel requires an applicant to refile for an extension after one year. Yellowstone Bank now owns two unfinished building projects in Elena Subdivision. Public Works D artment • Construction of a storage building Work is being done on the storage building. • Status of water project 3 Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2010 Kurt explained that the walls are up at Murray Park and the generator will be delivered and set on the pad soon. ACE Electric is working on the wiring issues. Periodic shutdowns are scheduled at the WTP while the pumps are replaced- * Status of Main Street from I" to 86' Avenues (need 2 property owners' approval) Bill stated that one easement is on tonight's agenda. Mayor Olson and Bill met with Tim Casey today and discussed the water resale business and the requested easement on his property. Mayor Olson informed Tim Casey that the MDT project could go forward without his easement, but his exposure would be high. Kurt asked Sam regarding a prescriptive easement without the property owner's consent. There was further discussion regarding payment of property taxes for this parcel, condemnation of the property, the need for a handicapped ramp, and the need to inform Tim about the cost for his section of curb, gutter, and sidewalk replacement. • SE 4"' Street Kurt stated that Steve Solberg has been contacted regarding scheduling a meeting with the business owners on February 5t'. • Report on progress with South Laurel Business SID Kurt stated that the wrong calculations were done for Lot C or the State changed the scope of the project without asking the city. Mary stated that the State did not get a change order from the city for the additional $1,300 cost. Great West will discuss this issue with the State. • Status of Wastewater Plant upgrade Kurt is working on Phase 2A1 issues with Stephanie Seymanski. • Ditch mitigation ARRA grant project - 7''' Street Kurt will give the bidding documents to Sam to review. • Water fill station Kurt has asked Chad Hanson to review the probable costs for a water fill station. When meeting with Jackie and Crystal recently, Mary asked them if the water fill station could be added to the water project if the project came in under cost. Great West will look into the possibility. Mary stated that task order could be amended for Great West to look into the engineering, and a separate contract would be needed to build the station. Kurt stated that Randy Swenson, TenderNest, contacted him regarding an easement. Randy wants to give the city a 20' easement in exchange for the city abandoning the other easement for a sewer line. The easement, which is west of his building, would provide a way to get sewer to the north end of Laurel. The proposed land swap is the city's current 20'x309' easement for a 20'x160' easement. Randy pays the taxes on this dedicated utility easement. There was a lengthy discussion. Kurt prefers to have the utility companies sign off on the agreement prior to consideration by the city council. City Attorney Sam is working on the regulations Kurt requested. Sam stated that the contractor bond issues need to be amended. Mary stated that Peaks to Prairies requested use of the park facilities again. There was discussion regarding the Park Board's request to address the park shelters. 4 Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2010 Ma or Olson Mayor Olson mentioned an opportunity to acknowledge the city's support of employees in the National Guard and Reserve at a future council meeting. He asked department heads to provide the names of current members. Chief Administrative Officer * Schedule of Fees and Charges Bill asked department heads to inform him of any needed changes. • Impact Fees There was no discussion. * City's lease of railroad property on Main Street for various uses Bill stated that railroad leases would be a topic of discussion at the February 6th retreat. * Bus Transit System There was no further discussion. Other Rick mentioned that the East/West Shrine Game will be held in Laurel in 2011 on the same weekend as the opening ceremony for the Big Sky State Games. A huge parade is scheduled, and the event should be an asset to the city. This year's event will be held in Butte. The Park Board recently discussed the possibility of opening the Riverside Park campground for events so its availability could be advertised. Kurt stated that LMC does not list open/close dates for Riverside Park, but the city's timeline has always been that the park is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Maintenance Superintendent would be available to collect fees from campers. Kurt stated the public works is working on the CIP items. He received four quotes for solid waste containers and would like to accept the lowest quote. The Purchasing Policy will be reviewed regarding the correct process. The meeting adjourned at 4:34 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen Council Secretary 5