HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 08.31.2010 MINUTES
COUNCIL WORKSHOP
AUGUST 31, 2010 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 August 31, 2010.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
_x_Emelie Eaton —x Doug Poehls
Kate Hart x Mark Mace
_x_Chuck Rodgers Chuck Dickerson
Vacant _x Norm Stamper
OTHERS PRESENT:
Sam Painter James Caniglia
Bill Sheridan Rick Musson
Matt Wheeler Gary Colley
Shirley Ewan Jean Kerr
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.
Susan Huntoon, 501 Cottonwood, spoke regarding back yard chickens. She has done some research
and found out that Bozeman and Missoula allow them and have licenses and yearly fees. She has the
details and the restrictions and would like that to be considered.
General items
There were none.
City Court:
• Resolution—Accept grant for DUI Court
Judge Jean Kerr asked the council to consider the resolution to authorize the mayor to sign an
agreement between the State of Montana Traffic Safety Division and the City of Laurel for an $8,000
grant for training to start a DUI Court in Laurel. The following people will attend the training
session: Jean Kerr; Nancy Rohde, the prosecutor, Officer Dave Firebaugh and Chief Rick Musson,
Laurel Police Department; Dr. Dan Lennon, the evaluator from MSU; Rosalee Rupp, a court
administrator; and Deb Perrigo, a licensed addiction counselor. Team members that will not attend
the training include: Katie Barber, the defense attorney; Walter Shore, a licensed addiction counselor
administrator; and Tonya Punt, Community Solutions with Probation. The $8,000 grant pays for the
travel and the per diem, and the State paid for the schooling. The DUI Task Force in Billings for
Yellowstone County has indicated they would cover any additional expenses over the $8,000. The
grant does not require a match.
Bresnan Communications:
Council Workshop Minutes of August 31,2010
• Resolution No. R10-91: A resolution to approve a non-exclusive Franchise Agreement
between the City of Laurel and Bresnan Communications, LLC, for installation, construction,
reconstruction, operation, and maintenance of a cable communications system within the City
of Laurel, Montana. (Postponed on August 17t'to September 7, 2010 council agenda)
Norm Stamper asked what the 5 percent fee would be used for and which fund it would go in.
Sam explained that the 5 percent fee is intended for maintenance and work in the city's right-of-ways,
such as the alleys or anywhere the city granted permission for someone to construct their equipment
in the right-of-ways. The 5 percent fee is paid into the General Fund, not into a restricted account.
Norm stated that this will be a pass through fee that the public will end up paying. He knows that the
city is in desperate need of funds, but in his mind, this amounts to an additional tax that the public has
no say on, and he is not comfortable with it. He stated that, for a $140 cable bill, the franchise fee
would be about $7.00 a month. That does not sound like a lot, but there are people in Laurel that are
strapped, and a lot of people with fixed incomes that have their television as their only source of
entertainment. He is not comfortable with the 5 percent fee.
Sean O'Donnell explained that, to be clear about the 5 percent fee, the typical bill of$100 to $140
includes internet and telephone service. Under Federal law, the franchise fee only applies to video
services. If a video cable bill is $50 a month, the 5 percent franchise fee would be about $2.50 a
month.
Emelie asked if subscribers in Billings pay a franchise fee.
Sean stated that the Billings' subscribers pay a 5 percent franchise fee. The franchise fee, which is
not a tax, is charged in addition to Bresnan's fees for the various services. The franchise fee is
collected under Federal law and cities dictate the amount of the franchise fee. In most of their
franchise agreements, Bresnan collects and remits the full 5 percent to the city. A few cities require a
3 percent franchise fee. Bresnan does not typically add additional fees on top of video services.
Kate stated that the council adopted the franchise fee ordinance because there are expenses to the city
for companies that use the right-of-way. The city has to pay for those expenses, and this is how to
pay for it. The fee would be about $1.50 to $4.00, and she does not think individuals would be
willing to fix an area in their street or right-of-way that needs to be repaired. It is a pass on fee, but
any business expense gets passed on to the customer. It is unfortunate that it has to be added on, but
the city has to pay to maintain the right-of-ways.
Sean stated that Bresnan is excited about the opportunity to do business in Laurel and wants to get
started on the upgrades soon. Bresnan wants to make sure they have the legal right to do business in
Laurel. Because city ordinance requires Bresnan to have a franchise in order to operate, the
transaction with Cable Montana will not close until a franchise agreement is in place. Sean
encouraged the council to approve the agreement as soon as possible so Bresnan can purchase the
business and begin working on the upgrades to provide additional services for the consumers.
There was further discussion. The franchise fee would be collected from Bresnan subscribers that live
within the city limits. Any homes that are in Yellowstone County would not pay the franchise fee, as
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Yellowstone County does not have a franchise fee. The franchise fee was set at 5 percent when the
ordinance was adopted.
President Poehls asked for public comment.
Susan Huntoon, 501 Cottonwood, stated that she has done research on the internet and realizes that a
lot of things can be put into the franchise agreement with the cable company. She stated that a
different company would be dealt with in the end.
Sean stated that Cable Vision, a family-owned company that will acquire Bresnan, is located
primarily in the greater New York metro area, Connecticut, Long Island, and New York.
Susan asked if there would continue to be a local office in Laurel.
Sean stated that the intent in the near term would be to leave the local office open, but he could not
speak regarding the long-term plan. There is no administrative fee for the 5 percent franchise fee.
Sean explained that the calculation of the actual franchise fee percentage could be more than the 5
percent fee because there are other non-direct customer revenues that franchise fees are paid against.
These include advertising, any QVC shopping commissions, etc. The final fee calculation is typically
in the vicinity of 5.1 to 5.3 percent.
Susan stated that Cable Montana does not charge a franchise fee at this time and has never charged
the fee. She stated that the right-of-way repair is paid through the General Fund that has nothing to do
with this agreement. It is just making more money for the General Fund. She asked why the fee
could not be specified for right-of-way and put into a restricted fund.
President Poehls explained that there is a line item for street maintenance in the budget, and the line
item is greater than what the franchise fee would bring into the General Fund.
President Poehls stated that the resolution will be on the council agenda next Tuesday.
Police Department:
• Resolution—Drug Task Force Agreement
Chief Musson stated that the agreement with the DEA is for a Laurel officer in the DEA Task Force.
The resolution states that it is a two-year contract, but the contract expires on September 30, 2011.
The resolution will be changed to reflect the one-year contract. With this agreement, the city could
receive up to $17,000 for an officer to work with the Drug Task Force. Drug enforcement is a big
concern in communities and the city can reap the benefit of having an officer working drugs through
equitable sharing and asset forfeiture. Chief Musson asked the council to approve the resolution.
Public Works Department:
• Resolution—Engagement Letter with Dorsey&Whitney
• Resolution—Intent to create SID for SE 4t' Street
The resolutions were removed from the council workshop agenda.
Clerk/Treasurer:
• Preliminary Budget
• 2010 Tax Resolutions
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Council Workshop Minutes of August 31,2010
Shirley Ewan stated that there were some problems with the copy machine during printing of the
budget books, so any issues should be brought to her attention. She reviewed the preliminary budget
and the tax resolutions.
Shirley stated that the first resolution is the final budget resolution. The Airport Authority has been
taken out of the general all purpose mills on the mill levy resolution. The auditors have requested this
in prior years, and the mayor agreed to do so at this time. This will give the Airport Authority its own
budgeting authority, and then with next year's mills, they can get the floating mill, which increases
the amount of the mill value they can have and will not affect the general mills any more. As it is
now in the general all purpose mills, the city has to share the float with the Airport Authority, which
increases the amount of mills they receive. The permissive mills are at 37.69 this year. The
government funds have been added this year, which could have been done in the beginning. The
City-County Planning Board came in at 1.89 mills this year. This is a city-county mill, not a city mill,
and it provides about$5,600 additional dollars for the Planning Department this year.
Residential Light District No. 2 was increased by $.0005 per square foot for an additional $20,000
this year, as it is in the hole. Commercial Light District No. 3 has increased less than $.0005 per
square foot for an additional$10,000. The funds were running out of cash to pay the light bills for the
street lights and would have been$2,000 to $3,000 in the negative by the end of this year. The funds
either had to be increased or the General Fund had to take over the light districts. The assessments
will not be a huge increase.
Shirley spoke regarding the SID's, including SID No. 110, SID No. 111, Sid No. 112, and SID No.
113. She recently informed Mayor Olson and Bill that most cities do not assess themselves. The City
of Laurel has been paying the street sweeping district, the street maintenance district, and the light
districts. That means that the city is taking the General Fund's money and giving it to another fund
that has the ability to raise assessments. The assessment in the amount of$20,000 has been taken out
of the General Fund. The city will no longer pay the street fund and the light funds. The city was
paying the assessment to the county and the county was paying it back to the districts. Shirley spoke
with the auditors and with Alec Hansen at the League of Cities and Towns, and they all agreed that
cities do not usually assess themselves. The city has been paying into the street sweeping district out
of the General Fund, so this year the commercial will go up from $.75 per frontage foot to $.78 for
commercial properties in the district. Since the street maintenance fund has enough cash for the
planned projects, the mayor chose not to increase the assessment in the street maintenance district,
which would have been an additional $4.00 to $5.00 to property owners for the $15,000 assessment
the city had been paying. Three resolutions are for delinquent water, sewer, and garbage accounts.
Shirley encouraged the council members to review the budget message. She stated that Mayor Olson
reduced the $19,000 line item for the Tree Board to $10,000. The budget includes $35,000
throughout all the city funds for trees, so adequate funds are still budgeted. Shirley stated that Mayor
Olson requested some additional information in the budget document, and those pages will be added
soon.
President Poehls stated that a budget document is available in the clerk's office for the public's
review.
Emelie asked how the budget looks and if all of the departments have the same basic budget as last
year.
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Council Workshop Minutes of August 31,2010
Shirley stated that the General Fund's reserves have gone down from 20 percent to 19 percent, which
is not good according to the League of Cities and Towns and most auditors. They prefer that the
General Fund carries around 30 percent. It is down one more percent, and there is not a lot of reserve
in the General Fund. The rest of the funds look fairly good, not super, but they have enough cash
coming in to match the budgets for this year. The budget is using reserves. Shirley stated that it
would be rare in this economy not to be using reserves. She stated that cities need another General
Fund revenue stream, but no cities seem to have one right now. The City of Laurel is using reserves
of between %Z to 1 percent per year, which means the reserves will be down to the point where
something has to be done in less than ten years. This situation is typical for cities and towns in
Montana because of 1-105, which does not allow cities to raise taxes at this point. The city gets the
floating mills, which amounts to about 2 percent, but all the costs are going up between 5 and 10
percent. Shirley stated that no cash is available this year for the Capital Improvement Fund. The city
has tried to transfer over $90,000 every year into the Capital Improvement Fund for police cars, fire
trucks, etc., but there is not enough revenue to do so this year. The only money going into the capital
improvement fund this year is $30,000 towards an ambulance, and another funding source is needed
for the rest of it.
Emelie asked if there is money in the budget to purchase the property in Solid Foundations and the
property for the new ambulance station.
Shirley explained that the Capital Improvement Fund has $23,000 available for land purchase. The
city is contemplating the purchase of Yellowstone Bank's property for $65,000, with $20,000 down,
and $45,000 at 3.75 percent for 12 years. The payments would be about $7,000 or $8,000 a year out
of the General Fund if the council approves the purchase. There is no additional cash available for
other land purchases at this time.
Chuck Rodgers thanked Shirley for the job she has done.
Mark Mace commented that it is ironic that the council is looking at a budget that is going backwards
and there is no way to change it. A half an hour ago the council looked at a small revenue stream,
which is looking pretty good to him now and should be considered. He stated that the parks would be
the first thing kicked out of the budget. He stated that, whether the council likes it or not and whether
the residents like it or not, the council has to run the city. If the parks are not in shape, the city might
as well sell them.
Executive Review:
• Terms for land purchase from Yellowstone Bank
Bill Sheridan stated that Yellowstone Bank has agreed to sell the property for $65,000, with $20,000
down, and to finance the remaining $45,000 at 3.75 percent for 12 years or less. The bank asked the
city to prepare the buy/sell agreement. Bill stated that there has been concern about cleaning up the
property. The bank has stated they have not done anything to affect the cleanliness of the property
and it is not their responsibility.
Mark asked regarding the importance of this property to the city.
Bill explained the issues regarding the need for the storm water retention area, the flow of traffic
across the property for a second access to the subdivision, and access concerns for the fire department
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Council Workshop Minutes of August 31,2010
and the solid waste department. Yellowstone Bank has asked the city to consider the purchase. If
terms are not reached, the bank will probably block off the property and not allow any access. The
original purchase price proposed by Yellowstone Bank was $105,000, and the city asked for a
substantial reduction in the price.
Kate stated that Kurt recently spoke to the Budget/Finance Committee regarding this issue and the
long-term benefits of acquiring the property. The city will eventually need to loop that area for water
and sewer services, and it is needed for access issues. She stated that the public works department
was in favor of purchasing the property.
Doug mentioned that Kurt informed the Budget/Finance Committee that there is enough property that
some commercial lots could be sold at some point.
There was discussion regarding the access issues for solid waste and fire protection, as well as the
storm water issues. There was further discussion regarding the developer, how Yellowstone Bank
acquired the property, and issues in Solid Foundations Subdivision.
Doug asked if the council wanted this issue in the form of a resolution at next Tuesday's council
meeting. Further discussion regarding the issue will be on the September 101 council workshop
agenda so the public works director can provide input for the issue.
• Council issues:
o No left turn onto East Railroad from South First Avenue(Chuck Dickerson)
Chief Musson stated that this is a State issue, as First Avenue and Main Street are State roads. The
council would have to request any changes in signage from the State, and a traffic study would be
required to change signs and traffic movement. Chief Musson stated that there are very few traffic
accidents at that intersection that have anything to do with the left turn lane. Traffic would be routed
down to SE 4th Street, but people might turn into the IGA and Hardee's parking lot and then just go
out to Railroad Street. The owners might not like that. Chief Musson stated that the truck traffic
turning onto First Avenue is his biggest concern with the intersection. He stated that the truck route
needs to be reviewed and perhaps moved to SE 41'Street.
Other items
• Resolution— Small Services Contract with Stevens Brothers Mechanical for digester pipes
President Poehls stated that this resolution was added to tonight's agenda. The resolution authorizes
the mayor to sign a small services contract with Stevens Brothers Mechanical for pipe replacement in
the digester. A resolution for a separate contract for the painting might be added to the September 7th
council agenda if the bids are received in time.
Matt Wheeler explained that the digester is taken out of service annually for cleaning. The digester,
which collects debris before it goes into the plant, is currently down and empty. If it is filled back up
again, the pipe replacement will have to wait until next year. Now is the perfect time to do it because
the equipment is out of service at this point. He passed around pictures showing that the inside of the
canister needs to be relined and that the piping is in terrible shape. Maintenance of the lining inside
the canister needs to be addressed with the painting. The budget includes $18,000 for the cleaning of
the digester and the maintenance costs will come out of the sewer fund.
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Council Workshop Minutes of August 31,2010
Chuck Rodgers stated that this is a maintenance problem right now, but it will cost big bucks if the
problem is not addressed soon.
Review of draft council agenda for September 7, 2010
• Public Hearings:
o Extension of the temporary moratorium on the opening, operation, and licensing of any
establishments that grow, sell, or distribute medical marijuana
President Poehls stated that the extension of the moratorium needs to be approved so there is no gap
in the timeframe. Therefore, the council could hold the public hearing and then unanimously vote to
place the motion to extend the moratorium on next Tuesday's council agenda.
o Ordinance No. 010-03: An ordinance amending two sections of the Laurel Municipal
Code titled "Bonfire Prohibited" and "Smoking in hotel beds prohibited" located at
Chapter 8 of the Laurel Municipal Code. (First reading—08/17/2010)
Chuck Rodgers asked the code enforcement office to review the requirement that "no pit fires shall be
allowed." He thinks there is a way a fire pit could be built to meet a good standard and not be an
endangerment.
Norm stated that he previously purchased three fire pits for use in his back yard. Since they rusted out
within a couple years, he built a permanent above ground brick structure that he thinks is safer than a
factory built fire pit. He also thinks the definition of a fire pit should be reviewed.
Gary Colley spoke as the Fire Marshal, not as the Code Enforcement Official. He stated that this is a
fire issue, not a code enforcement issue. Gary stated that he does not have the expertise to approve
fireplaces. If he approved a fireplace and then it burned a house down, he thinks the property owner
would come after him and the city. If someone buys a BBQ or a fire pit at Lowe's and abides by the
manufacturer's specs on it and burns down a house, there is another problem. He stated that the
recommendations and rules for a BBQ probably state that it should not be used on a deck. There are
fire codes prohibiting a BBQ on a deck, but fire codes do not apply to residential. Fire codes apply to
commercial buildings. St. John's has asked why BBQ's are not allowed on the decks on the third
level of the building. Fire code does not allow them, and that is just a BBQ. Gary stated that fire pits
have real flames, so in his opinion, the ordinance should be left as proposed to not allow any fires at
all.
Bill Sheridan asked Matt and Gary to provide information about a water line that provides potable
water and sprinkler water at the nursing home just north of the Catholic Church.
Matt Wheeler gave a brief history of the water line on 3rd Avenue in front of the Catholic Church.
The four block line goes from an 8-inch to a 4-inch and back to an 8-inch line, and it is very old and
has broken continuously. A water line break in June resulted in three breaks. At that time, public
works closed some valves and essentially lowered the water pressure in that neighborhood to keep the
line from breaking. When the nursing home had their fire suppression sprinklers checked three weeks
ago, they found out that there was not enough pressure to run the sprinklers in the nursing home.
Seventy-five people live there, and for a period of a month and a half there was essentially no
overhead sprinkler fire protection. At that time, public works turned the pressure back up on the line
so the nursing home would have the proper protection needed. That lasted about a week and then the
line blew out again last Saturday night. The solution is to install a new line. The hole that was dug up
on Saturday night had three clamps in a ten-foot area. In order to provide a temporary fix, public
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Council Workshop Minutes of August 31,2010
works will run a line above ground from a fire hydrant that is on a different water line to the nursing
home that ties into the fire suppression system so they will have adequate flow for the sprinklers. The
line will run across West 9th Street and will be a speed bump in the road. It is a very temporary fix
but will give time to figure out what to do. The temporary fix will not be good as soon as the weather
gets cold. Matt does not expect another break in that line because the pressure is turned down now.
Shirley stated that this waterline replacement project is included in the budget
Gary Colley stated that the fire department has an obligation to protect the people in that building. He
has been involved in two previous evacuations of the building, and it takes a good hour to get
everyone out. Those people deserve the best fire protection in the world and state law requires that
they have fire protection in the building. By taking the line out of service, it also takes out one of the
hydrants right across from it. The fire department would have to run a fire hose about 600 feet from
the second truck just to get to the building. If there is an incident inside that building, standard
procedure would be for the first truck to go to the hydrant on the corner of P and 9th and tie into the
sprinkler system. The next fire truck would have to go two blocks away to get water. From the fire
department's standpoint, this issue needs to be addressed quickly, as the fire department has an
obligation to the people and the business.
o Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 for all City Budgets and Tax
Resolutions
The public hearing is scheduled on September 7th.
Review of draft special council agenda for September 14 2010
The 2010-2011 Final Budget and tax resolutions will be on the special council agenda on Tuesday,
September 10.
Attendance at the September 7 2010 council meeting
There was no discussion.
Announcements
The Park Board will meet on Thursday, September 2"d, at 5:30 p.m.
Norm asked that discussion of the animal ordinance be added to the September 14th council workshop
agenda.
Norm recently received a copy of the Guidelines for Hearing of Individuals and Delegations at Laurel
Board of Trustees Meetings. It is a good outline on the public speaking at their meetings and
following parliamentary procedure. He asked that copies be distributed for discussion at the
September 14th council workshop.
Chuck Rodgers stated that a crew put the benches together for the gathering site at the cemetery.
Another crew is needed to move the benches to the gathering site and get them mounted.
Emelie stated that Shakespeare in the Park will perform Julius Caesar on Saturday, September 4th, at
6:00 p.m. at the practice football field. The event will be in the auditorium in case of bad weather.
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Council Workshop Minutes of August 31,2010
Doug stated that Alex Wilkins resigned his seat on the council as he is moving to North Carolina.
The vacant council position will be advertised.
The council workshop adjourned at 8:00 p.m
Respectfully submitte
d,
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.
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