HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Head Meetings Minutes 09.07.2010MINUTES
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING
SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 3:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
PRESENT: Bill Sheridan
James Caniglia
Rick Musson
Sam Painter
Nancy Schmidt
Brent Peters
Mayor Olson
Shirley Ewan
Jan Faught
Tim Reiter
Matt Wheeler
Chuck Rodgers
Council Agenda — September 7, 2010
Public Hearings:
• Extension of the temporary moratorium on the opening, operation, and licensing of any
establishments that grow, sell, or distribute medical marijuana.
James will present the issue at tonight's council meeting.
• 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)
Brent will present the issue at tonight's council meeting.
• Preliminary Budgets for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 for all City Budgets and Tax Resolutions
Shirley will present the information at tonight's council meeting.
Scheduled Matters:
• Confirmation of Appointments.
• 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 17, 2010)
There was discussion regarding the use of the 5 percent franchise fee. The Budget/Finance Committee
will discuss this tonight.
• Resolution No. R10-94: A resolution of the City Council authorizing the Mayor to sign an
agreement with the Montana Department of Transportation accepting a grant for DUI Court
Team training.
• Resolution No. R10-95: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an agreement between the
City of Laurel and the Drug Enforcement Administration "DEA" assigning a Laurel Police
Officer to the Billings Resident Office Task Force for a two-year period.
The agreement is for a one-year period, not a two-year period.
• Resolution No. R10-96: A resolution of the City Council accepting the bid and authorizing the
Mayor to sign a contract with Stevens Brothers Mechanical for pipe replacement at the City's
Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The agreement with Stevens Brothers Mechanical is for pipe replacement at the sewer plant. The bid
for recoating was $162,000, which is much higher than anticipated. Tim stated that now is the time to
replace and recoat the piping while the digester is out of service, but the cost is too high and no money
Department Head Meeting Minutes of September 7, 2010
is available to recoat. The digester has to be cleaned at a minimum of every five years and a maximum
of every ten years, which means that it will probably be five years until the recoating is actually done.
Draft Council Workshop Aeenda — September 14, 2010
General items
Public Works Department:
• Resolution — Engagement Letter with Dorsey & Whitney
• Resolution — Intent to create SID for SE 4g' Street
There was discussion regarding the delays with the creation of the SID. Jim Harr was out of town last
week and still needs to be contacted about the assessment.
• Resolution — Change order for Wastewater Improvements Project
This is the reconciliation change order for Phase 2A1 of the wastewater improvements project. The
document is lengthy and needs to be reviewed.
Executive Review:
• Appointments:
o Park Board: Phyllis Bromgard
• Land purchase from Yellowstone Bank
There was no discussion.
• Council Issues:
o Animal ordinance (Norm Stamper)
Ordinances in Bozeman and Missoula allow chickens in the city.
o Guidelines for Hearing of Individuals and Delegations at meetings (Norm Stamper)
Norm Stamper received the information when he attended a school board meeting recently.
o Motion sequences
There was discussion regarding the use of the motion sequence, voting against one's own motion, and
Robert's Rules of Order. Sam will review whether the person that makes a motion to approve an item is
obligated to support the item when it is time to vote.
Other items
There was no discussion.
Review of draft council agenda for September 21, 2010
• Public Hearing: Additional water rate increase public hearing
There was discussion regarding the location of the public hearing and the city's plan to present
information at the public hearing. Since the notice of public hearing stated that it would be held in the
council chambers, no change can be made. Sam stated that information that was presented at the first
public hearing does not need to be presented again, but information regarding the amount of money
spent on water system improvements and the basis to justify the rate increase should be presented.
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Department Head Meeting Minutes of September 7, 2010
• Ordinance No. 010-03: An ordinance amending two sections of the LMC titled "Bonfire
prohibited" and "Smoking in hotel beds prohibited" located at Chapter 8 of the LMC. (First
reading 08/17/2010; PH 09/07/2010; Second reading 09/21/2010)
There was discussion regarding purchased and built fire pits. Brent stated that fire pits that are designed
and/or constructed above ground would be approved. However, Brent and Gary are not qualified to
inspect fire pits and the city does not want to accept the liability. There was further discussion
regarding the legality of fire pits that were not inspected, manufacturer's guidelines, design plans for
fire pits, and the unsafe use of barrels as fire pits.
Department Reports:
Clerk/Treasurer
There was no discussion.
Fire
Interviews for the last seven positions on the fire department are scheduled for today, Thursday, and
Monday.
The fire department responded to the fire in Columbus, a structure fire on East 50' Street, and the fire in
Clapper Flats. The State will fund one day of service in Columbus and one day in Clapper Flats. The
County Commissioners need to sign off on the emergency status of the fires.
Brent recently spoke with Duane Winslow regarding a county -wide mutual aid agreement. The
agreement, which would benefit the city and the county, will be reviewed over the winter.
Ambulance
Jan asked that the appointment of Jackie Yamanaka -Williams be added to the September 14th council
workshop agenda.
Library
• Status of City of Laurel's website
Nancy stated that the website is progressing. James will e-mail a picture of one of the buses to Nancy
for the website.
The video conference center has been installed in the library and will be used officially for the first time
next Tuesday.
Police Department
Rick stated that eight interviews will be scheduled within the next two weeks. A new officer should be
hired by the middle of October.
City Planner
• Historic Register
James stated that the 90 -day review period ended in August and the city should hear from the Park
Service soon.
• Medical marijuana issue
There was no further discussion.
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Department Head Meeting Minutes of September 7, 2010
James spoke regarding the contract for the benches for the bus transit program. The benches need to
comply with public works specifications and the contract needs a specific term. The bus stop benches
will be located in the public right-of-way and the advertising should generate about $500 month. James
mentioned that McDonald's advertises on buses and benches.
Public Works Department
• Status of Main Street from 1 S` to 8"' Avenues (Dorsey & Whitney)
o CTEP / billing property owners
The project is moving along. Shirley asked if the sidewalk, curb and gutter project would be completed
before the SID assessments need to be submitted to the County at the end of September. Shirley will
contact the contractor, Riverside Sand & Gravel. Shirley asked who is supposed to bill the property
owners. She will ask Kurt about it next week.
The 8th Avenue project is progressing and Knife River is the contractor.
• SE 4`h Street SID
There was no further discussion.
• Status of Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade (98% complete)
Bill stated that Morrison-Maierle submitted information regarding an upgrade to the Elm Lift Station.
The proposed upgrade would cost $7,556. Mayor Olson, Bill, Sam, and public works will meet for
further discussion.
• Water line across the bridge
Shirley explained that the water line across the bridge, the water line replacement project on Third
Avenue, and the fencing of the water plant are included in the city's recent request for stimulus funding.
The total would be $375,000. The fencing at the reservoir was not included.
• Neptune water meters
There was no discussion.
• Cast iron pipe
There was no discussion.
City Attorney
Sam is working on the police union contracts.
Mayor Olson
• City's lease of railroad property on Main Street for various uses
There was no discussion.
Chief Administrative Officer
• Recycling program
There was no discussion.
Other
Matt explained that temporary water line has been laid across West 9a' Street to the nursing home and
will cost $2,300 for six weeks. A plan is needed before the cold weather sets in.
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Department Head Meeting Minutes of September 7, 2010
The ad for bid proposals for the street maintenance project will be published soon.
Bill stated that the Budget/Finance would discuss the proposed purchase of the Modern Auto building
for the ambulance service, and he asked Jan to attend the meeting tonight.
The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cindy Allen
Council Secretary
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