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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 04.12.2011 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP APRIL 12, 2011 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 April 12, 2011. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x Emelie Eaton _x Doug Poehls _x Kate Hart x Mark Mace _x Chuck Rodgers _x Chuck Dickerson _x Tom Nelson _ Norm Stamper OTHERS PRESENT: Sam Painter 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. Laura Mendenhall, 1026 Second Avenue, asked if the council has ever considered having a Laurel city garden area where people could plant things. She stated that the majority of lots in this town are not that big and people cannot have much. Recently, she went to a local store to buy a zucchini and it cost $3.99. She suggested that this would be a great project for the new city planner to start. There is a community garden in Billings, so she thought it could work in Laurel. Kate mentioned that a lady spoke to the Park Board about spearheading this project in the past, and the previous city planner was involved at that time. There was discussion. The Park Board minutes will be researched regarding this item and it will be placed on the May 5th Park Board agenda for further discussion. General items There were none. Police Department: • Grant information • Resolution — Accept Vest Grant Mayor Olson removed the Vest Grant from tonight's agenda, as he will have further discussions with Monica Salo and Sergeant Guy tomorrow. The item will be on the April 26 council workshop agenda. The grant regarding a policy for the Laurel Comm Center is a $6,000 no -match grant. Ryan Olson will review the Comm Center and identify possible shortcomings and recommend remedies for the different stations. He will be able to identify possible dead spaces in the repeaters. The grant is also being used in Joliet, Red Lodge and surrounding areas. It is beneficial to the community and the only Council Workshop Minutes of April 12, 2011 cost is through the grant. Possible 10 percent administration costs would also be covered in the grant. A resolution will be on the council agenda to allow the mayor to sign the agreement. • Resolution — Service Contract with Industrial Electronics for 9 -1 -1 service Mayor Olson explained that the service contract with Industrial Electronics for 9 -1 -1 services is a continuation of services for the Comm Center. Currently, a portion of the Comm Center is covered by the warranty and it needs to be upgraded so it covers all of the stations. The cost increased to $17,450 since there are more stations to be served. Public Works Department: • Citywide cleanup on April 30 — May 1 st Vi Hills stated that this will be the fourth annual cleanup event in Laurel. Since the first event in 2008, the two -day cleanup has been done the first week of May. This year the cleanup is scheduled on April 30 and May 1 s` from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is intended for Laurel city residents. The base site will be at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. Vi brought work orders and her volunteer roster to the meeting. She explained that the premise is to take down any barrier that might hinder someone from cleaning up their property. The volunteers will help in any way possible and will have a Bobcat, large trailers and available manpower. The event received one grant, and she is waiting to hear about a second grant. Meals, snacks, and beverages are served for the two days for all of the workers at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. The program has grown since the first year with the number of volunteers and the number of work orders, but the amount of trash packed out of town has diminished. She hopes the event can be cut to one day in the next year or two. She stated appreciation for the council's support of the cleanup event. Emelie stated that the city appreciates Vi's efforts, as the event is such an improvement to the community and Vi is so enthusiastic about it. Vi stated that two issues need to be addressed during the cleanup campaign or at another time. She stated that there is an issue with glass recycling in Montana, as it is impossible to dispose of glass other than at the landfill. She is trying to convince Bright `n Beautiful to get on the bandwagon, and she thinks Helen Johnson is interested. Vi stated that disposal of medications is another issue that needs to be addressed and coordinated. Mayor Olson thanked Vi and stated that it has really been a pleasure to work with her. Executive Review: • Council Issues: o Chip sealing projects (Norm Stamper) and priorities for filling potholes (Chuck Dickerson) Mayor Olson stated that the recent article in the newspaper regarding potholes was well - written and informative. He stated that potholes or road construction concerns should be submitted to Cheryll in the Public Works Department or to dispatch during weekend or off hours. Those people will inform the Public Works Director, who will inform the Maintenance Superintendent to schedule the crew. Mayor Olson stated that the city has dedicated $100,000 for the chip sealing projects. The Maintenance Superintendent and Great West will use the PCI (Pavement Condition Index) to identify which streets would best be serviced by a chip seal. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of April 12, 2011 There is also $40,000 remaining in last year's contract for patching with Blacktop, Inc. At the end of the blacktopping season last year, the cold weather prevented completion of the project. The $40,000 will be used this spring for the crack sealing program. The city crew will continue to use the pothole patching machine on the streets. Mark mentioned that the State will do some chip sealing projects on the State roads, including Eighth Avenue and East and West Main Streets. The landscaping work was done on Eighth Avenue today. o SID for streets near the old middle school (Kate Hart) Mayor Olson stated that Great West Engineering identified the costs for replacement of the pipe streets of Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and Washington Avenues. The cost would be about $523,000, which is a sizeable amount considering the city's annual street maintenance funds total about $550,000. To identify that for one project would be costly. The staff has been working to identify money to propose an SID for the residents, who would have to share the costs. It is difficult to take it forward to the residents because the cost is very expensive. That project is called the pipe streets because the pipes in the streets were replaced two years ago. o Parking in front of city hall (Mark Mace) o City's use of Yellowstone Bank's parking lot (Tom Nelson) during/after business hours (Chuck Dickerson) Copies of the agreement for use of the parking lot across the street and the Yellowstone Bank's parking lot were distributed to the council. The city's parking lot allows four -hour parking during daylight hours and is open on a first come, first served basis after hours. The most recent information is that matinees will be held at the Movie Haus on Saturdays and Sundays. The city is trying to contact Riley Cooke to find out if he intends to schedule matinees during the workweek in the summer months. The council will be informed if the information is received. There was discussion regarding options for signage to reserve parking in front of city hall for city business on Monday through Friday, signage for 10- minute parking during business hours, and signage for reserved parking for the whole section in front of city hall in order to accommodate city hall business during normal business hours. Mayor Olson stated that the proprietor of the Laurel Movie Haus received permission from other businesses for moviegoers to use their parking lots after business hours. The council will be apprised of any further information received regarding afternoon matinees. o Safety issues at TenderNest at Valley Drive and 12 Street (Chuck Dickerson) Mayor Olson stated that the city has ordered signs with directional arrows for this intersection in order to inform drivers that the road is a T intersection and requires a right or left turn. The property owner is landscaping with large rocks to help slow vehicles down if they jump the curb. He stated that the stop sign is visible for over a block. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the inadequate size of the boulders that were installed, the need for a large barrier structure, the icy conditions at that intersection in the winter, the sanding done by the city and the county in the winter, the city's need to protect itself from liability with the signage, the city's regulations regarding this issue, and possible locations for the signage in the right -of -way. The issue will be on the April 26 council workshop agenda for further discussion. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of April 12, 2011 o Schedule for budget meetings (Tom Nelson) Mayor Olson stated that he was overly aggressive when he thought the budgets could be presented to the council in April. Budget presentations will be scheduled on May 10 at 5:30 p.m., prior to the regular 6:30 council workshop, and on May 24th, which is an open Tuesday in the five - Tuesday month. Mayor Olson stated that the Enterprise Funds could be presented on May 24 Shirley and Mayor Olson will meet with the department heads to work through the budget items in preparation for the presentations to the council. There was discussion regarding the budget process, the issues encountered last year when the city did not have a clerk/treasurer, the timeframe in which the city receives the mill value by the first Monday in August, the requirement to adopt the budget within 45 days after receipt of the mill value, the Billings' charter that requires their budget to be adopted by July 1 and the scheduling of the budget workshops at 5:30 p.m. on May 10 and 24 o Update on project at 5 Street and 3' /4 Avenues (Emelie Eaton) Mayor Olson stated that the project is north of the Methodist Church where heavy moisture percolated up and brought mud to the top of the street. The Public Works Department determined that there is not base underneath the street and must wait for the mud to dry out before addressing the issue. Mayor Olson mentioned that there are similar issues with alligator cracking on 6 Street, 12 Street, and by Kiwanis Park. Repairs would involve digging a big hole 18 to 20 inches deep, putting in the base, and rebuilding the street. Water line breaks did not cause the issues at these locations. Other items Mayor Olson spoke regarding last year's cast iron pipe replacement project by the Catholic Church on 3` Avenue from 7 to 9 Street and on 7 Street from 3` Avenue to 5 Avenue. The street portion of the project was not completed due to winter weather. Usually, the projects include trench restoration and water funds are used to repave the street. Since the water breaks caused street degradation the whole width of the street, the whole block will be restored by the project, which was a grant forgiveness project. The city will not accept the paving done by Williams Brothers in front of the Catholic Church last fall, as it was not tested for continuity of the base after it was rolled. Williams Brothers has to tear up the street. The city will have Williams Brothers submit a change order to replace the entire width of the street. If the change order is available soon, it will be placed on the April 19 council agenda. If not, it will be reviewed at the council workshop on April 26 and on the council agenda on May 3rd Review of draft council agenda for April 19, 2011 A resolution for the change order might be added to the council agenda. The second readings of Ordinance No. 011 -04 and Ordinance No. 011 -05 will be on the April 19 council agenda. Attendance at the April 19, 2011 council meeting Tom might not be able to attend the council meeting. Announcements 4 Council Workshop Minutes of April 12, 2011 Mayor Olson stated that Glenn Bies will retire from the City of Laurel on Friday, April 15 Mayor Olson read a thank you card from Glenn and stated that Glenn has been an outstanding employee for the City of Laurel. Cake will be served at city hall at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Mayor Olson mentioned that the city hall window replacement project is going forward. The building will receive new windows because of the work that James Caniglia initiated and that Kurt Markegard and Heidi Jensen have brought to fruition with the Energy Grant. The project included digging a trench from the back around to hook the council chamber's boiler system into the other building's boiler. However, since that cost is equal to the cost of a new boiler, the city has contacted the grant people about just replacing the boiler. New insulation has been installed in several places. Mayor Olson stated that a Boy Scout contacted him regarding painting city hall and he will start painting after the 4 of July. Mayor Olson contacted Butch Branstetter about filling the cracks in the stucco siding, and he will submit a bid for those repairs. There was discussion regarding the paint color for city hall. Mayor Olson stated that the interview committee met and reviewed twenty -six applications for the CAO position today. Six candidates will be contacted to interview during the week of April 25 to 29 Hopefully, the final candidate will be hired by mid -May in order to have six weeks to relocate. The council workshop adjourned at 7:37 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