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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 06.28.2011 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP JUNE 28, 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 June 28, 2011. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x Emelie Eaton _x_ Doug Poehls _x_ Bruce McGee _x_ Mark Mace _x Chuck Rodgers _x_ Chuck Dickerson _x Tom Nelson _x Norm Stamper OTHERS PRESENT: Sam Painter Chad Hanson, Great West Engineering 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. Bill Staudinger, 804 Wyoming Avenue, asked that curb and gutter be installed on Wyoming Avenue. Mayor Olson asked Smokey to come back after the 4 of July to get a permit for the creation of an SID. If the petition is signed by the neighbors, the city would be able to invest time into the project. General items: • Appointments o Laurel Fire Department: Allan Gradwohl Allan Gradwohl will be introduced at the council meeting on July 5` o Budget/Finance Committee: Tom Nelson Mayor Olson stated the council's appointment of Tom Nelson to the Budget/Finance Committee. He stated that at a previous council retreat it was discussed that the committees are in place so the council can work better and council committee appointments are the responsibility of the council president and vice - president. There will be openings after the fall elections, and the council president and vice - president should be contacted regarding those positions. Emelie asked how that differs from the other appointments. Mayor Olson explained that, by statute of the charter, the council has committees to appoint and the boards and commissions are the mayor's appointments. Emelie stated that, for the record, she was not aware of that. She knew that there was an appointment that needed to be made because of Kate leaving. She stated that she assumed that the president and the vice - president chose regardless of anyone having come to them. Council Workshop Minutes of June 28, 2011 Mayor Olson suggested that Emelie talk to the council president and vice - president after the meeting. Emelie stated that she was sure the minds had already been made up and she just wanted to understand the process. Executive Review: • Discussion — Water and Sewer Rate Study Chad Hanson, Great West Engineering, briefly reviewed the Water and Sewer Rate Study. He will attend the July 12 council workshop to answer any questions regarding the rate study. The water rates were raised in late 2009, and there was a lot of public comment against the bulk water rate. The council rescinded the bulk water rate in the fall of 2010, and Council Member Poehls at that time requested that the Public Works Department hire Great West Engineering to do a detailed rate study. Then when Great West previously presented information regarding the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the council expressed a desire for smaller rate increases in order to save money and lower the loan later, and Great West tried to incorporate that request into the rate study. Chad reviewed the sections of the report. Section 1.0 is the Executive Summary. Section 2.0, Introduction and Background, covered the background of existing rates, historic use, and distribution of costs. Regarding historic use, Chad explained that, when comparing non - residential use to residential use, the residential use makes up 91 percent of the services but only uses 9 percent of the water. There is obviously higher demand from non - residential, which was the whole purpose of the bulk water rate that tried to get a fair and equitable rate for everyone. Residential sewer services were about 63 percent and non - residential services were 37 percent. Chad spoke about the distribution of costs. One comment heard about the bulk water rates and the new water rates was that it does not cost any more for the city to pipe the water to a bulk water station than to a house or business. There is some merit to that argument. The way the original water rates were set up, the base rate was based on the debt and obligations and fixed costs and the usage was based on the O &M, which is variable every year. That is a common method. Great West decided to look at it differently based on the public comments. The water, wastewater and solid waste are enterprise funds, which means that the funds cannot use any tax dollars and are run with user fees. They must be run like a business with user charges. The city has debt on the enterprise funds and has obligations to keep a certain reserve and make the payments. Both enterprise funds are split and tracked in the city's accounting system. The water system, which includes distribution and storage, has a separate account for the water treatment plant. The wastewater system has an account for the wastewater treatment plant and one for the collection system. Chad stated that it would be easy to separate those costs so they worked through the scenarios looking at the base rate, the costs of the distribution system for the water and the collection system in the sewer. In Section 3, Revenue Projections, Chad used methodology from the American Water Works Association, which has a manual on establishing water rates. This section addressed operation and maintenance (O &M), reserves, debt service, and capital expenditures. Section 4, Rate Structure and Calculations, addressed equivalent dwelling units (EDU's), base rate, usage charge, and a capital improvements surcharge. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of June 28, 2011 There was discussion regarding water storage, capital improvements, and the need to review the calculations every year. There will be further discussion at the council workshop on July 12 • Resolution — Committing fund balance resources for Special Revenue Funds (GASB 54) Mayor Olson stated that the resolution addresses the GASB requirement on special revenue funds for the reserves. The special revenue funds have to be identified. If they are not identified as reserves for those funds, they have to be transferred into the General Fund. GASB is the group that oversees the general accounting procedures for municipalities and the resolution came as a recommendation from Olness & Associates, the city's auditing firm. • East Railroad Street and the city's acquisition of Yellowstone County's part Mayor Olson referred to a memo prepared by City Planner Heidi Jensen in reference to the right -of- way annexation. A copy of the memo is attached to the council workshop minutes. • Discussion — CAO position Mayor Olson stated that he has been considering if an interim CAO position would be feasible. He announced to the council that Heidi Jensen would be willing to assist with the duties of the CAO position. The authority of the CAO position would not be given to her until the council approves that authority. Heidi would help as much as possible while still maintaining the planning duties. Mayor Olson stated that Heidi's resume identified her educational background as having a Master's in Public Administration, which is what is needed for the position. He hopes the council allows Heidi to become increasingly involved in the activities of the CAO to the point where the council would give her the authority for the position. That will not happen until Mayor Olson and Heidi feel comfortable with her ability to maintain that level. During today's staff discussion, the need for transparency was emphasized. There would be no change in compensation during the interim period until a contract is presented for the council's consideration. Mayor Olson expects the interim period to be a maximum of six months and plans to ensure that Heidi is prepared before presenting a contract to the council. • Discussion — Leases for Riverside Park There was a lengthy discussion regarding the leases for Riverside Park, the city's liability with allowing discharge of firearms at the park, the need for a timeline to sunset the use of firearms at the park, annexation of Riverside Park and other city properties that are outside the city limits, the police jurisdiction of Riverside Park, and the need to form a task force to review the leases and find solutions. Norm Stamper and Tom Nelson offered to be on the task force to review the leases for the Rifle Club, the Rod and Gun Club and the American Legion. A boiler plate lease is available for the leases. Sam is preparing the final changes to the baseball lease, and the lease will be sent to MMIA for review. Mayor Olson updated the council on the ongoing flooding issues at Riverside Park and how the city addressed a potential breach that was found in the levee last Friday. Kurt notified Williston -Basin, Exxon - Mobil, MDU, NorthWestem Energy, FEMA, County DES, and Yellowstone County and representatives were onsite to view their concerns. City staff is scheduled to meet with representatives from FEMA tomorrow morning. • Discussion — Legal services Mayor Olson removed this item from the agenda. • Council Issues: 3 Council Workshop Minutes of June 28, 2011 o Protective cover on the generator at Murray Park (Chuck Dickerson) Mayor Olson explained that chain link fencing is not adequate and a cover needs to be designed that is structurally safe in case someone climbs on top of the cover. o Replacement of the dead tree at Murray Park (Chuck Dickerson) Mayor Olson stated that public works plans to plant a replacement tree soon. Other items • Resolution — Amendment No. 2 to Task Order No. 6 with Great West Engineering Amendment No. 2 to Task Order No. 6 with Great West Engineering is for compensation for additional work for the Water System Improvements Project. The compensation for the services in the amendment is estimated to be $12,250 for the Bidding and Construction Phase and $3,550 for the Post - Construction Phase. The resolution will be on the July 5th council agenda. • Resolution — Change Order No. 4 with Williams Civil Division for the 2010 Water Main Replacement Project. Change Order No. 4 is for replacement of the pavement on 8th Street from 1 Avenue to 3rd Avenue. The contractor provided a price of $38 per square yard for the estimated additional 4,000 square yards for a total cost of $152,000. There was discussion. Chad explained that this section of the street originally had an inadequate sub- base with one -inch asphalt. Since Williams Civil Division destroyed the street while driving on it during the construction project, the contractor needs to restore it to its original condition. However, the city would like to replace the pavement with three inches of asphalt instead of one inch in order to have a better street. The contractor would not charge additional mobilization and demobilization costs, as they are already working on the project, and engineering costs would not be required. The contractor would dig down, put fabric in 8 Street between 1S Avenue and 3 Avenue, compact it to specifications and then put three inches of asphalt. Chad updated the council on the project, which has been challenging because of the rainy spring weather. It was necessary to allow everything to dry out, so the project was delayed. In order to prepare the street for the 4 of July parade, the contractors will be here on Thursday and Friday to make sure the ramps are good and everything is rolled smooth and they will water the street the morning of the 4 so the parade can use that route. On July 5 the contractor will be back to finish the project. Although it has been drawn out because of the weather, Chad stated that in the end these will be some of the best built streets in the city. • Memo regarding FEMA Mayor Olson spoke regarding the memo prepared by City Planner Heidi Jensen about reimbursement from FEMA for the recent flooding expenses. Review of draft council agenda for July 5, 2011 There was no discussion. Attendance at the July 5, 2011 council meeting Mark Mace and Chuck Rodgers will be unable to attend. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of June 28, 2011 Announcements Chuck Rodgers has received calls from people in Elena Subdivision regarding the tall weeds in the parkland out there. One resident was upset with the city because he had to mow down the weeds behind his house. Chuck mentioned that residents are asking what the city plans to do about the sound wall. He also mentioned the tall weeds in several lots in town. Mayor Olson stated that Heidi is working on forming the park maintenance district in Elena Subdivision. Norm stated that the park maintenance district for Elena Subdivision should be on the Park Board agenda on July 7` Emelie received the finished products of Laurel's History through Photos, Memories and Tidbits for 2010 and they are available from her for $10. The filing deadline for the November election is on Thursday, June 30 at 5:00 p.m. Mayor Olson encouraged Emelie, Mark, Chuck Rodgers, Norm, Tom and Bruce to file for re- election. The council workshop adjourned at 8:12 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 MEMORANDUM TO: LAUREL CITY COUNCIL CC: KURT MARKEGARD FROM: HEIDI JENSEN, LAUREL CITY PLANNER SUBJECT: EAST RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY ANNEXATION DATE: 6/28/2011 Staff was asked to investigate the process in obtaining Yellowstone County right -of -way on East Railroad Street. Upon receipt of the request, a meeting with the Yellowstone County Public Works Department was set. On Thursday June 23, 2011, Kurt Markegard and I met with Mark English, a Deputy County Attorney, and Tim Miller the County Public Works Director. The County remembers previous discussions about the property and has no problem with the City of Laurel beginning the annexation process. With annexation the City then becomes responsible for the maintenance and law enforcement on that side of the street. The speed limit would be set at 25 miles per hour per City ordinance. The annexation process is defined in Montana Code Annotated (MCA) but the County has established a process in conjunction with MCA and the City of Billings. I will be meeting with the City - County Planning Staff on Thursday, June 30, 2011, to obtain paperwork and learn about Yellowstone County's preferred method of annexation. The Council will be kept informed as the process moves forward. Thanks. MEMORANDUM TO: LAUREL CITY COUNCIL CC: KURT MARKEGARD FROM: HEIDI JENSEN, LAUREL CITY PLANNER SUBJECT: FEMA KICK -OFF MEETING DATE: 6/28/2011 On June 23, 2011 Yellowstone County Disaster and Emergency Services notified the City of Laurel of a FEMA MT Kickoff Meeting, to be held at Montana State University Billings at 2:00 p.m. Kurt Markegard, Tim Reiter and I were in attendance. At the meeting we received a packet of information describing the FEMA eligibility and reimbursement process. Over the coming weeks, staff will be working with FEMA representatives to determine the City of Laurel's need for federal monies regarding the water treatment plant and Riverside Park. All reimbursement and determinations by FEMA will be presented to the City Council. Please let the Mayor know any questions you may have and staff will address them as quickly as possible. Thanks.