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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 08.09.2011 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP AUGUST 9, 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 August 9, 2011. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x Emelie Eaton _x_ Doug Poehls x Bruce McGee _x_ Mark Mace Chuck Rodgers _x_ Chuck Dickerson x Tom Nelson _x 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. There was no public input. General items There was no discussion. Executive Review: • ExxonMobil: o Resolution — Riverside Park Right -of -Way Grant Dale Fazel, 800 Bell in Houston, Texas, is the manager of the project group for ExxonMobil Pipeline Company. A drawing was distributed and held up for the presentation. The drawing of the entire right -of -way request for the entire directional drill, which should be crossing into Riverside Park in one piece, was explained. On one side is a small piece of pipe, roughly 60 foot long, where Exxon will connect the existing pipeline to the start of the directional drill. This piece of pipe will be laid, as shown in the drawing, 4.8 feet below the surface tying into the origination point of the directional drill. The drill will then come across the park and cross the Yellowstone River, crossing another piece of the City of Laurel's property on the north side. Depth drawings were shown. Roughly 86 feet out from original drill point, Exxon will be at a depth of roughly 20 feet below surface, roughly a 12 degree type angle in there. To further expand on some of the news and comments, Dale stated that Exxon's original target was 30 feet below river bottom. By looking at the geometry and what was needed for the drill, they went deeper. On the north bank, they will drill roughly 42 foot deep. The 50 foot number is roughly in the middle of the bank, and it will be roughly 48 or 49 feet on the edge of Riverside Park. Dale spoke regarding the question of installing a six -inch waterline in with this. If the line were a hydrocarbon line, there would be a potential for it technologically. As he understands from talking with the public works director, there needs to be a 10 -foot separation between a hydrocarbon line and Council Workshop Minutes of August 9, 2011 a municipal waterline, which would make that non - feasible in one drill. It would require a second drill, essentially at full cost. Although it was an excellent idea to drill it and potentially save money, it would not work on a municipal waterline. The line is a 12 -inch pipeline and will be carrying the same products the current line carries through. Mayor Olson asked him to brief the council on the approximate cost of making that secondary horizontal drill for that waterline. Dale stated that a rough estimate would be $2 to $4 million. It is hard for him to estimate a waterline because he deals predominantly with hydrocarbon lines and the requirements are very different. The cost of the drill itself would not change with the size of the line, as there would not be a huge difference in the actual physical cost to drill under the river. Doug asked if the items addressed in Sam's letter had been addressed. Mayor Olson stated that city staff met with ExxonMobil today and the two entities have come to a consensus on almost every issue Sam brought forward. The city is reserving the opportunity to reach a mutual understanding on item seven. Other than that, the city's best interest has been addressed on every other item discussed to date. He stated that Exxon has been cooperative in their response to the city' s concerns. Doug asked regarding removal of the old pipeline. Dale stated that he did not know, as that is under direction of the Department of Justice and is not part of this project. This project will go forward and be installed before the other process gets completed. Doug asked if there would be additional damage in the river when the line is removed. Dale stated that, depending upon the option chosen, there is potential impact to the river or to the park, but that will go through the same process for permitting to make sure it is done properly. Tom asked if the hole would be filled with bentonite or what process would be used. Dale did not know what removal method would be used and whether the pipeline would be filled with a grout or if the pipe would be removed and the soil stabilized. There are a variety of options and part of that is going to be determining the impact on the environment and whether it would be better to leave the pipe in place and stabilize it or if it would be better to remove it. The decision is being put before the Unified Command, which includes the regulatory agencies and the State of Montana. Chuck Dickerson asked regarding the chances of using that pipe to run the city's waterline through. Dale stated that could be looked at, with part of it being the need to determine the exact condition of the current line. Emelie asked regarding the DEQ permit needed to begin the project. Dale stated that Exxon is waiting to secure multiple permits from the Department of Natural Resources, as well as the Department of Environmental Quality. Exxon will be able to begin part of 2 Council Workshop Minutes of August 9, 2011 the work but will not be able to complete the drilling until all the permits are granted, including the Corps of Engineers permit. Chuck asked regarding the damage in the existing pipeline. Dale stated that the information about the condition of the pipeline is being reviewed by the Department of Justice and he is not privy to that information. Chuck questioned whether what the Department of Justice would impact the idea to use the existing line as a line to run a waterline through. Dale agreed that it would be one of the potential inputs on that decision. Mayor Olson stated that the resolution and agreement would be on the August 16 council agenda. • Resolution — Accept Board of Crime Control Grant Mayor Olson stated that the United Way Grant is for a total of $61,321 and the City of Laurel would be eligible for $3,536 to be used for the enforcement of underage drinking activities. There was discussion regarding the quarterly billing and the amount of the grant. • Resolution — Change Order No. 3 for 2010 Street Maintenance Project Mayor Olson explained that seventeen days additional were needed for the contractor to complete their crack sealing because of inclement weather experienced at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. The change order is an extension of time allotment before the penalty kicks in. • Resolution — Create SID No. 113 Mayor Olson stated that SID No. 113 is for payment of the overlay on SE 4 Street and it requires a public hearing. The public hearing will be next Tuesday at the beginning of the council meeting and the council will then consider the resolution to create SID No. 113 under scheduled matters. Jackie Kuhl, Great West Engineering, would like to go out for bids soon in order to complete the project this season. Mark asked whether the method for assessing the charges is based on square foot or frontage foot. Mayor Olson stated that the correct information would be emailed to the council. • Resolution — Prosecution contract Mayor Olson explained the contract with Matthew Wilcox for prosecution services. The contract is for $54,000 a year or $4,500 per month plus additional costs of $250 to $500 per month for subpoenas, fax, filing fees, etc. The two -year contract would be effective on September 6, 2011. At the next council workshop, a revised contract with Elk River will be presented for civil services. If possible, Mr. Wilcox will be introduced to the council at a future meeting. • Resolution — Declaring certain city items as surplus Mayor Olson explained that the council needs to declare the list as surplus and an auction will be scheduled in September. • Council Issues: 3 Council Workshop Minutes of August 9, 2011 o Footbridge landscaping (Chuck Rodgers) Mayor Olson asked Emelie to comment on this issue, as Chuck was not able to attend the council workshop. Emelie explained that the area contains the memorial plaque next to the Gay Easton Memorial Bridge. She planted some roses and attempted to keep the weeds down with mulch for a couple years, but has done nothing this year. She stated that there were several to deal with the whole area, but it was decided to deal only with the area by the plaque. Some safety work is needed because children living north of the bridge use the gap between the tall fencing that crosses the bridge and the iron railing that goes around the sidewalk out to 12 Street. Chuck Rodgers was researching the cost of extending the railing from the existing rail to the fence. Emelie stated that the mayor proposed some options to keep the weeds down by the memorial plaque and the three blocks of tall grass and weeds. Emelie stated that Chuck wanted to hand this over to the Parks Committee, but Emelie reminded him that the land is not even in the city. Emelie stated that there is always a concern regarding the funding for projects. This project would need funding for the railing, landscaping, and possibly a solar driven pump. Mayor Olson stated that he, Emelie and Chuck Rodgers were put on this committee three years ago after Gay Easton passed away. Emelie has done the work and he thanked her for that. There was never a budget for this project. Mayor Olson spoke regarding possible problems with a solar pump, the possibility of rurming the sprinkler from Murray Park a couple hundred feet across the bridge for this area, the possibility of using a wooden barrel with a valve for watering purposes, the need to submit a request to the County Commissioners for improvements in this area, landscaping ideas, and the need to have a plan in place. There was discussion about the possibility of the fire department burning the weeds in the three blocks, the need to stripe a pedestrian crosswalk and install signage for safety purposes, the possibility of community involvement, the suggestion to find funding in the council and mayor's budgets, and the need for further discussion at the next council workshop. o Discussion on a city ban on store front medical marijuana providers (Tom Nelson) Tom stated that he brought this up for discussion considering that Billings has taken advantage of the legislation passed in Helena that allows for the banning of the storefront and the medical marijuana shops. The County is also taking that issue up. Mayor Olson explained that the city's zoning has eliminated opportunities in the downtown business district under the umbrella of parks, churches, schools and daycares. According to zoning, businesses would only be allowed in light industrial zoning. Sam stated that, when something like this is adopted and challenged in court immediately, it is important to wait and see what falls out. Portions of this law were stricken by the judge and portions were left. One remaining section is the right of cities, local governments, to do an outright ban on the storefronts. That provision is going to the Supreme Court, and the court could agree that it is not constitutional either. If the city goes through the ordinance change process, it might have to do it again because the law may change. The State has filed an appeal to the District Court Judge's ruling. Sam stated that the state of the law today is anything but certain and it is all on appeal to the Supreme Court. Laurel currently has the ordinance in effect, and people are not seeking to open because it is a difficult thing to finance if the law is uncertain. If he were to advise, it would be to wait to see the Supreme Court's decision and then go through the ordinance change process if needed. Communities 4 Council Workshop Minutes of August 9, 2011 that went to an outright ban have ended up in litigation, and the safer route is to wait and proceed with the correct process to consider an ordinance change. Other items • Resolution rescinding Resolution No. R11 -64 Mayor Olson stated that the resolution is to rescind Resolution No. R11 -64. There was an instance where the city had to readvertise the public hearing and another instance where graphs and charts did not correctly identify the information for the public notice. Mayor Olson asked the council to consider rescinding the resolution of intent to increase water and sewer rates. The resolution of intent will tentatively be presented again on September 20 which will allow time to make sure all the articles needed for substantive council action are adopted. The council has not yet adopted the water and sewer rate study, which this council action is predicated on. Staff will have time to review the information to make sure it is correct. There was discussion regarding rescinding the resolution, the previous water rate increase, the request by Doug Poehls for a rate study, and the fulfillment of that request with the water and sewer rate study presentation given by Chad Hanson. Mayor Olson stated the tentative schedule for the water and sewer rate increases. Resolution No. R11 -64 would be rescinded on the August 16 council agenda, the resolution of intent would be considered on September 20 advertisements would be published on September 28 October 5 and October 12 the public hearing would be on October 18 and the resolution to increase water and sewer rates would be on November 1 and effective on the November 10 billing cycle. Review of draft council agenda for August 16, 2011 • 2011 -2012 Preliminary Budget presentation to council on August 16 There was no discussion. • Public Hearing: Intention to create Special Improvement District No. 113 The public hearing will be on the August 16 council agenda, as well as the resolution to create SID No. 113. Currently, we have received no protests to SID No. 113, and the protest period ends on August 11 th . Attendance at the August 16, 2011 council meeting All council members present will attend. Announcements Doug asked regarding an email about a letter to Pacific Steel. Mayor Olson and Emelie responded to the email. Mayor Olson asked that Heidi Jensen be on the task force. Mark asked for an update on the Main Street sidewalk project. Mayor Olson stated that the downtown sidewalk project is on Stefan Streeter and Rod Nelson's desk. When he spoke with Stefan Streeter, Stefan said that MDT intends to get as much sidewalk replacement work done as possible this year. Chuck Dickerson asked if there was consideration to increase the $10,000 annual payment ExxonMobil proposed to pay the city for the easement at Riverside Park. 5 Council Workshop Minutes of August 9, 2011 Mayor Olson stated that the city is working every possible way to substantiate an increase in the amount. At today's meeting with ExxonMobil representatives, there was discussion regarding the items in Sam Painter's memo. All of the concerns have been answered and the city requested consideration for an increase in the amount. ExxonMobil will provide an answer on Friday. If the council does not want to accept the answer, the council can refuse it. Sam clarified that the document distributed to the council is ExxonMobil's first offer and is the document he reviewed when he prepared his comments. The council will receive a new document with a new dollar amount if the negotiations work out. ExxonMobil's initial offer was $10,000. Sam stated that there were lengthy discussions, so in no way will the final document be the same as the initial document. Language will be added and all of the concerns will be addressed. There was a request for another opinion from the city attorney, discussion regarding the negotiated items and the remaining item of the annual payment, and the method by which ExxonMobil determined the $10,000 figure. They looked at the acreage that the surface right -of -way would take up, which is X number of acres. Then they determined the value of the neighboring properties. Since this is an underground pipe, the full value of the surface is typically divided by two because the surface can be used. With an above ground pipe, the surface cannot be used. However, Exxon did not divide the figure in two. They figured the number of acres, multiplied it by the value and came up with $10,000. Mark stated that the park acres are where they are and there is a value in that. The city has never had any line item for parks and needs to fund its parks, and he wants the city to get what it is worth. Whether this park is the mother lode or not, the city needs to fund the parks. Sam stated that the city and ExxonMobil will hopefully have conversations in the next few days. Typically, pipeline companies deal with numbers and acreage, not numbers of gallons going through the pipe and profit. The problem is they also have eminent domain and could go to court if the city decided not to deal with them. However, it would take a long time to go through the eminent domain process. He does not think the company or the city want to go that route. This is a unique circumstance and Exxon needs to look at this property differently. Their concern is setting a standard and having to deal with every landowner like they dealt with Laurel. The city will make the arguments that this is a different situation. Sam stated that the $1,000 a day for closing the park is a good faith attempt from Exxon to pay for the problems caused by the oil spill. Sam stated that the city will continue to discuss the issue with Exxon. The point needs to be made that the city does not intend to use the money as a General Fund boost, but intends to use it to preserve, protect and maintain its parks. If the council is not satisfied with the offer, the council does not have to approve it. Sam spoke regarding rods and rod length per dollar. Right now, Exxon is at is $120 a rod, which equals the $10,000. Online you can fmd varying levels of $500, $400, $80 per rod. There is room for negotiations. It is important to note that the city has not been paid for years for that right of way. To date, the city received a onetime payment of $10 for the right of way. The final amount of the annual fee would continue and not change in the future. There was further discussion regarding the negotiations, the need for funding for a citywide park maintenance district, the possibility of a line item for park maintenance, the line item for levee 6 Council Workshop Minutes of August 9, 2011 construction for the $100,000 contribution received from CHS Refinery, the camping and park fees in Riverside Park, and the $1,000 /day fees from ExxonMobil that will be put in the General Fund. Sam explained that generally the council cannot tie the hands of future councils when it comes to budget. However, an agreement put in place that any amount paid under the right of way will go into a park maintenance fund can be done. The provision would be part of the right of way and would be hard to change in the future. The council would earmark the funds, putting it right in the contract, so that future councils cannot lump the money in the general fund. Norm asked if the siren is not working, as it did not go off when the fire trucks rolled out tonight. Mayor Olson did not know what happened. The siren is still on the roof and is used as a backup alarm system. Emelie asked if the members of the Rod & Gun Club have been allowed into their building at Riverside Park to begin repairs on the building because of the flood. Mayor Olson said they have looked at the repairs but have not done the repairs of the flooring. They will not be allowed in Riverside Park, as it will be closed for Exxon as of tomorrow. Notification of the park closure will be sent to the clubs in Riverside Park. Emelie spoke regarding the two letters about a splash park. One letter states an understanding that monies are available for a project such as a splash park. Emelie suggested discussion at the next council workshop to clarify that the monies are a special endowment with restrictions for a pool. Mayor Olson stated that the issue would be on the next council workshop. Mayor stated that the Eagle Scouts will attend the council meeting on September 6 to be acknowledged by the council. A letter of appreciation will be presented to the Eagle Scouts. Mayor Olson requested bids for the roof repair and only received one bid from Bradford Roofing. The bid was for $6,900 to repair the roof over the council chambers, to eliminate the water going over the front of the building, to repair the scuppers and to fix a leak underneath the siren. The council workshop adjourned at 7:57 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. 7