HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 09.27.2011 MINUTES
COUNCIL WORKSHOP
SEPTEMBER 27, 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 September 27, 2011.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
_x Emelie Eaton _x_ Doug Poehls
_x_ Bruce McGee _x_ Mark Mace
_x Chuck Rodgers _x_ Chuck Dickerson
Tom Nelson _x Norm Stamper
OTHERS PRESENT:
Stefan Streeter, MDT Karen Scovell
Gary Neville, MDT
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 none.
General items:
• Appointment:
o Laurel Ambulance Service: John Kuper
The appointment will be on the October 4 council agenda.
Executive Review:
• Update on 706 Mulberry Avenue issue (Karen Scovell)
Mayor Olson asked Karen if she wanted to address the council. She did not.
Mayor Olson stated that copies of Ms. Scovell's letter and pictures were distributed to the council.
The issue has been reviewed by the city planner and the city's legal services, and staff has taken a
position on two things. The City - County Planning Board has issues that are within the jurisdiction of
the Planning Board that have not been addressed with the proper ordinances to enforce outside of the
city's boundaries. The code enforcement officer will be tasked to put together the required
documentation to address these issues. At this time, there is not much the city can immediately do for
Ms. Scovell. Mayor Olson stated that an investigative file has been opened with Ms. Scovell's letter
and pictures to present to the county attorney. At this time, the city is gathering the pertinent
information and documentation to best present the case.
Karen Scovell stated that the code enforcement officer went to her property and noticed that chickens
were running loose. She also had the county's code enforcement officer look at the issue. The officer
told her that, if the city could commission him to do so, he would do the job.
Council Workshop Minutes of September 27, 2011
Mayor Olson stated that the city would contact the county's code enforcement officer with the
information.
There was discussion regarding the city limits at this location, whether all or half of the street has
been annexed, and the 2003 change in annexation laws.
Mayor Olson stated that this will be the 706 Mulberry Avenue case, not to personalize the issue.
• MDT — Stefan Streeter and Gary Neville
o Urban fund balance /future projects
Mayor Olson introduced Stefan Streeter and Gary Neville from MDT to address some questions from
the council.
Stefan Streeter thanked the council for having them here tonight and stated that their mission is to
make sure everyone is well informed.
Gary Neville stated that he could not answer some questions definitely. Some of the questions were
traffic related, so their traffic engineer provided input to Gary.
The first question was regarding the status of the west interchange. MDT is working on the design of
the project. Morrison - Maierle, the consultant on the project, is good at building structures and
bridges. The layout of the interchange project was recently redesigned, which basically reduced the
cost by $15 to $17 million. The project is broken down into two or three phases and is scheduled in
2015. Another question was about the south exits from the interchange, which Gary assumed was
about a bridge or an exit across the railroad. Gary stated that does not exist with the project. A year
ago, MDT had conversations with the Mayor about that exact thing and discussed using urban funds
to fund it. Laurel's current urban fund balance is $2,058, 424, and the city receives $202,938
annually. Gary stated that the question at that time was if urban funds could fund the south exit over
the railroad. There are complications in using urban funds because this is not really an urban route. It
connects into an urban route, but the main part of it is not on any route.
Mayor Olson stated that the revised drawing indicates that there would be no elevated overpass in the
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proposed design. It would more or less be flat land and the only access that would be afforded is if
the city were to put in an elevated area over the railroad tracks. He thought the project had been
moved farther north than it was plotted before.
Gary stated that it is farther east and he thought it was still elevated. MDT is still working on
alignment and grade, and the consultant is working on the redesign.
Stefan stated that it is still elevated to where another structure could eventually be built on over the
top of the railroad if necessary or funded.
Mayor Olson asked if the elevation would allow for rail traffic to go underneath.
Stefan stated that he believed that was correct. As he recalled, the project is not actually getting onto
the railroad right -of -way, but in the future a structure could be built. Stefan will confirm that when
they meet with the designers the next time. They have to build the structure there over the interstate
so the structure is elevated.
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Mayor Olson stated that his conception is that the structure proposed would be the on/off ramps for
Laurel going both directions, but then it would be similar to what was done for a short time at 56
where it just stopped and went out into a cornfield.
Stefan stated that it was similar but he thought it would be two ramps elevated. The only access will
be north back across and into town, and there will be no access to the south.
Mayor Olson stated that the challenge presented to the city is to find the funding for the south access
over the railroad tracks to meet MDT's project in order to more readily service emergency operations
on the south side of Laurel.
Stefan agreed with Mayor Olson's comment.
Doug Poehls stated that he did not like to throw water on something that MDT is going to build. He
stated that, if they do not do the south exit, there is no reason to build the interchange. There is
already an exit and an entrance into Laurel and it does not work both ways on the west end of Laurel.
Doug stated that if the issues of getting emergency vehicles across the railroad tracks and access to
the southwest part of Laurel are not solved, Laurel cannot grow in that direction. There is still the
problem with truck traffic going through residential areas servicing Cenex, because Cenex has
changed all their semi -trucks to come in on the west side of Cenex. Doug stated that MDT should not
even spend the money if they do not put the south interchange there. He understands that they are
going to change the bridge and the accident ratio on the one bridge over the railroad tracks, which is
the primary original reason for the west interchange. His personal opinion is that an exit is needed to
the south side of Laurel.
Chuck Dickerson spoke regarding Zoo Drive, the need for the south exit to promote growth in Laurel,
and the priority issues in the 1980's with 19 Street in Bozeman versus Zoo Drive. There was further
discussion regarding the growth spurred on the west end of Billings near Zoo Drive, as well as in
Bozeman, and the need for a Laurel interchange that goes all four directions.
Gary stated that there is no mechanism for funding and that was not the original intent of the project.
Although MDT appreciates that Laurel is expanding there, it is not part of the project.
Chuck Dickerson again spoke regarding 19 Street in Bozeman, how to get the mechanism for the
interchange, the need to have a complete project with an interchange, and the need for another access
to the south side.
Gary stated that using urban funds would be one mechanism. Eighth Avenue was built with stimulus
money and the city's urban funds were not used.
There was discussion regarding the city's letter to the project administrator and the director three
years ago.
Stefan stated that the response was that it really comes down to funding. There was discussion
regarding funding of the 19 Street project in Bozeman and funding for Shiloh Road and the
interchange. Stefan stated that he hears and appreciates the council's concerns, but this project started
as a safety project to realign some structures and that impacted the half interchange and became a full
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Council Workshop Minutes of September 27, 2011
interchange. The project never included building a grand structure with new roads on the other side
for connectivity. It started and always was a structure improvement to eliminate the high accidents at
the eastbound structure. To do that MDT needed to realign the structures, which then made sense to
push and build the whole interchange versus a half interchange. He suggested that there is still time
to try to correlate some funding and do different things. He stated that the commitment they will
make is to continue working with the mayor and staff to see what resources are available. It may need
to be a public /public partnership or a public/private partnership, and the refinery might need to
contribute funding. Stefan stated that the structure costs several million dollars but then it also needs
connectivity. Once it crossed the tracks, it would need to connect to roads and would take quite a bit
of road work, so it is a much bigger issue than just the bridge.
Mayor Olson stated appreciation for the opportunity for discussion. He stated that Laurel has the
charge to find the additional funding needed. The council could borrow up to five years on the
$200,000 to create additional funding for the $2.08 million.
Stefan stated that there was discussion a year ago about possibly generating funds and at least
pursuing the design in case funding would become available. MDT is willing to work with the city.
There was discussion regarding whether Laurel is unique in this situation and how similar issues were
resolved. The Belgrade interchange has private, federal and state funds. For Johnson Lane,
Lockwood contributed over half a million dollars to get that project started so the highway department
would build that interchange. Stefan stated that MDT looks at the need and the betterment, and MDT
typically addresses the need. Communities typically pick up anything that MDT does not disturb in a
project that needs to be bettered. Zoo Drive connects to Shiloh Road, which was always the intent of
the project. Shiloh Road was phase two of that big project to build a new access into the city.
Emelie asked regarding urban routes and West Railroad and whether the city submitted an urban route
project this year.
Gary stated that no project has been submitted. Kurt Markegard recently asked about the process to
submit an urban route project. Gary explained that the city needs to decide which roads it wants for
the capital improvement, complete the city's approval process, get approval from Yellowstone County
and submit the project to MDT.
Mayor Olson stated that staff has been discussing the urban fund project, but a transportation study is
needed to identify the needs and to give a focal point on the direction the council would like to see the
city go.
Gary gave information on projects MDT has planned in Laurel for the next five years. He spoke
regarding the Rockvale /Laurel project, two safety projects on Secondary 532 (Lipp Road), the Laurel
South mill and overlay project between the interstate and the bridge, the CTEP sidewalk project on
East Main Street, and the current guard rail project on the interstate. There was discussion regarding
control of weeds by the guard rail and the maintenance process, as well as the gate system and the
turnouts in the guard rail project.
Gary addressed two questions voiced by Scott Reiter from the school district. Scott had asked about
the possibility of having a four -way light or a four -way stop to control traffic at the intersection of
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Maryland and First Avenue and a reduction in the speed limit from 25 to 15 mph on First Avenue
during school hours because of the traffic and the children going to school in the area.
Gary stated that the department could do an official traffic study, which takes about a year to do. The
city would need to send MDT a letter requesting a traffic study. The MDT traffic engineer looked at
the site recently. Gary explained that other things need to be looked at first to help remedy the
problem because a signal is put in as a last resort. A signal has its own issues, as it creates accidents
and rear end collisions. The traffic engineer suggested having the buses use the intersection at First
Avenue and Sixth Street and having law enforcement or flaggers stop traffic for the buses.
Norm mentioned that this question was prompted when the school district agreed with the city not to
run the buses down East Sixth Street because of the deterioration of the street. The buses that used to
run there and used the four -way stop on First Avenue and Sixth Street now run on Maryland, which
resulted in a lot more bus traffic across First Avenue at Maryland.
There was discussion regarding placing traffic control signals on arterial routes, the fact that years ago
East and West Maryland Lanes were declared an arterial route from the west side of Laurel over to the
east side of Laurel on Yard Office. There was further discussion regarding urban, secondary, and
primary routes, the need to meet warrants as established by MUTCB (Manual Uniform Traffic
Control) in order to install traffic control lights, requirements for a four -way stop controlled
intersection, and the need for a traffic study.
Mayor Olson stated that the City of Laurel needs to have a traffic study in order to identify the traffic
flows to determine what would be best for the city as it goes forward in mitigating its traffic issues.
Gary spoke regarding the possibility of a stop light at Railroad Street and First Avenue on the south
side of the underpass. He stated that it would not be a good idea because cars would stack up to the
southbound intersection and there is not good site distance. He suggested that the city could ask MDT
to review it when a letter is sent to MDT.
There was a lengthy discussion regarding the intersection at Main Street and First Avenue, issues with
left hand turns, issues with vehicles going around left - turning vehicles to go straight, congestion at
Railroad Street and First Avenue, communication between the stoplights, the possibility of timing the
stoplights even though they are not connected, not allowing a left hand turn off First Avenue onto
Railroad Street, the need for a study of the whole traffic network, and the pros and cons of having an
island or pork chop at the intersection of Main Street and First Avenue.
Gary and Stefan both reiterated the need for the City of Laurel to write a letter to request a traffic
study.
• Resolution — Water and sewer right -of -way fees for the General Fund
Mayor Olson stated that the first two years of the right -of -way fees were adopted in 2009, and the city
is entering the third and fourth years. The Review of Administrative Cost Allocation System &
Development of a Right -of -Way Rental Charge was formulated by Miral Gamradt. The right -of -way
fees were $125,000 the first year and $175,000 the second year. The fees will be $225,000 the third
year and $275,000 the fourth year. The monies are generated from the right -of -way fee collected by
the amount of square feet of water and sewer lines in a road. When the council adopted the study, it
just elected to approve the first two steps, and he asked the council to consider the next two steps at
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the next council meeting. A copy of the right -of -way rental charge document will be put in Bruce
McGee's mailbox.
• Resolution — Bus Transit Grant Drug and Alcohol Policy
Mayor Olson stated that, since the bus transit is a federally funded program, it requires drug testing
according to federal mandates. The bus driver, dispatch and mechanic would be required to fall under
this policy, but the city needs to adopt the policy before administering the drug and alcohol testing.
• Resolution — Task order with Great West Engineering regarding Laurel Cemetery
Mayor Olson stated that the CIP project is for an irrigation system that would run water from the ditch
and pump the water up to the cemetery to irrigate the property.
Chuck Rodgers, Cemetery Commission Chairman, stated that the project has been in the making for
many years. The project would be broken down into a couple phases, depending on the amount of
money available. The engineering study and design from the pump up to the cemetery grounds are
needed first. A pump should handle the proposed 6 -inch or possible 8 -inch service line.
Mayor Olson stated that the Cemetery Commission has worked on this project for many years, and
the irrigation system will greatly enhance the city's ability to maintain the cemetery.
• Resolution — Contract for imagery on unmarked burial locations at the Laurel Cemetery
Mayor Olson stated the contract for imaging of unmarked burial locations at the Laurel Cemetery.
The original quote was for $6,560.00, and additional area was added for an added cost of $1,134.00.
The total cost will be $7,694.00.
Chuck Rodgers stated that the two areas are at the second entrance into the cemetery. The smaller
area is about 130 x 60 feet. There are three known gravesites in there, but a large amount of area
could be utilized. The city needs to know if it is available because of the pauper graves. The other
area is the section north from the roadway all the way down on the north side. Both areas could be
utilized to keep the cemetery more uniform than trying to open up a new area. Imaging the areas will
provide information for current and future burial sites, as well as information for installation of the
irrigation system.
• Resolution — Compensation levels for the Laurel Ambulance Service
Mayor Olson stated that the compensation levels have been budgeted the last three years, but a
resolution was not presented to authorize the expenditure. The current budget includes the increases
in compensation and the council adopted the budget. The council needs to approve a resolution in
order for payroll to start processing the increases.
There was discussion regarding appropriation versus authorization of the compensation increases,
why the ambulance director's salary was not included in the list, extra funds that remained in the
ambulance budget, and the challenge to budget for responding agencies that have an unknown number
of actual events.
• Resolution — CAO Contract
Mayor Olson stated that Heidi Jensen, who has been the interim CAO, has signed the five -year
contract. The contract includes yearly compensation of $67,500 and a monthly contribution of $85 to
her 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. If the Mayor lets the employee go for no just cause, the
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employee would be eligible for four months of compensation. Mayor shall evaluate the employee
annually and the employee agrees to be available after hours by either cell phone or telephone for the
purposes of notification. Mayor Olson asked the council to consider the contract for the CAO
position.
• Update on East/West Railroad speed study
Mayor Olson asked the council to review the speed study for discussion at the next council workshop.
• Council Issues:
o Solar powered streetlights (Emelie Eaton / Mark Mace)
Emelie explained that a resident by the footbridge had asked her about lighting at the footbridge. The
idea of a solar powered street light was brought up because there is no electricity in that area.
Mark stated that the solar streetlights in Billings are not solely solar, as they aid the electrical output.
Emelie will give the information to the resident.
o Request Fire Department to burn area surrounding the footbridge (Chuck Dickerson)
Mayor Olson has not presented the request to the fire department yet.
Other items
There were none.
Review of draft council agendas:
• October 4, 2011
Chuck Rodgers will let the council secretary know the date of the next Cemetery Commission
meeting.
• October 11, 2011 — Special Council Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
o Public Hearing: Notice of proposed levy of special assessments in Special
Improvement District No. 112 and Special Improvement District No. 113
Mayor Olson stated that the public hearing is for Special Improvement District No. 112 and Special
Improvement District No. 113. The two SID's have already had public hearings, but the state is
requiring a second public hearing.
Attendance at the October 4, 2011 council meeting
Chuck Rodgers will not attend the meeting.
Announcements
Norm announced that the Park Board will hold a public informational meeting on the possibility of a
spray park on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The board members have worked hard to prepare for the meeting
and it will be very interesting.
Chuck Rodgers mentioned that there is a screen over the generator at Murray Park.
Emelie asked for discussion and clarification of the urban route and why the council was asked if it
wanted a road put as an urban route and nothing came of it. She stated that Kurt Markegard asked
about the steps to nominate an urban route for reconstruction, but when she asked Gary Neville if
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Laurel has an urban route project, he stated that Laurel does not. She asked to be updated as to what
fell through the cracks.
Mayor Olson stated that nothing fell through the cracks. He explained that the city's $2.08 million in
urban funds should have been spent on 8 Avenue. When ARRA funds were used for the project, the
city's urban funds remained in the fund. There has been discussion whether the council wanted to
nominate an urban route project to MDT. The nominating process involves a couple things. First, the
city has to have the funding and the necessity for the project. Then MDT evaluates the nomination to
determine if it meets the criteria for a nominated urban route. Nomination of the urban route project
is the council's decision, whether it would be used for access across the railroad or for West Railroad
Street. The city did not hurry to nominate a project because the city does not have enough urban
funds to complete it. The council could elect to bond out five years of the allocation, which is
$202,000 per year or an additional $1 million. Eighth Avenue was a unique set of circumstances, and
the city only paid for the cost of the water and sewer lines.
Emelie asked if West Railroad was taken off the table because of the improvements that were made to
it.
Mayor explained that West Railroad was never taken off and it was never put on. Staff thought that
would be the next recommendation for an urban fund project, but it was never finalized. The city
council will make the final decision.
Emelie stated that she thought the architect's plans for the ambulance addition at the FAP were
complete. However, someone told her that the doors are not high enough for the ambulances.
Mayor Olson explained that the plans for the addition were reviewed many times. The width of the
doors had been discussed often, but the needed height was not recognized. When the ambulance
director informed him that the doors needed to be higher for newer ambulances, he contacted the
architect. The architect said it could be done by raising the whole roof. The side walls are large pre-
built panels that are a sandwich board of concrete and insulation. In order to change that, the addition
would not have been built this year. Mayor Olson asked the architect about raising the header. That
could not be done because the amount of roll on the door is up against what is needed for the height of
the building, and redesigning the plans would be an additional large cost. The option of using a
mechanism that is not as articulating so it would be a sharper radius turn would save six inches, but
those traditionally require high maintenance. After further discussion with the ambulance director,
she informed the mayor that the city could just buy the special order boxes for the ambulances to
accommodate the doors. Another six inches will be gained from the grade needed to accommodate
water flow away from the building. Mayor Olson mentioned that the override for the project was due
to the cost to hook up to the existing exhaust system at the fire department.
Emelie stated that she hoped having doughnuts from the chief of police would not be the only
acknowledgement for the ambulance addition at the FAP. She suggested that an open house would be
appropriate.
Mayor Olson stated that the large meeting room in the addition would be available for civic events.
Mayor Olson explained that Williston -Basin informed recently informed the city that they need to be
in the river in Riverside Park to remove a gas line that blew up a couple years ago. ExxonMobil
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hopes to be out of the park by December 1s and Williston -Basin would not likely be in the park until
after that. Mayor Olson will meet with Williston -Basin representatives tomorrow. Williston -Basin
does not really know where their pipe is coming out or the width of their easement. If another
easement is required, that provides an opportunity for compensation for the City of Laurel since
Williston -Basin will also be opening up a hole in the park that would necessitate the closure of the
park again. Staff is working on an easement for Williston -Basin to remove the pipe.
The council workshop adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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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