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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 09.16.1997Minutes of the City Council of Laurel September 16, 1997 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Chuck Rodgets at 7:05 p.m., on September 16, 1997. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Miles Walton Bud Johnson Norman Orr Dirk Kroll Gary Temple Donna Kilpatrick William Staudinger Gay Easton COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Johnson. MINUTES: Motion by Alderman Orr to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of September 2, 1997, as presented, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to approve the meeting of September 4, 1997, as presented, seconded carried 8--0. minutes of the by Alderman Orr. special Motion CORRESPONDENCE: Received a copy of a letter to Vicki Metzger from City Attorney V. JoeLeckie. Received a memo from the Montana League of Cities & Towns regarding the quarterly environmental meeting, which has been rescheduled to Tuesday, October 7, 1997 in Helena. Received a memo from the Montana Water Environment Association regarding workshops. Received the August minutes and activity report from the Air Pollution Control Board. CITY CLEHK'S AND CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk's and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of August were presented. Motion by Alderwoman KilDatrick that the City Clerk's and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of August, be approved, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. DARRELL MCGILLEN - OUTDOOR EVENT: Dartell McGillen requested the council's permission to hold an outdoor event between the Palace Bar & Lanes and Laurel Auto Parts. He said that the Palace Bar & Lanes and Jan's IGA is sponsoring a 50's promotion, with a 50's "Rock-n-Roll" on Friday evening, October 3, 1997. This being the twentieth year of Elvis Presley's death, they have contracted an Elyis impersonator out of Las Vegas who will be in town on Friday and Saturday. They are asking permission to host an evening of entertainment in the lot between the Palace Bar & Lanes and Laurel Auto Parts, which is private property. The area will be blocked off from the front and the back. The event will last from 8:00 p.m, to 12:30 a.m. There will be live music with the Elvis impersonator doing two performances. Admission is by ticket invitation only. They are asking permission to have alcoholic beverages sold and to waive the open container law for this event. The event takes place on private property and there will be no transfer of liquor on public property. It will be contained in the area. Joe Leckie, City Attorney said he does not see any problem with it. Motion by Alderman Walton to grant permission to hold an outdoor event between the Palace Bar & Lanes and Laurel Auto Parts and to waive the open container law, as long as it is is blocked off and does not extend on public property, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 8--0. DARRELL MCGILLEN - HOMECOMING FIREWORKS DISPLAY: Darrell also asked for the council's permission to have a fireworks display at the Homecoming football game, October 10, 1997. Booster Club is the sponsors for the Homecoming event and has asked the firemen to do the display. The insurance Page Z Council Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Meeting of September 16, 1997 Motion by Alderman Orr to grant permission to have a fireworks display at the Homecoming football game, October 10, 1997, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 8--0. COMMUNITY CRIME PREVENTION Alan Hovious, Police Chief, asked the council's permission to close West 1st Street, between First and Second Avenues on October 4, 1997 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. They will have booths and displays set up for crime prevention. There will be a DARE vehicle, crimestoppers race car, Laurel city police cars, a Montana Highway Patrol car with a demonstration of the effectiveness of seat belts, and etc. There will be booths along the curb with information and material from crime related groups, such as neighborhood watch, domestic violence, etc. They will serve hamburgers and hot dogs with the proceeds going to the Crime Prevention Council. They are looking into having a dunking tank. The fire trucks will be on the west end of the blocked street so they can get out easily if they are called. The water stand pipe will be blocked from usage. Andy Leebe stated he could see no problem with this because most people know they can get water at Fox's, as they have done when the stand pipe is being repaired. Motion by Alderman Kroll to grant permission to close West 1st Street, between First and Second Avenues on October 4, 1997 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the Community Crime Prevention, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 8--0. CHURCH OF GOD PROPHECY - CLOSE EAST 8TH STREET: Glenn Ford, Church of God Prophecy youth leader and also the youth coordinator for the state of Montana, asked the council's permission to have John Morgan, a stunt man do a "Jump for God" as part of their activities for the youth. John Morgan stated he has been a professional stunt man for nearly eighteen years. He lives in Billings and has a ministry program that is done for the youth. He explained that he does long distance ramp to ramp bicycle jumping. He is towed up to speed by a motorcycle and then goes off a take off ramp, jumps over cars, crashes through a flaming wall and lands on a landing ramp. He stated he has never had a problem and no one else has ever been injured in his programs, He has his own crew and the best equipment. They are asking to do a stunt program on October 18, 1997 at 6:00 p.m. The street will need to be blocked off three hours prior to the program for setup. He feels he can do the program successfully and safely on East 8th Street. They want to bring a positive message to the youth in the community. His motivation is to offer an alternative to what kids are seeing on TV and the drugs in the schools. He has held the record for long distance ramp to ramp bicycle jumping. He is not charging any fee to put on a world class stunt program. The program will take about an hour. He works closely with the law enforcement and the fire department. He chose the location because it is close to the park where other activities will be taking place during the day. The location provides plenty of room for spectators. They will contact the school board for their approval and will provide proof of insurance when they know they have permission to perform the jump. Motion by Alderman Johnson to grant permission to close East 8th Street for the Church of God of Prophecy to hold a stunt program "Jump for God" with the stipulation that they get approval from the school board and that they provide proof of insurance, a minimum of 48 hours prior to the event, seconded by Alderman Temple. Discussion regarding fire code techniques and criteria that they will have to meet. John Morgan stated they are aware of the fire department meeting on Wednesday and are willing to meet with Jim Stevens. Discussion regarding crowd control. John works with DARE and hopes to get them involved. He said it can be a good community program by involving the police bicycle patrol and the police reserves. Chief Hovious stated the department would like to help and be included in any coordination of the program. Discussion regarding clean up. John stated they would be accountable for the cleanup. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of September 16, 1997 It was suggested that they contact the American Legion Baseball regarding using the athletic field. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. PUBLIC HEARING - CTEP PROJECT: This being the time and place advertised, a public hearing was held. Cal Cumin stated that the purpose of the public hearing is to hear proposals for using CTEP monies that the state has allocated for the City of Laurel. He went over eligible activities under this program. The only proposal received was from the Laurel Lion's Club for the South Pond project. Cal mentioned that the city stands to loose $58,000.00 in CTEP funds if they do not have a project into the state by October 1, 1997. The city has committed $3,500.00 to helping the Lion's project. The Lion's Club has $3,500.00 for the project. This is a $7,000.00 match, which is 13.42% Cal distributed copies of the cost of the South Pond project. Part of the project is designed as preliminary engineering since the Lion's Club plans to do a lot of the work themselves. There is also construction engineering which requires an engineering architect to oversee the project because it is federal money. Other estimated costs are for underground sprinkler, a pathway, fencing, parking area, restrooms, and picnic shelters. The community plans to add, as it can afford it, lighting and continual improvements to the landscaping to include a natural area, probably for memorial plantings. The community and the county will also be involved in stabilizing the bank along Eight Avenue. The tentative time frame for building the improvements will be the summer of 1998. Proponents: Byron Guenthner, a member of the the Laurel Lion's Club, said they have definitely made a commitment to this project. It has been about 2 1/2 years since the initial proposal. They have worked with the support of the city and feel it will be a good addition to the community. He stated, as Cal did, if we do not do something now, we will loose a lot of money in order to help the project along. They hope to talk to other corporate people in the community and other service clubs to participate in this project. He feels if they can get others as enthused as the Lion's Club, then the project can move along smoothly. Alderman Walton stated that the Lion's Club attended a Park Committee meeting nearly a year ago. The committee agreed to the idea of improving South Pond. The Lion's Club has put a sincere effort towards the project and can do nothing but justice to the community. It will give the City of Laurel something to be proud of. Mayor Rodgers agreed it would be an asset to the community. Alderwoman Kilpatrick spoke in favor of the importance of having an underground irrigation system. In the past, people have planted trees and they always die because of having to haul water to the trees. Cal stated that the pond needsto be deepened. The Fish and Wildlife stock it with fish every year but there is tremendous fish kill because it is so shallow. He feels it should be dredged but that is very expensive. The dredging material could be used on the banks. Opponents: None Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Staudin~er to approve CTEP funds for the Laurel Lion's Club to Alderman Walton. Motion carried 8--0. the application to the state for improve South Pond, seconded by INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT - MULTIJURISDICTIONAL HEALTH SERVICE: RESOLUTION NO. R97-49 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF LAUREL, CITY OF BILLINGS, AND YELLOWSTONE COUNTY CREATING A MULTIJURIS- DICATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE PENDING APPROVAL OF THE OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of September 16, 1997 Alderman Kroll stated that Commissioner Bill Kennedy did a fine job in explaining the resolution on the interlocal agreement. He feels it will be good for Laurel and will give the health department more flexibility. Alderman Walton thanked Alderman Kroll for the literature he provided. It was very informative on what the Board of Health does and what the health service district will be. He appreciates Alderman Kroll's time and effort for the Health Board. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. ZONE CHANGE - NORTH SCHOOL LOT: Cal Cumin stated that the City-County Planning Board recommends denial of the application from Ricci's for a zone change on the north school lot. The Planning Board's recommendation will be listed in the public hearing notice that is advertised for two weeks by the city. The council will then vote on the zone change after the public hearing. Alderman Temple proposed that the next week to educate the they can proceed. the council have an informational workshop within council and make them aware of all the issues so Motion by Alderman Temple to hold an informational workshop to educate the council on the issues of the zone change for the north school lot, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 8--0. Mayor Rodgets set the date for the informational workshop for Tuesday, September 23, 1997. Motion by Alderman Johnson to set the time for a public hearing at the next council meeting, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Discussion regarding the public hearing being delayed into November. The public hearing would have to be advertised before the next council meeting to be held on October 21, 1997, which is the earliest possible date. Alderman Johnson withdrew his motion and Alderman Kroll withdrew his second. Motion by Alderman Easton to set the public hearing for a zone change on the north school lot for October 21, 1997, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. Alderman Kroll questioned if the council has to vote on the issue the same night as the public hearing or can the vote be delayed until the next council meeting? Joe Leckie stated the council does not have to vote the same night as the public hearing. The public hearing can be held on October 21, 1997 and then be voted on November 4, 1997. COMMITTEE MINUTES: --BudKet/Finance Committee minutes of September 2, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter minutes of September 2, 1997, into the record, Motion carried 8--0. the Budget/Finance seconded by Alderman Committee Johnson. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of September 2, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman minutes of September 2, Motion carried 8--0. Orr to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Walton. --City-County Planning Board minutes of September 11, 1997 were presented. Motion by Alderwoman minutes of September 11, Motion carried 8--0. KilDatrick to enter the City-County Planning Board 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Discussion regarding home occupations appearing before the council at the time the City County Planning Board minutes are presented. It was mentioned that they should be reviewed by the council after they are put on the agenda. The public would then have the opportunity to know that it is an item that will be discussed at the council meeting. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of September 16, 1997 However, the three home occupation applicants that are at the council meeting tonight should not be delayed. The council will have to set a policy for the future and then act accordingly. Home Occupation - Diana Wham Diana Wham, 402 5th Avenue, has applied to run a day care in her home. will be a maximum of six children. She is licensed by the state. There Motion by Alderwoman KilDatrick to grant a home occupation to Diana Wham to have a day care in her home, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 8--0. Home Occupation - Laura Melton Laura Melton, 412 5th Avenue, has applied to baby-sit in her home. She will baby-sit three children and does not plan to be state approved for a day care. Motion by Alderman Easton to grant a home occupation to Laura Melton to baby-sit three children in her home, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 8--0. Home Occupation - Barbara Resser Barbara Resser, 314 Montana Avenue, has applied to sell items that she makes and restores out of her home. She would have stock on hand and customers coming to her home. She plans to use her porch to display the items. She would only be open on Fridays and Saturdays. She stated that she has only sold two items and made fifty dollars in the year that she has been doing it. She does not feel it is a matter of a lot of traffic to her house. Her house is half a block from the middle school. There is a physical therapist across the alley and A Haus of Realty is down the alley. She stated there is no regulations on garage sales and pointed out the number of cars that park around them. Barbara said her porch is a small area. One half is a work area for repair and fixing up of items she picks up at auctions or garage sales and the other half is the display of these items that she will sell. She wishes to have her items for sale only on Fridays and Saturdays because she works the other days of the week. She mentioned she would not like the idea of having garage sales, because then she would have the rush of people and does not have the area for it. Therefore, she wishes to go with home sales. Cal Cumin stated that the ordinance reads, if wares are displayed for sale in the home then it does not qualify as home occupation. Barbara then has a store, even though it is a small store. The City-County Planning Board recommended denial of this home occupation due to customers, stock on hand, and goods displayed. Discussion regarding this issue not being a home occupation, but requiring a zone change. Cal stated there would have to be at least a city block in size before someone can apply for a zoning change, unless they are adjacent to a commercial zone and can expand out. Alderman Temple questioned if this is spot zoning and not island zoning? Cal stated he would have to analyze it. it. Motion by Alderman Temple to table the home occupation until Cal researches Motion died for lack of a second. Joe Leckie, City Attorney, stated the ordinance reads that the council shall approve or deny the request at the meeting. Cal gave some background on home occupations. Home occupations are designed for something that does not change the character of the neighborhood. It is not designed for commercial establishments, where such commercial establishments are provided elsewhere in the zone ordinance. If someone wants to put in a store, there are commercial areas in town for that kind of an operation. Motion by Alderman Johnson to deny a home occupation to Barbara Resser, seconded by Alderman Temple. Motion carried 8--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of September 16, 1997 COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Mike Zuhoski - Police Reserves Mike Zuhoski, Police Sergeant, commented that in the last few months the police reserve program have donated over a thousand hours. The majority has been done by six reserves. Since school has started the other sixteen have been working more. They are now taking application for more reserve officers. The quarterly hours could be from fifteen to eighteen hundred hours. Ward I Meetin~ Alderman Kroll announced the Ward I meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 1, 1997 at the South School from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. There should be no problem in getting confirmation from the school. Alderman Kroll - Health Department Alderman Kroll also commented that has asked a representative from St. the council. with the Health Department restructuring he Vincent and Deaconess to come and talk to Workshop - Zonin~ Chan~e North School Lot Cal Cumin questioned if the informational workshop on Tuesday, September 1997, regarding zoning change of the north school lot, would be public? Joe Leckie stated that it is open to the public as an informational meeting, not for public input. but Neighborhood Watch Meetin~ Police Chief Hovious announced there will be a neighborhood watch meeting scheduled for September 18, 1997 for Ward I at the South School g~mnasium at 7:00 p.m. Mike Zuhoski - Neighborhood Watch Mike Zuhoski commended Police Chief Hovious for what he has done with the neighborhood watch. He has heard only positive remarks from his neighborhood and throughout the town about the change that Alan has done since he has come to Laurel. Vince Ricci - Ricci's Store Vince showed the council members pictures he had taken of a grocery store in Bozeman which is similar to the one he would like to build here in Laurel. It is located next to a residential area. He offered to take the council members to Bozeman to show them that the store can fit into a neighborhood. He feels the issue has gotten blown out of portion. It is the Town and Country Supermarket which is located on 19th Street in Bozeman. League of Cities & Towns Meeting Don Hackmann announced he has registration forms for the League Towns annual conference, if anyone is interested in going. of Cities & APPOINTMENTS: None MAYORS COMMENTS: Mayor Rodgets announced there will be a survey on tourism done in our community. He mentioned that Mr. and Mrs. Arden have moved and the fire department is going to use the building for a training facility. Aviation week will soon be here and there will be a meeting on September 30, 1997 to get things started. The council will be kept informed. Mayor Rodgers noted the Nez Perce activities last weekend. A very nice ceremony was done at the monument site. Me noted that the new Baptist Church had a sermon last Sunday on public service that was very rewarding. Cal Cumin announced that there should be a visitor display area at Canyon Creek Battle Field by this time next year. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m. Donald L. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 7 Council Meeting of September 16, 1997 Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 7th day of October, 1997. Attest: Donald L. Hackmannl City Clerk Charles Rodgets, Ma.