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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 07.15.1997Minutes of the City Council of Laurel July 15, ~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 7:00 p.m., on July 15, 1997. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Gay Easton Bud Johnson Norman Orr Dirk Kroll Gary Temple Donna Kilpatrick William Staudinger COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Miles Walton INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Kroll. MINUTES: Motion by Alderwoman KilDatrick to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of July 1, 1997, as presented, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried 7--0. Motion by Alderman Orr to approve the minutes of the special meeting of July 3, 1997, as presented, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried Motion by Alderman Easton to approve the minutes of the special meeting of July 8, 1997, as presented, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 7--0. CORRESPONDENCE: Received a letter from Cenex requesting that the City of Laurel grant Cenex the right to tap into the "T" installed per the agreement dated March 20, 1997. Received a memo from the Montana League of Cities and Towns. Received the June minutes from the Yellowstone City-County Board of Health. Received the June minutes and activity report from the Air Pollution Control Board. CTEP SIDEWALK BID: Jim Flisrand distributed to the council members a summary of 9, 1997. The city received four bids with the low bid engineer's estimated bid. bids opened on July being within the He recommended the city council approve Rock Pile, Inc.'s bid of $39,867.00 for the construction of curb and gutter, sidewalk and wheelchair ramps throughout the city. This is the city's first CTEP project approved by the state. Motion by Alderwoman KilDatrick to approve Rock Pile, Inc.'s bid of $39,867.00 for construction of curb and gutter, sidewalk and wheelchair ramps throughout the city, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. ADOPT PRELIMINARY BUDGET & TAX RESOLUTIONS: A public hearing will be held on the preliminary budget, August 5, 1997. A special council meeting will be held August 11, 1997 to adopt the final budget and tax resolutions. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to adopt the 1997-1998 preliminary budget, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 7--0. RESOLUTION NO. R97-30 BEING A RESOLUTION LEVYING TAXES FOR GENERAL AND SPECIFIC PURPOSES FOR THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY, 1997 Motion by Alderman Kroll that Resolution No. R97-30 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 7--0. RESOLUTION NO. R97-31 BEING A RESOLUTION LEVYING AND ASSESSING ALL OF THE PROPERTY EMBRACED WITHIN THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA, FOR STREET MAINTENANCE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1997-98 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of July 15, 1997 Motion by Alderwoman KilDatrick that Resolution No. R97-31 be passed adopted seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried 7--0. RESOLUTION NO. R97-32 BEING A RESOLUTION LEVYING AND ASSESSING ALL OF THE PROPERTY EMBRACED WITHIN SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT LIGHT NO. 2 OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA, WITH THE ENTIRE COST OF MAINTENANCE AND ELECTRICAL CURRENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, 1997-98 Motion by Alderman Kroll that Resolution No. R97-32 be passed and seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. RESOLUTION NO. R97-33 and adopted, BEING A RESOLUTION LEVYING AND ASSESSING ALL OF THE PROPERTY EMBRACED WITHIN SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT LIGHT NO. 3 OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA, WITH THE ENTIRE COST OF MAINTENANCE AND ELECTRICAL CURRENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, 1997-98 Motion by Alderman Orr that Resolution No. R97-33 be passed and seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried 7--0. RESOLUTION NO. R97-34 BEING A RESOLUTION LEVYING AND ASSESSING ALL OF THE PROPERTY EMBRACED WITHIN STREET SWEEPING DISTRICT NO. 1, OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA, FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE SWEEPING OF STREETS IN THE DOWNTOWN OR BUSINESS DISTRICT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1997-98 Motion by Alderman Orr that Resolution No. R97-34 be passed and seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. RESOLUTION NO. R97-35 A RESOLUTION LEVYING AND ASSESSING ALL OF THE PROPERTY EMBRACED WITHIN SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 100 OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA, WITH THE COST OF CURB, GUTTER, PAVING, WATER & SEWER IN MOGAN SUBDIVISION Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that Resolution No. R97-35 be passed adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. RESOLUTION NO. R97-36 A RESOLUTION LEVYING AND ASSESSING ALL OF THE PROPERTY EMBRACED WITHIN SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 110 OF THE CITY OF LAUREL, MONTANA, WITH TIIE COST OF STREET PAVING, CURB AND GUTTER, AND STORM DRAIN FACILITIES IN HURRAY HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION Motion by Alderman Johnson that Resolution No. R97-36 be passed adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. LARSEN CONSULTANT SERVICES AGREEMENT: RESOLUTION NO. R97-37 A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF LAUREL AND RICHARD LARSEN ASSOCIATES, RELATING TO CONSULTING SERVICES AND TRAINING adopted, adopted, and and Motion by Alderman Orr that Resolution No. R97-37 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of July 15, 1997 REGULATING POLITICAL OR CAMPAIGN SIGNS: ORDINANCE NO. 097-4 (second reading) ORDINANCE REGULATING POLITICAL OR CANPAIGN SIGNS Public Hearing: No comments. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to close the public hearing, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 6--1, with Alderman Kroll voting "No". Motion by Alderman Kroll to table Ordinance No. 097-4, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 6--1, with Alderman Temple voting Alderman Johnson asked if it would be permissible for the person in the audience with information regarding the regulating of political or campaign signs to comment and offer the information to the council, later in the meeting? The information can be heard during the "Comments from the Audience". CAN'YON CREEK SUBDIVISION PLAT: Cal Cumin stated the Canyon Creek Subdivision is a preliminary plat, a minor plat subdivision of two lots that have been recommended to the council for approval by the Planning Board. The property belongs to Bean Rankin on South 4th Street where the Expert Lube, Inc. is located. The rest of the site is not being subdivided at this time. Recommended approval is subject to the deletion of "County" signature blocks on this plat. It is a city plat so they request that the reference to the county be taken off and a provision made for signatures by the City of Laurel. Motion by Alderman Easton to approve the Canyon Creek Subdivision preliminary plat, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. COMMITTEE REPORTS: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of July 1, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of July 1, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 7--0. --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of July 8, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of July 8, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of July 1, 1997 were presented. Motion by Alderman Easton to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of July 1, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. --City-County Planning Board minutes of July 10, 1997 were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the City-County Planning Board minutes of July 10, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. Home Occupation - Kathy Ellestad Kathy Ellestad, 505 4th Avenue, has applied to run a day care in her home. She is licensed through the state for 12 kids which is determined by the square footage of the home. She has eight kids now, four of them are her own. She has operated her day care for three and one half years and has never had a complaint until she put a sign in her yard that was too large. She received a letter that read in order to operate a day care facility for children, she must go through the city's home occupation permit process. Motion by Alderwoman KilDatrick to grant a home occupation to Kathy Ellestad to have a day care in her home, seconded by Alderman Easton. Motion carried 6--1, with Alderman Johnson voting "No". Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of July 15, 1997 --Fourth of July Critique minutes of July 8, 1997 were presented informational purposes only. for Alderman Kroll stated that Alderwoman Kilpatrick has done a commendable job as chairman of the Fourth of July Committee and the Park Committee. --Park Committee minutes of July 10, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman KilDatrick to enter the Park Committee minutes of July 10, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 7--0. --Police Committee minutes of July 14, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Kroll to enter the Police Committee minutes of July 14, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. --Public Utilities Committee minutes of July 14, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Orr summer months, due to a leaky carried 7--0. to adjust Jerel Cellmer's sewer average for the toilet, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion Alderman Kroll questioned why Dave Michael had voted "no" at the Public Utilities Committee? Alderman Orr replied that Dave voted "no" because the water went down the sewer. It was discussed that Jerel Cellmet paid for the water and sewer at the time of the leak. The adjustment would be for the average during the summer months. This is a normal procedure. Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the Public Utilities Committee minutes of July 14, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Gall Kenson - Political and Campaign Signs Cal Cumin introduced Gall Kenson, a professional planner from the Billings-Yellowstone County Planning Board. She is an expert on signs, from billboards on the highway to campaign signs. She is the enforcement officer and the administrator for sign codes for both Billings and Yellowstone County. Gall was invited by a Laurel councilman to discuss procedures that the City of Billings uses regarding political signs. During the campaign season, their codes read one sign per lot, per parcel, a maximum of 32 square feet in size and must be placed on private property, only with permission of private property owners. Signs within the public right-of-ways are removed. In the Yellowstone County jurisdictional area, one sign is allowed during campaign season, 16 square feet in size per lot. Also, no signs are allowed in public right-of-ways. Political signs are a very sensitive issue that deal with freedom of speech as do commercial signs. There are numerous sign violations in the City of Billings and Yellowstone County during campaign season. People have had more than one sign but she does not regulate or enforce that section of the sign code. Last campaign season, they had federal, state, local elections, school boards, and initiatives so people probably had four or five signs in their yards. What was enforced were signs in public right-of-ways. The main reason is because of liability issues. If a sign is placed higher up on a fence post and a car runs into it causing damage or injury to a person, then the City of Billings would be liable for that obstruction in public right-of-ways. The only signs that they discussed with owners of private property were signs that were blocking the view within intersections. This would be another liability issue, if people were not able to see during turning movements. Other than these two issues, they did not enforce the sign code. It would have taken several people to do the job. Alderman Kroll said there was a question on enforcement. Does she first send a letter saying the sign is in the wrong spot? Gall stated she had sent a letter to both the Democratic and Republican parties and to every candidate that registered, giving them the guide lines for sign placement and offered her time to go to a particular site to help them determine the right-of-ways location. If there is no curb, gutter, or sidewalk, it is sometimes difficult to determine that particular point. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of July 15, 1997 Alderman Johnson asked what their response was or if they had any requests from a citizen complaining about too many signs in someone else's yard? She said this was not a complaint that she has had. Her biggest complaint comes from the candidates about signs being stolen. She does not know if the candidates were stealing each others signs or if it was kids stealing them. She had complaints from the general public on not liking a particular sign and asking to have it removed. She can sometimes have it removed and sometimes cannot. If the sign pertains to the code, then it is legal. Alderman Easton asked about placing signs on a chain link fence or cedar fence post. Gall stated the sign must be fastened in a manner that it is not loose and flying in the wind. They do permit signs being attached to a fence. They exclude campaign signs that are placed on billboards. Ken Hagsman - Storm Drain Ken Hageman of Hageman Elevator, 220 ~est Main, expressed concern about the damage to main street businesses from the periodic floods. The problem should have been solved around 1985 when the new storm drain was installed on main street to collect this water. He feels the problem would have been solved if the storm drain had been taken care of. He asked if any of the councilmen have been south of town to see where it drains into an open ditch. He stated that the ditch is full of grass, cat tails, cottonwood trees, many other types of growth and trash that prevents drainage. There have been a few dry days and the storm drain should be completely dry, but the outlet is half full of water because it cannot drain properly. There is a five foot drain and half of the capacity has been lost because of neglect. When the Highway Department would not clean out their drain and shut it off, the city permitted them to pump the water into the city drain that the city taxpayers pay for. This further eliminated the capacity that the city had to get rid of storm water. The underpass is not only pumping surface water, but there is perforated pipes under there, so it is collecting ground water and pumping it into the storm drain. Ken feels there was a lot of damage from the last flood that could have been prevented. First, half the capacity has been lost from not maintaining the ditch and then the city permits another entity to dump their water in there, further reducing the capacity that should be handling the city's storm water. He realizes the city has a hard time finding funds for maintenance projects, but it seems funds are spent for planning projects. He cannot understand what good these future plans are going to do when the city does not maintain what they already have. Ken hopes the city can do something about the storm drain problem because it is a pitiful situation and it is completely uncalled for, installing a wonderful storm drain and then lose the benefits from it by not taking care of it. Jim Flisrand stated that it is cleaned periodically and he will review the situation. APPOINTMENTS: Mayor Rodgets re-appointed Marilyn Minch to the Library Board. The term expires June 30, 2002. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to confirm the re-appointment of Marilyn Minch to the Library Board, through June 30, 2002, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 7--0. Mayor Rodgets re-appointed Bob Spannagle to the Airport Authority. Motion by Alderman Orr to confirm the re-appointment of Bob Spannagle to the Airport Authority for a five year term, expiring June 30, 2002, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. Mayor Rodgets appointed Jim Flisrand to the Yellowstone Conservation District. Motion by Alderman Orr to confirm the Yellowstone Conservation District, seconded appointment of Jim Flisrand to the by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of July 15, 1997 ~AYOR'S COMMENTS: The council directed the Mayor to have Vicki Metzger, City Treasurer, attend the Council of the Whole meeting on August 5, 1997 at 6:00 p.m. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at ?:52 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 5th day of August, 1997. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk C~arles Rodger~'~''