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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 07.01.1997Minutes of the City Council of Laurel July 1, 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 1, 1997. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Miles Walton Bud Johnson Norman Orr Dirk Kroll Gary Temple Donna Ellpatrick William Staudinger Gay Easton COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Johnson. MINUTES: Motion by meeting of June carried 8--0. Alderwoman Kilpatrick to approve the minutes of the regular 17, 1997, as presented, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion CORRESPONDENCE: Received a copy of a letter to Mr. Steve Shawn Ellestad, Mr. Ron Boucher, and Mr. L. Director, regarding zoning violations. Solberg, Laurel Ford, Mr. and Mrs. Greg Trout, from Cal Cain, Planning Received a letter from Clay and Mary Jo Davenet regarding their concerns on the proposed amendment to Cherry Hill Subdivision, second filing. Received a letter from Bureau of Land Management regarding a land exchange. Received a letter from Bob and Bunny King protesting the building of a grocery store on the old north school lot. Received the June newsletter from MMIA. Received a letter from Wesley and Pam Thatcher expressing their concern regarding the development of the old north school lot. APPROVE 4TH OF JULY ACTIVITIES: Motion by Alderwoman Kilnatrick that the streets be closed for the July 3rd street dance which includes West First Street from the alley east of City Hall to Third Avenue, Second Avenue from Main Street to First Street, and the alleys between First Avenue and Third Avenue, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried 8--0. Motion by Alderman Kilpatrick that the streets be closed near Thomson Park for the July 4th activities which includes East Eighth from First Avenue to the alley east of the high school. A few parking spaces will be reserved for fireman on East Sixth street, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried 8--0. SPECIAL REVIEW - WARD SUBDIVISION: Cal Cumin stated the special review is for two personal care homes at Twelfth Street and Second Avenue, Block 1, Lots 12 and 13. A special review was required because the area is a residential zone and there were issues of set backs, access, parking, etc. The City/County Planning Board recommended approval to the city council. Mr. Swenson is proposing two separate units that basically look like large houses that will blend into the neighborhood, approximately forty-five hundred square feet per unit. Each home will house eleven elderly people and have a manager on site. Mr. Swenson showed a picture of the future personal care homes. He is currently operating two homes in Butte and has the third one under construction. He is affiliated with a franchise organization. There are six homes operating in Montana, at this time and there will be approximately a total of fourteen by the end of the summer. A resolution to approve annexation was approved at the city council meeting, June 3, 1997. Mr. Swenson said he has submitted a landscaping plan for the special review. The residents that came to the special review were proponents. The entrance to the homes will face Twelfth Street. There is a buy-sell on the property and construction will start about September. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 Motion by Alderman Walton to approve the special review for two personal care homes in the Ward Subdivision, subject to the requirements of the City/County Planning Board, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried PRELIMINARY PLAT - CHERRY HILL SUBDIVISION, 2ND FILING AMENDED: Cal Cumin stated the preliminary plat of Cherry Hill Subdivision was vacated by Mr. Cantroll. The subdivision had no requirements for any improvements of sidewalks, streets, etc. when it was platted. The proposed preliminary plat, 2nd filing amended, is supported by the Planning Board and recommended by Cal because this time there is an improvement agreement that requires the developer to put in paved streets, sidewalks with curb and gutter, etc. to the city's standards. A public hearing was held at the City/County Planning Board and approval was recommended for this preliminary plat. Ca1 recommended approval subject to adding "An addition to the City of Laurel" be put into the title of the preliminary plat. Also, that the preliminary plat shows the following items: adjacent property owners, adjacent land use to include ditches and house, adjacent subdivisions, zoning in and around the subdivision, utilities and hookup locations, topography at not more than two contours, addresses for lots and addition of lot eleven, which was left off the early drawing. Cal stated he has been given a corrected copy of the primarily plat and all the conditions have been met. The developer and surveyor were present at the council meeting for questions. Alderwoman Kilpatrick referred to a letter received from Clay and Mary Jo Davenet regarding concerns. She feels it pointed out some concerns that need to be discussed. The first is water pressure. Jim Flisrand stated a study was done when this plat was developed. The area was designed for water and sewer. The water pressure meets state requirements. The lines are of adequate size. He said the reason the pressure is low is because of the elevation and not because of volume. He stated these few additional homes will not make any significant difference. A booster station would improve the water pressure and is in the future planning of the city. Jim stated a study was also done on the sewer. The lines are adequate to take the normal sewer waste, but is not designed for storm water. HKM was the initial consultant and the entire design went through the state level. He does not foresee any problems. Jim addressed the third concern of uncontrolled traffic flow in the area. There will be a slight increase in traffic with the new homes. Maryland and Twelfth Street are the size to handle large volumes of traffic. The speed limit is 25 miles per hour and may require more patrolling at first. Cal cannot see a traffic problem with eleven new homes. The final concern with covenants and restrictions is that the new owners will not have to comply with the existing covenants. Cal stated that covenants and restrictions are owners and have nothing to do with the city. The covenants and restrictions. private contracts between land city does not get involved with Mary Jo Devener discussed her concerns with the covenants and restrictions. She said the covenants should be a process included with the subdivision improvement agreement and made a part of the preliminary plat. She pointed out that it protects the home owner and what goes on in the neighborhood. The only way to enforce it is through civil court. It allows neighbors and adjoining property owners to enforce restrictions such as collection of vehicles in the yard, size of the home, and number of trees in a yard. She is not asking the city to enforce it but require that these types of things b~ncluded in the preliminary plat. She said there will be eleven new lots in the city, a total of twenty-nine new homes in the area. Mary Jo spoke on the issue of traffic. Her concern is not the increased amount of traffic in the neighborhood, but as the streets are paved and there is no housing, the streets will become a race track. She addressed Jim and said she is glad he has no concerns on the water pressure. The plat is for eleven additional lots, but adding twenty-nine homes can significantly have an impact on the water. She replied that between seven and Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 3 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 her hair, It would seem that it would have to do with the volume of water in the lines as well. Her concern with the sewer was just because the study was done a number of years ago and she was wondering if the capacity would be there. Cal responded to the covenants. He said if the city feels that a proposed development does not meet certain standards, they can ask for covenants or ask developers what they are proposing to do. He feels, given the character of the neighborhood, the cost of these lots, and the improvements that are being put in, covenants are not a big issue. He said from his stand point, which is the planning stand point, he does not feel the developer will put tiny houses on these expensive lots because it will defeat the purpose. Cal stressed these are private things that do not involve the city. Covenants are not part of the city's administration. They can be included in the review, but again it is not a city issue. He clarified that before the council tonight are not twenty-nine homes but eleven homes, an eleven plat subdivision. He feels it is in the interest of the city to get these improvements put in. Carl Rookhauzin, developer, said they propose a minimum of a thousand square feet on the main floor or split entry. The intent is to propose covenants to be equal or better than the covenants now in the Cherry Hill Subdivision. It is believed that when the subdivision was abandoned, it did away with all restrictions. The area is well kept and this is why they have an interest in the area. Their intention is not to bring in modular homes or mobile homes. Joe Leckie, City Attorney, said the council does not have the right to create covenant restrictions or to impose them. The covenants can be reviewed as part of the review planning administrative authority. Motion by Alderman Walton to approve the preliminary plat of Cherry Hill Subdivision, 2nd filing amended, as recommended by City/County Planning Board, seconded by Alderman Temple. Motion cartled 8--0. COMMUNITY HOPE AMENDED AGREEMENT: Jim presented a review of Community Hope's building and site conditions, as directed by the city council. Last year the council discussed the concerns of Community Hope completing the requirements that were imposed on them to make it more compatible within the existing neighborhood. The council gave Community Hope a year to complete all the requirements and to go through a winter to see if a fence would be a nuisance in keeping the snow removed. On June 13, 1997, Jim, Alderman Easton, and Alderman Kroll did an inspection of Community Hope. The issues of concern were landscaping, lighting, fencing, sprinkling, drop-off facility and vehicular traffic. The landscaping requirement has been met. They anticipate additional rock and bushes within the next two months. All required lights are installed with one or two additional ones planned. Due to ease of parking, snow removal and general access, Community Hope would prefer not to install the six foot fence. With the entire backyard asphalted, the appearance is clean and neat. Fencing would not appear to serve any purpose at this time. Parking stall striping will be completed within the next two months. Sprinkling is not required due to building placement and construction. A fenced area will be built on the north side of the building for a drop-off facility to house larger items. Anticipated completion is two months. Current drop-off for small to medium items is located in the east wall of the building. Public traffic is restricted to a circular drive on the east side of the building, as intended. The primary issues of concern have been met and a few isolated concerns will be completed within two months. The only concern yet to be addressed is the initial plans to include a six foot cedar fence enclosing the entire backyard, which Community Hope would prefer not to install. Jim said that if anyone has visited the area, they would notice that it is clean. The only problem involves people unloading the larger items out in the open. This will be addressed with building a drop-off facility to house larger items. Alderman Kroll wanted to thank Community Hope, when discussing the concern of the fence, they were very accommodating, appreciative of his input, and helpful in deciding the logical conclusion to his concerns. Alderman Johnson referred to the item on the agenda, Community Hope amended agreement. The councilmen had in front of them a review and a copy of the agreement dated March 1, 1994. He asked how the process works, if the stipulation for the fence is changed, should the council be approving an amended agreement? Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 Cal Cumin pointed out that this was a special review process. At that time the Planning Board and Council put conditions on Community Hope to make it more compatible with the existing neighborhood. He feels that if the council is going to compromise on the conditions, they need to do it as part of a council effort. Cal is concerned about the fence because the idea to acquire a fence came from the neighborhood. Alderman Easton stated that before Community Hope was built, there were outside storage and freezers. Since then, donations have made it possible to have all the freezers and outside storage put inside the building. Therefore, there was nothing left outside which needed a fence to hide it. If the people protest the fact that there is no fence, then they are protesting what is in the agreement. The original intent of the fence was to hide something that is not there today. The problem with putting a fence up is snow removal. Re stated that Community Hope had originally volunteered to put the fence up to hide anything setting outside, it was not going to be put up for the neighbors. Discussion on whether an amendment to the agreement would have to be done through the City/County Planning review or if the council can modify the conditions that were put on the agreement. Cal is interested in hearing what the neighborhood would say about the issue. He would not like to see the council wrap this up and then in six months have someone ask what happened to fence that was to be put up. He suggested tabling the issue for another year. By letting the issue slide and if no problems appear within the neighborhood, it would be enough time to prove that the situation is fine without a fence. Alderman Kroll stated that concerns were from the residents living along Yellowstone Avenue and mostly from people dropping off large items outside, such as furniture. What people wanted was one area to be fenced off for these items. After reviewing Community Hope, he can see no problems at this time and does not think the neighbors would be concerned, however, he has not heard any comments lately. Ris concern was to keep the area cleaned up and it is being done. Alderman Johnson asked that the council wait another year and review it again in May, 1998. This would give enough time to determine if there will be more complaints or if an amended agreement should be approved. Motion by Alderman Johnson to continue to leave the special conditions in place and review it in May, 1998, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 8--0. RIVERSIDE PARK CAMPING FEES: RESOLUTION NO. R97-26 ESTABLISHING THE CAMPING FEES FOR RIVERSIDE PARK, LAUREL, MONTANA Alderwoman Kilpatrick referred to the Park Committee minutes of June 26, 1997. She proposed that the fees for camping at Riverside Park be $8.00 per night for camping without showerss $9.00 per night for camping with showering facilities. and $10.00 per night for camping with electrical hook-ups. Restroom facilities at Riverside Park are open to the public. Motion by Alderwoman Kilvatrick that Resolution No. R97-26 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. CEMETERY REGULATIONS: RESOLUTION NO. R97-27 RESOLUTION ADOPTING REGULATIONS FOR THE LAUREL CEMETERY Motion by Alderman Kroll that Resolution No. R97-27 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. CEMETERY FEES AND CHARGES: RESOLUTION NO. R97-28 ESTABLISHING THE FEES AND CHARGES FOR THE LAUREL CEMETERY Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that Resolution No. R97-28 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried 8--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 TRANSFER OF CITY PROPERTY TO CENEX RESOLUTION NO. R97-29 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AN AGREEMENT AND DOCUMENTS TRANSFERRING REAL PROPERTY FROM THE CITY OF LAUREL, TO CENEX, INC. Motion by Alderman Kroll that Resolution No. R97-29 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried 8--0. REGULATING POLITICAL OR CAMPAIGN SIGNS: ORDINANCE NO. 097-4 (first reading) ORDINANCE REGULATING POLITICAL OR CAMPAIGN SIGNS Motion by Alderman Kroll that Ordinance No. 097-4 (first reading) be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman OFF. Alderman Kroll stated that he has had several complaints in the past that signs for campaigning ape getting taller, larger, more numerous, and being placed out earlier. He is concerned with the signs being a safety hazard. Some signs are larger than the children playing around them and some signs are placed in public right-of-way. Signs should not be placed, installed, or erected without permission from the private property owner. Discussion regarding who will enforce the ordinance; the police, the street department, the property owner, or the opponent? A roll call vote was taken and seven alderman voted "Yes", with Alderman Orr voting "No". Motion carried 7--1. RECOMMENDATION - WATER TASK FORCE COMMITTEE: Alderman Johnson handed out to the council and the audience a copy of Option 2 of the water system update. In simple terms, the proposal says the city will issue revenue bonds to finance the repair of the reservoir storage tanks. Phase II will be actual water plant and line replacement, accomplished through the Department of Natural Resources, State Revolving Fund financing. He gave a little background on what they are trying to accomplish. Their preference would be to apply for all funds in one movement. One thing that merits consideration is that the tank reservoir storage needs to be completed prior to any work on the plant because of the safety involved. If the plant goes down, the only way the city can store enough water to provide for the needs of the city for any length of time is if both four million gallon tanks and the one million gallon tank are in operation. Due to that requirement, it merits special consideration. Another reason that they separated them is that the State Revolving Funds will not become available until later in the year. The affectiveness of those funds is that they are at 4% and the revenue bond financing will be higher than that, an affective cost of approximately 6%. The committee would have liked to make the application to include all project financing at the 4% for obvious reasons, however, the time the SRF is offering is not going to allow them to do that. Motion by Alderman Johnson to proceed and finance the Water Treatment Project with Option 2, Phase I, by issuing revenue bonds, costs that are approved and authorized by Double Tree and Phase II, the city would make application to the State for State Revolving funds, seconded by Alderman Kroll. It was questioned if the city needs to bring back the water rate plan before financing is passed? Joe Leckie answered no. The council takes action to approve the financial plan, then they can bring the water rate plan back into affect. Alderman Johnson stated that he feels that Option 2 is outstanding at the time because it clearly defines all the information that they are aware of. Alderwoman Kilpatrick agrees with Option 2 because the Water Task Force felt it was critical to begin the work on the tanks and also felt they owed it to their constituents to try for the cheaper money at 4%. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 Mayor Rodgers asked if this would eliminate the underpass line at this time. Alderman Johnson replies that he had not approached this issue. Mayor Rodgets stated that it may not get in this project at all. Alderman Orr questioned if this is one of the necessary things needed to get the supply of water? Jason Riddle, Double Tree, Inc., stated that it was not included in his figures. He replied that the engineers included a 5% contingency and he estimated 10% contingency, which come to about two hundred thousand dollars. He feels the best option for the city would be to use the design bill. The underpass line would get into the project, if there was enough money left over when they got to that point. The city can design a change order with the contractor and take the line as far as they can reach, with the money available. By having the engineer design it now, without knowing what the construction bids are, it could leave the city with a design but no money to construct it. Alderman Easton asked if there would be another 10% on a change order? Jason replied, yes. Alderman Johnson stated that when he made his motion, there was no intent to exclude the underpass line. One thing the Task Force came to was a clear consensus that they did not want to break the project apart. There are a number of items needed in it, so in making the motion it was not an exclamatory item. At this point, he does not know how to provide for it. Be asked Joe Leckie if the project that is in question has been approved by the council and if there is a manner in which to provide for it? Joe Leckie stated that the city has approved the project. Jason Riddle said that instead of a change order, another alternative is to allow the engineer to design it as part of Option 2 and to bid it as a deductive alternate and that would include that line. If there is enough money when the bids come in, it is included in the project and if there is not enough money then it is the first thing taken out. He explained that this is done by having the water treatment plant facility as part of the project and there would be a schedule for everything done for that. There would be a line running from the treatment facility to the front of IGA, which would be scheduled and they would bid each item on that. Then there would be the line under the underpass, bid as scheduled and that would be the first deductive alternate. If the bids came in to high it would be the first thing taken out. If the bids come in and everything fits in the budget, then it is included. Alderman Johnson wished to amend his motion to include the underpass project a deduction alternative. Alderman Kroll withdrew his second to the motion. as COMMITTEE REPORTS: Motion by Alderman Johnson that the original water rate increase be effective August 1, 1997, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried 8--0. EFFECTIVE DATE OF WATER RATE INCREASE: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of June 17, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilnatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of June 17, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 8--0. --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of June 18, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Easton to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of June 18, 1997~ into the record, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of June 17, 1997 were presented. Minutes were corrected to read "Martin property is supposed to be cleaned up Motion by Alderman Johnson to amend his motion to include the underpass project as an deduction alternate and the costs be reviewed and approved by Double Tree, Inc.~ seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried 8--0. Minutes of the City. Council of Laurel Page 7 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes~ into the record, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 8--0. --Laurel's Fourth of July minutes of June 13, 1997 were presented. Motion by minutes of June carried 8--0. Alderwoman KilDatrick to 13, 1997, into the record, enter the Laurel's Fourth of July seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion --Park Committee minutes of June 26, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Park Committee minutes of June 26, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Orr. Alderman Walton stated that they met with Mr. Thomas at Thomson Park to look over the possibilities of where a storage shed could be placed. He explained that they found an area that will serve their needs. It is located on the north side of Thomson Park where the Herbstfest tent sits, on the west side of the sidewalk. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8--0. --Street & Alley Committee minutes of June 19, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Easton to enter the Street & Alley Committee minutes of June 19, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Wayne Mahan, 508 7th Avenue, explained to the council that private property in the neighborhood continues to get flooded. Twenty-five years ago there was a rain storm and all five residences on the east side of the block had flooding. They were told that the big ditch overflowed. On March 4, 1983 their property was flooded for the second time and there was no break in the ditch. He presented a letter to the city written on March 7, 1983 that was signed by himself and all the property owners in the area. At that time, the city allowed a neighbor across the alley to build a garage. It was built up on a mountain, so than he had to take truck loads of dirt and fill in the alley so he could drive up into his garage. The city took steps by going and digging a little hole along his side and installing a three or four inch pipe. If someone went up to see it, they could not find the pipe because it is all covered with gravel. The city has gone back in and piled more gravel, which made a bigger dam. In July of 1992, Wayne met with Jim Worthington, City Engineer, who promised he would look into the problem, take steps to eliminate the problem, and report back to him. Wayne said Jim never reported back to him. On May 12, 1997 there were storms all over the area and he was getting concerned so he went to city hall to talk to Jim Flisrand, City Engineer. He went up and looked the situation over. Jim had never seen the area when there was a storm. He than went back up and talked to Wayne giving him all kinds of excuses but no proposals for action. There was a rain storm in the afternoon of June 8, 1997 and then again during the night. The whole area was flooded the afternoon of the 8th and the early morning of the 9th. Wayne passed out pictures to show the seriousness of the problem so they could see what it was doing to their property. He expressed that if this was the first time it happened it would be one thing, but this has happened five times. Each time it has been pointed out to the city either by talking to the city or by written letters, and after five times he feels it is about time something is done to eliminate the problem. He wished Jim had been up there during the storm to see what had happened. Wayne explained that by going one block north of the four way stop at the West School, there is an old irrigation ditch that is now a drain ditch. A number of years ago the city took responsibility to put a drain in there to handle the water flow. Wayne said it may have been adequate at that time but it is most certainly not at this time. Normally there is a trickle down there, but this morning the ditch was practically full with the little bit of rain. What happens is all the water that cannot go down that little drain pipe runs over the top. It cannot go south because of the ground level up there, so it crosses the road between 7th Avenue West and 6th Avenue West. It flows over to the east side and crosses the intersection of 8th Avenue and 6th Street West. It flows into the gutter going east. The gutters cannot possibly take a full irrigation ditch of water coming through there. It cannot go down the street so it overflows onto the property and runs down across all of them in his area. Minutes o{ the City Council of Laurel Page 8 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 The city took two steps, one of putting in a small drain across the alley from his house and second a small drain in the ditch. He said the gutters were never meant to take a flow like that. Mayor Rodgets stated that the city does recognize the problem, One of the proposals within the Street and Alley Committee minutes was to use the Federal Aid Urban monies to work on 8th Avenue. The storm drain system was also discussed as being replaced in concrete. Jim will take a look at the area to see what else can be done. Alderman Walton stated that he lives across the street from Wayne and that he received a call from Mr. Grathwohl and Wayne. After the calls he went out and took pictures that he gave to Alderman Easton. The pictures do detect the problem in the area. Alderman Walton believes the city needs to address the problem in some way immediately. The new storm sewer or rebuilding of roads cannot be done within the very near future but he feels something can be done to help this problem. He cannot speculate on what the ditch did in the past but knows the ditch did run over on June 8th. It was not meant to take that type of flow. The big ditch cannot be dumped into the little ditch and expect it to carry it. Mr. Mahan and the neighbors have been very patient in asking and waiting to have something done. A vote was taken on the motion to enter the Street and Alley Committee minutes into the record. Motion carried 8--0. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Cal Cumin stated that the proposal to have Ricci's grocery store move to the north school lot is raising a lot of issues and concerns from people. He explained that Ricci's have a buy-sell on the property, subject to approval of conditions that are needed to get the building built. This has not been presented to the Planning Board. The process has to go to the Planning Board. If they brought it in July, it would show up as a public hearing at the Planning Board in August. There is at least a month time period to have this done. The Planning Board schedules a public hearing and notifies all adjacent property owners. A public hearing is held and they review the project, then a recommendation is made to the city council with conditions or conditions subject to approval. The council then takes the Planning Board's recommendation and publishes it in the newspaper and holds a second public hearing, then they make a decision to approve it or deny it. There will probably be a legal protest on this project that requires a majority of the whole council, not just a majority of who shows up at the council meeting that night. Cal does not like to see all the uproar that is going on because the Ricci's have not had a chance to say what they are going to do. He has met with the Ricci's and their developers and they say that they must prove that the project is beneficial to the City of Laurel. Board Member - City/County Planning Board Cal Cumin announced that the City/County Planning Board needs another member from the City of Laurel. The member has to be from outside the city. Please let him or the Yellowstone County Commissioners know if anyone is interested. Flooding - Mary Jo Dovenet Mary Jo Devener, 1006 Betty Avenue, represented her neighborhood regarding the flooding they experienced on the night of June 8, 1997 as well as the issue she commented on earlier in the meeting about the Cherry Hill Subdivision preliminary plat. There is a group of thirty-five to forty residents whose homes were flooded due to what is occurring in the development up there or how the development was being put in place, or more primarily to the storm that occurred. On the night of June 8, 1997 at approximately 9:00 p.m., anyone that had full basements had them start flooding through their sewer lines. Most residents did not even know that their basements were flooding until the middle of the night. About midnight, homes that were more split level homes started to take on water through their sewer. Not all of the thirty-five or forty people in the group were flooded due to sewer, probably only fifteen to twenty actually had sewer backup. The rest of them received surface water flooding that came out of the big ditch and across the development area of the Cherry Rill Subdivision and to their houses. They have contacted and placed written claims with the developer, his insurance company, and attempted to contact the Big Ditch Company and their insurance company, but they are pretty difficult to nail down with any type of liability. They also talked to Jim Flisrand and he went up and surveyed the situation about 3:00 a.m. on June 9th to see what they had going on. The trench that was du~ to Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 9 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 through the field and filled up with water to the point that it looked like it was just a road that you could have driven across. As Jim mentioned, the sewer was not meant to take on storm water. Unfortunately, Buster Construction who is the contractor on the job did not cap the sewer lines, Because of the open sewer lines, the water was forced to come through the sewer lines rather than being pumped out of the hole and into some empty field or something. This is how most of their basements were flooded. She talked with the Department of Environmental Quality in Helena and found out that for them to provide any funding for sewer upgrades in cities, the cities would have had to pass sewer ordinances. The ordinances would eliminate the possibility or make it illegal for any storm water to be allowed into the city sanitary sewer. She then talked to Jim and he pulled out a couple ordinances that said this was certainly the case. The water should not have been allowed into the city sewer. He did not say that it should have been plugged, but in essence what they had was open manholes, open sewer lines, and a rain storm, whether if it rained one half inch, three inches, or six inches. When she measured the rain at her house she had about six inches. They have been trying to get the contractor or the insurance company to at least admit some liability. She is requesting support from the city to realize there is some liability associated with what occurred here. Their basements would not have been flooded if the city sewer line had not been left open. She said they do not want to have to go to court and get into a litigation area where they would have to sue somebody. They have been advised that there are three defendants in this case which would be the contractor, the Big Ditch Company~ and the City of Laurel. They want the insurance companies to settle before they have to take it to court. So she is asking for Jim's support, the city's support and the city attorney's support in somehow working with the insurance company to admit some liability and responsibility. Alderman Walton asked Joe Leckie if the city indicates support for this devastation, is the city admitting wrong on behalf of the city and compromising our position? Joe Leckie stated that is a possibility. Mary Jo mentioned the sewer lines were left uncapped and she knows that ultimately the city could be held responsible, but there is a bond out there that was posted by the contractor to cover damages or things that were not done correctly. There was an ordinance broken by leaving that sewer uncapped. Even if it was a half inch of rain, they broke city ordinances. She knows the city can compromise their position by providing support and she understands that. But she is hoping that by providing that support, the city could be pushing the insurance company for the adjuster or whomever to admit some liability. She said that she would be willing to discuss this at any time. She wanted everyone to be aware of the situation. Joe Leckie said the city is definitely not opposed to them pursuing the contractors insurance company. The problem is the city is limited in what they can do to some extent and maintain a relationship with the city's insurance company. Joe said now that she indicated the city could possibly be a defendant has put the city in a tough position and the city would need to notify their insurance company. Mary Jo stated that the group does not want to file a suit and wants the situation to be resolved. APPOINTMENTS: Mayor Rodgers appointed Dark Kroll to the City-County Health Board Steering Committee. Motion by Alderman Johnson to confirm the appointment of Dark Kroll to the City-County Health Board Steering Committee, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 8--0. Mayor Rodgets hired Jeffrey Fowler as a police officer effective July 7, 1997. Motion by Alderwoman KilDatrick to confirm the hiring of Jeffrey Fewlet as a police officer, effective July 7, 1997, seconded by Alderman Orr. Motion carried 8--0. MAYOR'S COMMENTS: Mayor Rodgets thanked the Water Task Force Committee for all work they have done the past three months. It was stressful and they kept right on top of everything. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 10 Council Meeting of July 1, 1997 Riverside Park survived better than what was anticipated. There was a good dike to prevent any flooding. Mayor Rodgets introduced the new police chief. Alderman Walton announced the Fire Committee needs another member. Alderwoman Kilpatrick will serve for the remainder of her term. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 8:57 p.m. Approved by the Mayor and passed Montana, this 15th day of July, 1997. Attest: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Charles Rodg~rs, ~'