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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 03.18.1997Minutes of the City Council of Laurel March 18, 1997 A regular meeting of the City Council held in the Council Chambers and called to p.m., on March 18, 1997. of the City of Laurel, Montana, was order by Mayor Chuck Rodgets at 7:03 COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Gay Easton Bud Johnson Norman Orr Miles Walton William Staudinger Dirk Kroll Donna Kilpatrick COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Gary Temple INVOCATION: Invocation was given by Alderman Kroll. MINUTES: Alderman Kroll stated there is a correction to the minutes of March 4, Resolution No. R97-11 passed by a vote of 6--1, not 6--0 as stated. 1997. Motion by Alderman Orr to approve March 4, 1997, as amended, seconded by the minutes of the regular meeting of Alderwoman Kilpatrick. Motion carried CORRESPONbENCE: Received a letter from John Kelly regarding annexation of his property at 827 West Main Street. Received an agenda and memo from the Yellowstone Historic Preservation Board. Received the January minutes and activity report from the Air Pollution Control Board. CITY CLERK'S & CITY TREASURER'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: The City Clerk's and City Treasurer's financial statements for the month of February were presented. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick that the City Clerk's and City financial statements for the month of February, 1997, be approved, Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. seconded by ANNEXATION REQUESTS: RANDY SWENSON Randy Swenson is requesting permission to annex less than one city block into the city. He stated this may be a little premature since he does not have a buy-sell yet, but he wants to find out what the procedure entails. The property is located at 12th Street and 1st Avenue North. Discussion and it was stated that the homes directly to the south and west of this property are not in the city limits but the homes beyond thisl in both directionsI are in the city limits. As a point of clarification, it was stated that the council must give approval to proceed with the annexation request in order for the applicant to even make application to the Planning Board. Motion by Alderman Johnson to grant permission to proceed with annexation of less than one city block, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried JOHN KELLY John Kelly, 827 West Main Street, is requesting permission to proceed with annexation of less than one city block. Donna Kelly spoke on behalf of her son, stating that there are four children in the family, one of which is wheelchair bound and needs bathed daily. They are on city water service but would like to be on city sewer also. They currently have a septic tank which needs to be pumped once a month. Motion by Alderman Walton to grant permission to proceed with annexation of less than one city block, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. WATER RATE INCREASE: (Note: At the March 4th council meeting, a public hearing was held on Resolution No. R97-11 and it was tabled until the March 18th meeting.) Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 2 Council Meeting of March 18, 1997 The Mayor stated that, as a point of order, his chair will open the floor to comments from the audience regarding the water rate increase, for a period of approximately 15 minutes, if there is no objection from the council. Larry Thomas, 101 1/2 East Main Street, vote of the people according to MCA? questioned whether this will go to the The Mayor stated this is a revenue bond and according to the law, we do not have to go before a vote of the people. Joe Leckie reviewed this and stated that what the city the financing of this falls under MCA 7-7, Part 44, revenue bond supersedes all others. is doing in regards to which states that the Larry feels the city is spending the public's money and he insists that they be given the chance to vote on this. He questioned the aldermen, asking them who they represent and if they have polled the constituents in their ward. Alderman Walton stated that the public voted for the aldermen who would make these decisions. He has received only one phone call from a person in his ward who is against the rate increase. Larry again insisted that this is his money the council is spending, not the city's and he feels all the work did not have to be thrown into one big package, which hurts the people on fixed incomes. Ken Sepeda, 1007 3rd Avenue, said he spoke to Alderwoman Kilpatrick who laid it all out for him but Alderman Walton said this was a done deal and that no amount of screaming or yelling would change anything. He questioned what gives the city the right to get into his pockets? He said the council is suppose to run the city, not the public and have the foresight to run it the right way, not drop the ball 10 years ago and decide to pick it up now and make him pay for it. He said the council has an obligation to the public, the public does not have an obligation to the city. He accused the council of serving themselves. Mr. Sepeda stated he has checked with the city regarding what can or cannot be done with a well. He found that he cannot use well water in his home for drinking but if he pays the city for a special permit, then he can hook up well water to his house and when it runs down the drain, the city gets its money. He feels there are too many rules one way and not enough the other way. Lois Hensen, 320 1st Avenue, stated she agrees that we need to do something with the water. She has a problem with the fact that it is too much, too fast. She said if the base rate is raised, she will disconnect her water. She feels city water is a convenience, not a necessity. Lois said back in 1974, the public voted on spraying for mosquitos and were charged a dollar a year extra on their taxes. She said the bugs were sprayed in 1974 but never again. Ten years later she inquired about it and was told the money was going for snow removal. She said she's still paying a dollar a year for something she is not getting. She said the city can take her dollar and put it on the water. Lois said that if the city is going to raise the rate this high, they need to come to the people and explain why. She said when she calculates $ 20.00 per month times 2500 households, at the end of 20 years, that is 12 million dollars and the council is asking for 4.1 million? She questioned what the city wants with the rest of the money? She ended by saying we have gotten off lucky and we do need to pay for the water, but bring it down to where it is not such a drastic increase. Laurel Haggart, 806 Wyoming, stated she does not understand revenue bonds and questioned how many times the city has had them before? It was stated that we have a revenue bond for the sewer plant in the amount of $ 725,000.00. Laurel clarified that the bond would be for a 20 year term. Previously she had asked how the engineering firm was being paid and she was told they would be paid $ 350,000.00 and it would be by a loan. At last night's meeting, she was told this fee would be in the proposal and she just wants to know which way it will be. The Mayor stated the engineering fee is included in the proposal, it is a part of the whole package. Page 3 Council Meeting of March 18, 1997 Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Tom Haidle, 810 West 12th Street, stated he has concerns along with others when they are told their water bills will triple. As an elected council and the public's representatives, he would like the council to keep the public's best interest in mind. Tom questioned whether there are any unnecessary expenses in this project. He said 4 million sounds like an awfully lot of money for what is being done. Tom said that any time you go to an engineering firm, they are going to make either an architectural or design statement and they have the impression that public money j.s endless. He is asking the council to please watch this as he has worked with this and seen this being done. Tom said that generally, off the top, 25% of an architectural design is fluff. He has had first hand experience with this in his own job and asked the council to look at this, be careful with the public's moneyl and look to the future. Motion by Alderman Orr to remove Resolution No. R97-11 seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. from the table, Alderman Johnson said he appreciates the public input and he would like to make a few comments. One thing he feels has happened, is that the news regarding what has been going on and the needs that we have, really has not gotten out to the public. He has been sensitive to this but, as the council moves towards a vote tonight, he has reflected on a number of things. He stated that he has been on the council for a little over a year and really was not aware of a lot of things and it didn't take long, after touring the different facilities, to see some things and start asking questions. Bud said one of the first things that he was told was that he needed to start getting prepared because we are going to raise the water rates. He thought this was going to take place last summer but it didn't and he really didn't think a lot about it until it started to culminate. As he started to get more and more interested in what was going on and how we got to this point, many things were brought to light and he would like to share a couple things that he feels are paramount to this issue. The water system that we are talking of making changes to, consists of three elements. The first element is the intake or low pressure suction which includes the pier, that you can see from the Yellowstone River bridge. From this point, there are two pipes that were replaced last year when the ice swept away our old intake system. These pipes go to a manifold system that has three pumps on the low side. The second element is the water treatment plant and the third element is the high pressure and distribution system which includes all the pipes in the residential and commercial areas and the two reservoirs on the hill. The water treatment plant itself was built in 1956. From what Bud has been able to discover, there has only been one change and that was in 1968. It is a totally manual system, there is not one piece of automated machinery in it, that he is aware of. Any facility that has served continuously, day in and day outl for over 40 years, has to wear out. The settling ponds, which are slated for a minor upgrade, were built in 1920. In regards to the odor of the water every spring, Bud anything that we are going to do will help this situation. that the changes will remedy this situation. questioned whether He has been told He said there are a number of things that are talked about and only a few that the money will. cover. The sad part of the situation is 'that there are a great number of challenges and problems still left in the system that are not being addressed. As he came to a decision regarding which side of the issue he was going to support, it became more and more clear to him, are we really doing enough or should we be doing more? It's not an easy question to answer even though it's easy to stand out in the crowd and say we haven't done any thinking. This process has taken over 2 1/2 years to culminate in this evening. During this process, a number of alternatives have been looked at and a number of suggestions have been listened to. The statement has been made, "Can we do less?" Bud said you can answer yes to that question but the problem is, he feels, that we are not addressing the issues. It would be much easier for him to vote against. it and walk away as many have done before him but that is what has contributed to the situation we now find ourselves in. Bud said he has to look at himself in the mirror after he votes and his conscience, at this point in time, indicates that he must vote for it. He said Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 4 Council Meeting of March 18, 1997 utmost importance. He realizes this will be a burden to a lot of people but he still feels it needs to be addressed. The problem is that even after this is dealt with, there are still a number of issues yet to come. It has not been an easy decision to come to. Bud hopes that as we go through this processl that the public will get involved and start to become aware of some of the problems that are out there and maybe someday, this can be looked at as a positive step. Lois Hartsen asked if someone would like to show her where she is wrong in her arithmetic since she is still coming up with 12 million at the end of 20 years. If the council is asking for 4.1 million, what is the reason for the remaining amount? Alderman Walton commented that he did have a constituent call and complain and they visited for approximately 1 1/2 hours. When he told him it was a done deal, it was his feeling after months of working on this, that the public meeting would be more of an educational program intended to educate the public on why we need the system we are looking at. He felt it was a done deal because he feels we need it and he still doesn't feel that the majority of Laurel is against it. He has had more people tell him that they know we need itl even though no one wants to see their rates increase. Miles stated this is not the only thing in the infrastructure of Laurel that is going down the tubes. He cannot help what has been done in the past, he can only look at what Laurel's future is and what he thinks it is going to need to sustain itself. Mr. Sepeda once again felt the whole town should be canvassed for their regarding this project. He objects to the fact that tie feels the already has its mind made up on this issue. opinion council Alderman Walton stated that he believes this council has educated itself over the last several years, certainly over the past several months, on what they are asking for and what is needed. He doesn't believe there is any fluff in it. The water trunk lines represent $ 800,000.00 of the project and he believes they are a necessity. The water reservoirs represent half a million dollars and they should be looked at every five to seven years and they have not been looked at since 1983. Miles said another session was held the previous night to listen and discuss it. The suggestion has been made to use volunteer help and he appreciates 'the offer but it is impossible to do so because of the liability issue. Miles stated that he has several family members that are on fixed incomes that this will directly affect. He wants the public to know that. this was not a rash decision, it was a full thought process of knowing what we are doing. He feels this is just a baby step in regards to everything that needs to be done to keep our town afloat. The public voted the council in to make the decisions necessary to keep our water clean, streets capable of driving on, etc. Bud stated that if you put what the council is trying to do in some kind of perspective, this is really just a first step. What the council hopes to do is to move away from not doing anything, from leaving things the way they are because that's the easiest way, to moving forward and addressing the issues. He questioned why would you choose to make your life a little bit more difficult, the work a little harder, when you could choose to keep it easy and simple? Once again it has to come back to the council's responsibility. When you start looking at the condition of some of the facilities we haveI its enough to make you come to this meeting and be positive in the face of a lot of negative criticism. It takes a great deal to sit as a councilman and say we really need to do this when the majority of the energy in this room is absolutely against it. After researching it for monthsI it gives him enough confidence to sit here tonight and look any member of the audience in the eye and say we really need to do this. If we pared it down and backed away from the issues, in the long run it would cost us more. The hardest thing to do, is to start. If you expect the community of Laurel to regain some of its community spirit and reflect this attitude, it gives you enough confidence to come here and say, "I think we need to do this." Bud said that when he first moved to Laurel, people from Billings would visit and tell him what a neat town we have. Many things were in our favor, From that point in time until today1 he does not know what has taken place and he cannot speak for them. He can only say that today, things are not as they were then. He would once again like to see Laurel reflect the community spirit and community pride that was once here. John Cuffman said what is frustratin~ js that Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 5 Council Meeting of March 18, 1997 price. What about down the road from today? Does the council have a game plan in place so this will not happen again? Alderman Walton stated the council asked all departments to submit their long range goals for the next ten years. At this time, he cannot say what will formally be done in six weeks or six months but they are trying to look to the future. Motion by Alderman Orr that Resolution No. R97-11 be passed and adopted, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. SALE OF CITY OWNED LOTS - CHERRY HILLS: One bid was received and it was opened and reviewed on March 18th. The bid was from Carl Rookhuizen and Charles Widdecombe in the amount of $ 40,000.00. Motion by Alderman Staudinger to reject the bid for the sale of the city owned lots in Cherry Hills, due to the low bid, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Discussion followed and in regard to a question, it was stated that a few years ago the value of each lot was appraised at $ 6,000.00 to $ 8,000.00. Jim stated this bid includes a number of very extensive conditions with this purchase and he would recommend that we let the committee review this package. It was stated that there are 15 lots and at $ 6,000.00 per lot, it would be $ 90,000.00. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 6--1, with Alderman Easton voting, "N " o . More discussion and Jim recommended that the sale of the lots be reviewed by the Land and Buildings Committee to see what direction will now be taken. HOME OCCUPATION: Guy McCullum has applied for a home occupation for a business leasing service at 2707 Lackawanna. The City-County Planning Board recommended approval with no customer traffic to the home. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to grant a home occupation to Guy McCullum, with no customer traffic to the home, seconded by Alderman Kroll. Motion carried 7--0. COMMITTEE MINUTES: --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of March 4, 1997, were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman Kilpatrick to enter the Budget/Finance Committee minutes of March 4, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7-0. --City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 4, 1997 were presented. Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the City Council Committee of the Whole minutes of March 4, 1997, into the record, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried 7--0. --City-County Planning Board minutes of March 13, 1997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderwoman minutes of March 13, 1997, carried ?--0. Kilpatrick to enter the City-County Planning Board into the record, seconded by Alderman Easton. Motion --Police Committee minutes of March 6, 1997 were presented and reviewed. A correction was noted to the minutes. In the first motion, it should read retirement program for the officers, not retirement program for the department. Motion by Alderman Kroll to enter the Police Committee minutes of March 6, 1997, as corrected, into the record, seconded by Alderman Walton. Motion carried 7--0. Minutes of the City Council of Laurel Page 6 Council Meeting of March 18, 1997 The Police Reserve Candidate Board interviewed 18 candidates and recommended the following: Lon Bomar Trent Stene J. Williamson Richard Reeves Joel Sauter Diane Arbunot Otis Dilley Motion by Alderman Kroll to approve the Police Reserve candidates listed above, seconded by Alderman Johnson. Motion carried 7--0. --Special Public Utilities Committee meeting of March 6, 1.997 were presented and reviewed. Motion by Alderman Orr to enter the Special Public Utilities Committee minutes of March 6, 1997I into the record, seconded by Alderman Staudinger. Motion carried 7--0. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: In regard to additional questions from Laurel Haggart, Bud Johnson clarified that D.A. Davidson, at the moment, is serving as a financial consultant. They may be asked to bid later on but for now, they are just consulting. Jim Flisrand stated they are being paid $ 9,000.00 for their financial expertise on this project. It went through a bid process and they were low bidder. Jim clarified the process that we have been advised to fellow. We will go with a short term loan, for the sole purpose that the State Revolving Fund (SRF) monies will not be available until April 1998. Funding is up for passage each time the legislature meets. With the advise of D.A. Davidson, we will take a short term loan until we are allowed to apply for the low interest money from the SRF. If we do not get this money, we will go out on the open market for revenue bonds and those bonds would be a little more expensive than what the SRF bonds would be. Jim stated that in the past, SRF monies were historically only allowed for sewer projects. A year ago they decided it would be allowed to finance water projects. No money has been allocated, no rules or regulations have been put together for anyone to follow yet. Hopefully, by April 1998, all the rules, regulations and policies will be in place and we will know how to apply for the money. MAYOR'S COMMENTS: The Mayor stated he received a letter from Don Nelson, President of the local union. They have not accepted the city's proposal and would like to address a couple of issues. The Mayor will talk to them and see what can be done. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk the Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Montana, this 1st day of April, 1997. ATTEST: Donald L. Hackmann, City Clerk Council of the City of C~arles G. Ro~4~rs~,'ayo"'~ Laurel,