Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 10.30.2012 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP OCTOBER 30, 2012 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Ken Olson at 6:30 p.m. on October 30, 2012. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x Emelie Eaton _x_ Doug Poehls x Bruce McGee Mark Mace x Scot Stokes _x_ Chuck Dickerson x Tom Nelson x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen Iry Wilke, Laurel Rod and Gun Club Mayor Olson asked for a moment of silence for those affected by Hurricane Sandy on the east coast. Public Input (three - minute limit): Citizens may address the Council regarding any item of City business not on the agenda. The duration for an individual speaking under Public Input is limited to three minutes. While all comments are welcome, the Council will not take action on any item not on the agenda. There was none. General items There were none. Executive Review: • Resolution — Annexation of park land on West 12 Street Heidi Jensen explained the resolution for the annexation of the park land on West 12 Street, which is commonly known as the Richmond property. Following annexation, the city will move forward with the process of naming the parkland and placing the sign on the property. The city has maintained the property by mowing it and prepping it for the winter. • Resolution — Agreement with State Highway Traffic Safety Office Heidi stated that the resolution is for the agreement with the State Highway Traffic Safety Office. Today Chief Musson informed her that this is a formality for the STEP Program. For the last two years, the city received $10,000 a year for officers to work overtime for enforcement of seatbelt usage and alcohol testing. According to Chief Musson, receiving the maximum amount of $10,000 is quite an honor and a dedication of the officers is required for them to get that much. It shows that the officers are willing to put in the overtime to do the traffic safety stops. The resolution authorizes the mayor to sign the contract on behalf of the city. • Resolution — Accept the Environmental Review for the WWTP Project Heidi stated that the resolution is a formality to accept the environmental review for the wastewater treatment plant project. A formal hearing was advertised and held, and the council needs to accept the Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2012 environmental review and the determination that no environmental impact study is necessary and that the city will proceed forward with the treatment plant upgrades. Mayor Olson asked Heidi to update the council on a recent meeting with Great West Engineering regarding the wastewater treatment plant. Heidi stated that Mayor Olson, Kurt Markegard and she met with Great West to review the pre - qualification bids for the wastewater treatment plant project. Since the project is so large, Great West felt it would be in the city's best interests to pre - qualify the bidders. Contractors interested in the project were asked to provide specific qualifications, including projects larger than this one, how much money they had in their bank account in case something went wrong, and proof that they had done de- watering and some type of sewer project in the past. Nine pre - qualification bids were received and reviewed by Great West Engineering. The engineers determined that five bidders were viable and four were not qualified. The project is almost ready to go to bid, as the plans are at 95 percent. Work continues to finalize the financing with the DNRC. Resolutions will be on the November 13 workshop agenda for council consideration at the following council meeting. Resolutions from the DNRC or the State will talk about the loan value and the percentage rate. There was a conference call last week with DNRC and bond counsel to make sure all that is going forward. Great West plans to go through the bidding process around the first of the year. The project is slightly behind schedule because of the DEQ review that was supposed to be done in August and got pushed into September. The city has asked for an extension for the ultraviolet in case it is not completed by June. • Resolution — Compliance Certificate and Request for DNRC Heidi, the clerk/treasurer and the public works director have been working with the DNRC to consolidate some of the city's water treatment plant loans. Since all of the loans were opened to obtain the money for the treatment plant, the city was eligible to refinance and get a lower interest rate on the water plant loans. The resolution authorizes the mayor to sign a payoff for the $376,000 water loans that the city obtained in 2010. There were two separate loans for $188,000, but the attached document from DNRC rolls them together for $376,000. The city will pay the bond amount off as part of the consolidation to obtain the loan for the sewer treatment plant. There were questions and discussion regarding the amount of the savings, the decreased interest rates, the early repayment of the TIFD loan through LURA, the staff's diligence to find ways to decrease the city's overall debt to assure the loan, the life of the new loans, and a graph showing the breakdown of each loan that will be provided with future resolutions. Mayor Olson thanked the staff for the tremendous amount of work done regarding the loan issues in order to continue with the current water and sewer rates. • Ordinance — Sidewalks Mayor Olson removed the item from the agenda, as staff wants to continue working on an ordinance that would best serve the community. • Council Issues: o TIFD financing for sidewalks on East Railroad Street (Emelie Eaton) Mayor Olson stated that the council received an emailed response from Kurt Markegard in reference to the item. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2012 Emelie stated that she has heard comments about the proposed increased speed limit, but yet there is no way to walk along East Railroad Street. One idea she had was to ask LURA for the funding for sidewalks because East Railroad falls within the TIF District. She asked if there was an update, whether the matter is on staff's radar, and if there are options to get some sidewalks from First Avenue to the sidewalks by Wal -Mart. Mayor Olson stated that Kurt's response was stated well, in that it would be a major undertaking that would cost a considerable amount of money. Mayor Olson stated that the city cannot financially go forward with a cost effective way to put in the sidewalks. Related maintenance issues include the fact that Railroad Street does not have curb and gutter, which means there would be no way to protect the street and the sidewalks. He stated the need to inform citizens that there are sidewalks along the majority of the route from First Avenue down Southeast Fourth Street to Wal -Mart. It is a longer way to walk, but it does have available sidewalks. Sidewalks would be a difficult project to fund with the city's limited resources. Emelie stated that it is what it is and the public needs to understand what is involved. Chuck stated that he has heard no comments regarding the traffic or anything else. He spoke regarding 35 mph speed limits on roads in Billings that do not have sidewalks, curb and/or gutter. He does not think Laurel is unique in requesting a 35 mph speed limit on a road that is heavily travelled and provides walking areas without having a sidewalk. He hopes the speed limit change goes forward without having to put out additional funds for the sidewalk. Scot asked if the city or the county is supposed to plow the area. Mayor Olson will email the answer to the council. Tom mentioned that a graveled area is actually considered to be a sidewalk, as far as the public is concerned. He questioned if the city needs to maintain the area, as the city could be liable if there were a problem. Mayor Olson will look into this. Emelie asked for clarification that the south side of East Railroad Street is all within the city limits up to Walmart. Mayor Olson will fmd out and get the answer. o Lease Task Force update (Bruce McGee) Bruce stated that the council directed the lease task force to see if there was an agreement for the outdated leases with the shooting clubs. Progress was being made and the shooting clubs seemed amenable in trying to reach an agreement to keep using the park with better security and fencing and addressing the council's concerns. Tom Nelson has been unable to attend some of the recent meetings. Then it became obvious that the council might want the task force to pursue another direction. The task force is stalled and Bruce asked for the council's direction for the task force to pursue. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2012 Doug spoke about a recent walk he took in Riverfront Park in Billings and the desire to have that available at Riverside Park in Laurel. He stated his concerns that letting the shooting clubs in the park essentially blocks off one end of the park, and the majority of Laurel's population loses access to that part of the park. He questioned whether there has been discussion with the clubs regarding a sunset clause for shooting in the park. Doug relayed a personal story about an airplane hangar for which he has a ten -year lease, which will sunset after that timeframe. He stated that the use of the park is slowly changing, and at some point the shooting needs to go away. Bruce stated that a consensus of the council is needed for the lease task force to go forward to hammer out what the organizations are willing to do. As he sees it, the issue revolves around the security of the facility. He saw a viable option developing with fencing requirements. In the task force meetings, problems like an old city dump have been brought up. The question becomes how viable is it to open up an area like that to public use if it is not cleaned up. He thinks the shooting organizations are willing to hammer out the things the task force generated as identifiable situations. The task force would then come back to the council to decide what kind of lease would be offered based on what the clubs were willing to do. The task force was not initially tasked to visit with the organizations about a sunset provision, but it will probably do so in the future. Bruce asked for the council's direction for the task force. Mayor Olson stated the need for updates from the task force and further council discussion going forward. He asked the council members to provide their opinions. Chuck stated that other gun clubs in Yellowstone County are gun clubs. They are not parks, they do not have recreational vehicles parking in them, and they do not have horseshoe pits, walking trails, and buildings that are accessible to other clubs. Riverfront Park has a beautiful area to walk in, and Riverside Park would if it was cleaned up. It makes him nervous that there is still shooting in Riverside Park. The council talked about a sunset clause several years ago, but no decision was made. He stated that it is not really a suitable area anymore for a shooting range. Emelie agreed that the issue has been ongoing. She thinks that a lease is for a specific amount of time, but that does not preclude the fact that the council can put in a sunset clause to announce formally and matter -of- factly that there is a sunset time when the city is going to take back Riverside Park. She does not like it when people refer to Jaycees Park or the Jaycees Hall. The Jaycees have been given a lot of latitude, and they are a lease member in the park. The city has been generous in allowing the leases to continue, and she thinks the city's desire to eventually develop the park for other uses should be incorporated into the leases. Scot agreed and stated that the subject has been discussed often since he got on the council in January. The sunset clause has been mentioned, but nobody will come out and say it needs to be in the leases. He stated that the city needs to say that somewhere down the road the shooting will be ended and give the clubs time to build something else. Doug stated that the sunset is not just to give time to build something else. The clubs will have to put in some money for fencing and signage, so they would have to determine their costs over a reasonable amount of time. Tom stated his view that, from the taxpayers' standpoint as citizens of Laurel, that particular piece of land has more value to the community than just being tied up as a shooting range. He agreed that a 4 Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2012 sunset would be the way to go if it is a sunset that is actually going to set and not keep rising. A proper lease would give the clubs a chance to reorganize and develop something on private property where most gun clubs are located. The issue about the old dump needs to be addressed in order to develop the park. There will be people in this area for many years with the oil and gas industry that is still migrating this way. He stated that there might not be a park there in five years, as the river might take it, but that is another issue. Hopefully, there can be some resolution to armor the riverbank and preserve the park. Tom stated that, when the council allowed the Rod and Gun Club to hold their membership drive, he stopped in and observed people drinking inside where the shotguns were being fired. He thinks that evidence of that would cause a lease to be terminated, because guns and alcohols do not mix. He does not care what somebody does in a gun club on private property, but not in a city park. Bruce stated that the comments provided a sense of the council's direction. Many issues will be discussed with the clubs, and the clubs and the city will need to decide what they are willing to do. There are concerns about the erosion of the bank in the park and the old city landfill. His personal view is that the park can have broader uses and serve all of its citizens well. A large contingency of individuals with different organizations have enjoyed the park through the years, and he does not see any reason why that cannot continue and be enhanced with proper structures and rules. Bill stated that every council member should view the park and see how it is set up. He agreed with Bruce as far as different organizations making use of the park. He does not know what percentage of Laurel residents actually use the park because he often sees license plates from other counties when he is there. Bill does not think the EPA will clean up the park anytime in the near future so there would be access to the park. He thinks the organizations can coexist with proper monitoring and proper agreements with the organizations. Mayor Olson stated that the city is not in the business of armoring the riverbank to preserve the park. The city is in the business of armoring the bank to preserve the water intake. That has been the city's goal from the very beginning as we deal with the Army Corps and FEMA. The city is concerned about the intake, as the best use of public dollars is for infrastructure. There was discussion about scheduling a date and time for the lease task force to meet again. Bruce stated the need to resume the meetings and to report to the council in a timely manner. Other items There were none. Review of draft council agenda for November 6, 2012 • Ordinance No. 012 -06: An ordinance amending the requirements for home occupations as provided in the Laurel Municipal Code at Chapter 17.52 of the Laurel Municipal Code. (First reading — 09/18/2012; PH — 10/16/2012; Second reading — 11/06/2012) Mayor Olson stated that a Veterans' Day Observance statement would be added to the Ceremonial Calendar on the November 6 council agenda. Veterans' Day is on Sunday, November 11 and Richard Klose, the Post Commander of the American Legion, has requested a statement. Attendance at the November 6, 2012 council meeting Scot will not attend. 5 Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2012 Announcements Tom asked if Monica could email the PowerPoint presentation on the annexations that she presented. The council secretary will attach the PowerPoint presentation to the October 23r council workshop minutes that are emailed to the council along with the November 6 council agenda. Mayor Olson, Heidi Jensen and Kurt Markegard had a conference call with FEMA today. Mayor Olson stated that Charlie Baird and Tom Bush were not present at the FEMA discussion, as they were involved with the hurricane on the east coast. Two new people took their place, as well as Todd Tillinger (Army Corps at the State level), and Shannyn Johnson (Army Corps at the local level). During the conference call, there were questions about why the city went into the river without first notifying the Army Corps. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the Army Corps' questions, the city's decision to go into the river twice for the emergency, the scour in the river, the fact that Great West Engineering notified the agencies of the emergency measures the city had to take, state statute that allows a city to go into the river without permitting from outside agencies versus the fact that FEMA is a federal agency, the scheduled conference call at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, the stress involved with the situation, and statements by Doug Poehls regarding Shannyn Johnson's delay in addressing the document last spring. Mayor Olson explained that FEMA is the funding source, but FEMA cannot fund the project until the Army Corps approves the permit. There was discussion regarding the permit that the Army Corps previously approved for the City of Laurel. Heidi explained that the city received a permit from the Army Corps, but the scope of the project changed so the city has to get a new permit from the Army Corps. The city has to revamp the permit because FEMA would not pay for the full scope of work to restore the 715 feet of bank back into the river. FEMA would only pay for 350 feet of the bank restoration, so the city had had to redo the mitigation on the Army Corps Permit. The Army Corps will not issue a new mitigated permit because of the emergency work that has been done. The city has an Army Corps permit, but it cannot be used because the Army Corps is not happy about the emergency work in the river. There was discussion regarding the mitigated permit, the emergency work in the river, and the change in the scope of the project as more evidence of the damage of the flood became apparent and the findings became greater, the scope of our project changed, which required more engineering work and documentation to FEMA. There was further discussion regarding the identifiers for the emergency. Initial concerns regarding the width of the river changed to concerns regarding the depth of the river. Infrastructure structure concerns changed the scope of the initial project worksheet with the exposure of the four -inch line on the south side of the river. The project worksheet was for 750 feet, but that changed to 350 feet with the four -inch exposed line. Doug stated concerns regarding the permitting delays and the possibility of ice flow and ice jams. He emphasized the need for the Army Corps to give answers by a specific date. 6 Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2012 Mayor Olson recently attended a Laurel Aviation and Technology Week meeting. The event is scheduled for the first week of May 2013, and the City of Laurel will help wherever needed. Anyone can attend the meetings and be added to the email list. Mayor Olson explained the events of past Laurel Aviation and Technology Weeks. Bruce, Tom and Bill asked to be added to the email list. Mayor Olson stated that training is scheduled in Big Timber on November 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Emelie would like to attend. Mayor Olson encouraged everyone to vote on Election Day. The regular council meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 6 The council workshop adjourned at 7:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 2 Cindy Allen a Council Secretary NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of the Council for the listed workshop agenda items. 7 Cindy Allen From: Heidi Jensen Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 1:21 PM To: Cindy Allen Subject: FW: City Council Workshop Agenda 10 -30-12 Attachments: 2012 CCWorkshop Agenda 10- 30- 2012.doc From: Kurt Markegard Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 2:58 PM To: Heidi Jensen Subject: FW: aty Council Workshop Agenda 10 -30 -12 Emilie's request for TIFD to pay for sidewalks. Installing sidewalks along East Railroad street will be costly. If you go with the traditional curb - gutter and sidewalk you will have to redesign the entire road in order to get the storm water to flow into a storm sewer. If installing a pavement path I would suggest it be at least 10 feet of the road fog line and allow for snow plowing of the road. The pavement would never be shoveled due to the fact that that is the responsibility of the adjoining property owner. This land is undeveloped so would this fall under public works? I have a hard enough time get the city done during snow storms. The rail road crossing into Fox Lumber would have to be replaced with a wider crossing. It can be done but it is not simply pouring concrete sidewalk along the road. This is typically done by the land owners as they develop. The sidewalks would be for the sole business of Walmart. This probably should have been done with Walmart from the beginning but It would have cost a lot to get it done. The storm water road design is the most costly of them all. Food for thought. Kurt Markegard Public Works Director City of Laurel Office (406) 628 -4796 Cell (406) 860 -5785 From: Cindy Allen Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 3:27 PM To: Brent Peters; City Clerk; City Mayor; Heidi Jensen; Jan Faught; Jean Kerr (JKerr(a)mt.aov); Kurt Markegard; Monica Plecker; Nancy Schmidt; Rick Musson; Sam Painter; Ward 1A; Ward 1B; Ward 2A; Ward 2B; Ward 3A; Ward 3B; Ward 4A; Ward 4B Subject: City Council Workshop Agenda 10 -30 -12 Cindy Allen Council Secretary City of Laurel P.O. Box 10 Laurel, MT 59044 406- 628 -7431 ext. 5 406 -628 -2289 Fax i