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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 01.02.2013 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF LAUREL January 2, 2013 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 Ken Olson at 6:30 p.m. on January 2, 2013. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Emelie Eaton Doug Poehls Bruce McGee (6:33) Mark Mace Scot Stokes Tom Nelson Bill Mountsier COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Chuck Dickerson OTHER STAFF PRESENT: Brent Peters Mayor Olson led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Mayor Olson asked the council to observe a moment of silence. MINUTES: Motion by Council Member Eaton to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of December 18, 2012, as presented, seconded by Council Member Poehls. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All six council members present voted aye. Motion carried 6 -0. CORRESPONDENCE. PUBLIC HEARING. CONSENT ITEMS: • Claims for the month of December 2012 in the amount of $503,825.90. A complete listing of the claims and their amounts is on file in the Clerk- Treasurer's Office. • Approval of Payroll Register for PPE 12/23/2012 totaling $165,620.31. • Receiving the Committee Reports into the Record. -- Budget/Finance Committee minutes of December 18, 2012 were presented. -- Council Workshop minutes of December 26, 2012 were presented. - - Laurel Urban Renewal Agency minutes of November 19, 2012 were presented. - -Tree Board minutes of November 15, 2012 were presented. The mayor asked if there was any separation of consent items. There was none. Motion by Council Member Mace to approve the consent items as presented, seconded by Council Member Eaton. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All six council members present voted aye. Motion carried 6 -0. CEREMONIAL CALENDAR: None. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: None. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION (THREE- MINUTE LIMIT): None. SCHEDULED MATTERS: Council Minutes of January 2, 2013 • Confirmation of Appointments. Laurel Fire Department: Fire Chief Brent Peters introduced the four appointees to the Laurel Fire Department. Hugo Hernandez works at Stillwater Mine, KC Bieber works at Laurel Ford, Daryl Kraiter works for the City of Laurel and Scott Swanson works for the County Road Maintenance Department. The appointments will fill the roster at 45 members. Mayor Olson appointed Daryl Kraiter, Scott Swanson, Flugo Iernandez and KC Bieber to the Laurel Fire Department. Motion by Council Member Mountsier to approve the Mayor's appointments of Daryl Kraiter, Scott Swanson, Hugo Hernandez and KC Bieber to the Laurel Fire Department, seconded by Council Member Nelson. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7 -0. Mayor Olson thanked the four appointees for volunteering their time to the City of Laurel. • Resolution No. R13 -01: A resolution approving the East Railroad Speed Limit Study completed by the Montana Department of Transportation with a city staff recommended modification and authorizing the Mayor and city staff to lobby the Transportation Commission to modify the recommendations at the next Commission meeting. Motion by Council Member Nelson to approve Resolution No. R13 -01, seconded by Council Member McGee. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. Council Members Poehls, Mace, Mountsier, Nelson, McGee and Eaton voted aye. Council Member Stokes voted nay. Motion carried 6 -1. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA: None. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS (ONE- MINUTE LIMIT): None. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: • Review of Monthly Reports: Police, Fire, Ambulance, and Code Enforcement: None. Council Member Poehls asked for an update regarding the recent meeting with FEMA. Mayor Olson stated that, at the conclusion of the meeting, there was discussion about the senators putting a request for Laurel's project into the Sandy Senate bill. He stated that the City of Laurel will receive reimbursement for some of the engineering costs. Mayor Olson spoke regarding Great West Engineering's presentation about the water intake, FEMA's need for the City to provide a more definitive long -term solution, removal of the debris underneath the bridge and the City's request for BNSF to waive the $3,600 permit fee, and the need for a long -term solution that the Army Corps would permit and FEMA would fund. Council Members Eaton and McGee, who also attended the meeting, stated their perspectives of the meeting and the process. Council Member Eaton was encouraged that everybody was listening and interacting. Council Member McGee spoke regarding the dredge work needed to remove the deposited material. Mayor Olson spoke about restored function, which is what FEMA uses to tie funds to infrastructure projects. If the event depicted restores function to infrastructure (intake) and the Army Corps permits it, then FEMA can fund it. The city is currently permitted by Army Corps to remove the 55,000 cubic yards of sediment. The tie that the city is trying to get to restore function to the infrastructure (the intake) still needs to be proven to FEMA. Costs to move the 55,000 cubic yards of sediment would be about $154,000. Conference calls will resume soon. Council Member McGee stated the need for the city to videotape and document the current situation in case of a future event. 2 Council Minutes of January 2, 2013 Mayor Olson spoke regarding an online Gazette article today. The article indicated that there was a statement from the Congressional Committee that oversees this event that Exxon was negligent in shutting off the isolation valve quickly enough, which equated to more oil in the river. The article stated that Laurel public officials contacted the companies prior to the event to inform them that the pipes could be in danger. Council Member Mace stated that the Park Board would meet on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the FAP Community Room. There will be discussion regarding a park maintenance district. Council Member Nelson asked regarding the minutes from the December 17 Lease Task Force concerning the lease for the Rod and Gun Club. The minutes will be distributed prior to next week's council workshop. The next Lease Task Force meeting is scheduled on January 14 Council Member Nelson stated that the issue should be presented to the council soon. Mayor Olson stated that Matt Wilcox will be deployed soon. Two applicants applied for the prosecutorial attorney's position and interviews are scheduled tomorrow. The interview committee consists of Mayor Olson, Sam Painter, and Heidi Jensen. Council members are welcome to attend the interviews. Mayor Olson stated that mediation is scheduled with the Police Union tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. Mayor Olson asked the council to submit any discussion questions for the January 22 " budget workshop. UNSCHEDULED MATTERS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Council Member Stokes to adjourn the council meeting, seconded by Council Member Eaton. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7 -0. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 7:01 p.m. (2/6- e-1_, -1_, Cindy Alle Council Secretary Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 15 day of January, 2013. //) K • nneth E. 0 son, Jrirayor Attest: i r ( / 7 =t1 / // C � � C_y 61 c,yf / t Shirley Ewan, CYerk/Treasurer 3