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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 01.08.2013 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP JANURY 8, 2013 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 January 8, 2013. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Emelie Eaton Doug Poehls x Bruce McGee _x_ Mark Mace x Scot Stokes Chuck Dickerson Tom Nelson x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen 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 no public input. General items There were none. Executive Review: • Resolution — Renew Medical Director's contract Heidi Jensen stated that the Medical Director's contract expires at the end of January. Staff is working to get Dr. Bennett to sign the contract prior to next week's council meeting. Bruce asked what the Medical Director does for the ambulance department. Heidi explained that the Medical Director signs off on the forms that the EMT's fill out, reviews the overall practices to make sure they are in compliance, teaches classes for the EMT's, and provides any medical advice to the department. The Ambulance Service is required to have a Medical Director. • Resolution — Temporary contract for City Prosecutor Heidi stated that the city's prosecutor, Matt Wilcox, was recently called to duty as a member of the National Guard. Matt did a fantastic job as the city's prosecutor, but he chose to terminate his contract. Until another prosecutor is hired, the city's civil attorney, Sam Painter, will fill in as the prosecutor. The mayor, clerk/treasurer, civil attorney and the CAO interviewed two people last week and made an offer to one of them this week. He has accepted and will take over by the end of January. The contract will be on the February 5 council agenda for approval. When Sam talked to him, he sounded excited to take the position and to work for the city. The attorney is based in Billings but will hold office hours in city hall and will provide contact information to the court. The resolution Council Workshop Minutes of January 8, 2013 assigns the contract with Matt Wilcox to Elk River Law Office until the new prosecutor's contract begins. Other items There were none. Review of draft council agenda for January 15, 2013 • Ordinance No. 012 -07: Ordinance amending the requirements for sidewalk replacement as provided at Chapter 12.04 of the Laurel Municipal Code. (Public hearing and second reading — January 15, 2013) The public hearing of Ordinance No. 012 -07 is on the agenda, as well as the second reading of the ordinance. Mark asked why this is being done with an ordinance versus a resolution. Heidi explained that LMC currently does not give the staff the ability to do any kind of investigation or work on the sidewalks. The ordinance change will give some authority to the star The actual sidewalk replacement program has been adopted by resolution. The ordinance and resolution are similar to the current program in the City of Billings. Attendance at the January 15, 2013 council meeting All council members present will attend. Announcements Scot asked regarding the status of the water meters. Heidi explained that Sam wrote a letter to Neptune to introduce Heidi and to reopen the conversation regarding the water meters. The letter stated that 971 of the city's 2,600 meters have failed, so there is a significant problem and the city would like to reopen the discussion as to Neptune's plan to figure out why this happened to the city and where they would like to go. The letter was sent in mid - December but no response has been received. Bill asked if there is any way to check electronically and determine if the meters are accurate. He stated that he was gone for three weeks last summer and his water and sewer bill was identical to the previous month. Heidi stated that winter charges are averaged in the summer. Bill stated that nobody was in the house using any water for almost a three -week period, so it makes one wonder how accurate the meters are. There was further discussion regarding the meters that have been replaced, whether Bill's meter had been replaced, an explanation of the issues with the defective meters, the suggestion of meters calibrating incorrectly, and the need to call the public works department to schedule a time to check Bill's meter. Bruce spoke regarding the list for recognition of employees, as listed on the council workshop agenda. It reminded him of something he wanted to mention after Christmas. Bruce stated that the 2 Council Workshop Minutes of January 8, 2013 city crew that hauls off trash really did a good job of helping people out, and he wanted to commend Heidi and all of the employees that they do a really good job. Heidi stated that she would pass that on. Heidi explained that the city's ordinance has not been changed for employee longevity since 1982. In the ordinance, there is no recognition of employees until they retire and the city has a considerable number of employees that are past the 20 -year mark that have never been recognized for their service. Staff will be working on that and eventually bring it to the council. Mayor Olson asked the council to submit any discussion items for the budget workshop on January 22n Currently, the agenda will include a review of the budget the way it is presented and the city council's role in the budget. After the budget workshop, he is hopeful that council members would have the knowledge of how to find answers to a constituent's questions regarding the budget. Recognition of Employees • Robert Johnson — 33 years of employment on January 3 • Don Nelson — 28 years of employment on January 14 • Stan Langve — 13 years of employment on January 5 • Gary Colley — 10 years of employment on January 6 • Kurt Markegard — 8 years of employment on January 3' • Don Ebright — 3 years of employment on January 4th The council workshop adjourned at 6:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted, L , Cindy Allen 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. 3