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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 02.12.2013 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP FEBRUARY 12, 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 February 12, 2013. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _ Emelie Eaton _x_ Doug Poehls x Bruce McGee _x_ Mark Mace x Scot Stokes x Chuck Dickerson Tom Nelson x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen Mic Gee, CHS Refinery Monica Plecker Members of LURA Kurt Markegard Chamber of Commerce representatives Public Input (three - minute limit): There was no public input. General items: • Laurel Fire Department: Appointment of Keenan Weatherford The appointment will be on the February 19 council agenda. • Laurel Ambulance Service: Appointment of Jennifer Winchell The appointment will be on the February 19 council agenda. • Big Sky Economic Development Authority presentation Steve Arveschoug, the Executive Director of the Big Sky Economic Development Authority (BSEDA) gave a PowerPoint presentation about the services the organization provides. BSEDA's mission statement is "focused on sustaining and growing our region's vibrant economy and outstanding quality of life, Big Sky Economic Development provides leadership and resources for business creation, expansion, retention, new business recruitment and community development." Steve stated that BSEDA provides services to support local businesses, does new business recruitment and expansion projects, and does community development. It is a two - headed organization, starting with Big Sky Economic Development Authority, which was created as a tradeport authority by the Yellowstone County Commissioners in 1989. Eleven of the board members are appointed directly by the Yellowstone County Commissioners. When created in 1989, BSEDA was charged with the responsibility to lead economic development efforts throughout Yellowstone County. The Big Sky Economic Development Corporation was created in 2002 as a private not - for -profit organization, and it is currently made up of 123 member investor companies. A Board of Directors is elected from the investor companies. BSEDA's CORE programs address business creation, expansion and retention, new business recruitment and community development. BSEDA has programs that provide support services to local Council Workshop Minutes of February 12, 2013 businesses. The BEAR Program, which stands for Business Expansion and Retention, is a group of resources with expertise in various areas that are available to consult with individual businesses. A Workforce Development 2023 Forum is scheduled on March 19, 2013. The interactive forum will include a discussion of workforce needs and issues facing Billings and the region in the next ten years. Steve stated that BSEDA's services are available to the City of Laurel and he tries to be an active participant in the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency whenever possible. Mayor Olson thanked Steve for his presentation. He mentioned that BSEDA's former director, Joe McClure, was instrumental in the creation of the City of Laurel's Tax Increment Finance District (TIFD). Heidi explained that she asked BSEDA to come tonight because, with Steve's participation in LURA, some opportunities for LURA to invest into BSEDA more might be presented to the council. Staff is still exploring the opportunities, but she thought it was important to understand what BSEDA is doing, how it is impacting Laurel, and how it will impact Laurel in the future. If there are future questions, Heidi will relay them to Steve. If LURA comes forward with a request to allocate some funds to BSEDA, the council now has an understanding of what is offered. Mayor Olson stated that representatives from the Laurel Chamber of Commerce and the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency (LURA) attended tonight's presentation. He expressed appreciation for their support of BSEDA. Executive Review: • Resolution — Extend water and sewer services to the CHS Refinery Monica Plecker spoke regarding the written request which was submitted by an engineering firm on behalf of CHS Refinery. CHS has requested water and sewer services for a new office building, which will receive limited use and include two bathrooms. A site plan and a vicinity map were provided and have been reviewed by the Public Works Department. Monica's memo was attached to the information. She reminded the council that the City of Laurel is not allowed to annex the refinery. LMC says that the city can only provide services within city limits, but annexation is not an option in this case. Kurt Markegard stated that CHS Refinery is moving the fueling station to a location on the other side of the highway to get away from the train traffic below the interstate. This building would be an accessory to the fueling station. There is a sewer main there, which is the trunk line that was replaced in 2006. There is also a water main there that goes to the Bernhardt residence that CHS Refinery now owns. One of the main concerns is making sure that the city has an adequate spot for CHS to tie in, and there is a manhole just off Bernhardt Road. Kurt proposed that, if the council chooses, CHS Refinery should tie in there so the city can monitor the wastewater flow. The part of the drain ditch they need to cross is just south of the Bernhardt place, and he does not want infiltration coming in. Bringing it up almost to Bernhardt Road and tying into the manhole is the most logical place so the city can monitor the flows as they come in. Since CHS is outside the city limits, it is up to the council to grant permission. The Public Works Department has no concerns at this location. Mayor Olson asked Mic Gee, who represents CHS Refinery, to address the council on the proposal. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of February 12, 2013 Mic Gee stated that he works for the Pipelines and Terminals Department of CHS in Laurel. CHS is building a new truck loading rack on the east side of the refinery to replace the one that is currently in use west of the highway. They need restroom facilities for the office building and the truck drivers that will go through the facility. They have identified the sewer line that is adjacent to the property as making the most sense as the way to tie these new buildings in to the waste facility. The waterline that goes to the Bernhardt ranch farmstead is immediately adjacent to the location. As a representative of CHS, he asked that the council grant CHS the authority to tie in to those facilities. Chuck asked how fire suppression would be handled for the building. Mic explained that CHS is building five new petroleum storage tanks on the facility. The tanks will be equipped with nozzles so that the fire department in the refinery can spray foam to fight fires on the tanks. CHS is putting in a new 100 -foot metal building for the trucks to drive through to do their loading. That building will have a complete piped in automatic foam system that detects fire and is tied into the refinery water system. If there is a fire, the automatic system will be tied into the underground fire water system at the refinery. If the office building that is being built were to catch on fire, the CHS fire department would service it. Mark asked if this would eliminate the truck traffic issues on the highway. Mic stated that there are currently three facilities where the truck loading racks are located. There is a propane facility, a refined product or gasoline diesel fuel truck rack, and an asphalt loading rack. The only one that will remain there will be the asphalt loading rack. The truck traffic issues might not be eliminated, but they should be significantly reduced because the largest amount of traffic going through there is for the truck loading rack that loads refined products. The propane loading rack will be located to the east of the liquid product loading rack on the same property as the new building. It will be an open air loading facility with no building associated with it. Mic explained that the request to tie in to the waterline has nothing to do with fire suppression. The 2- inch waterline comes off the city water that feeds the former Bernhardt residence and is the line CHS wants to use to provide potable water to the office building and those facilities. The firefighting system is an entirely separate system that is part of the refinery fire water system and is a much larger facility. • Resolution — Schedule of Fees & Charges (Public hearing and resolution — February 19, 2013) Heidi stated that the resolution of intent for the schedule of fees and charges was approved at the last council meeting. The public hearing and the resolution to approve the fmal schedule of fees and charges will be on the February 19 council agenda. There was a question regarding building permit fees for buildings damaged by fire. Heidi explained that has been left up to the discretion of the building official and how much of the property was damaged. The current building official is also the fire marshal and would have done the investigation of the fire, so he determines whether it would be a remodel or new construction based on the damage of the fire and on a case -by -case scenario. • Resolution — Code Enforcement/Building Inspector /Safety Officer Job Description Heidi stated that the code enforcement officer resigned on January 18 which provided the opportunity for the city to amend this job description and the city planner's job description to 3 Council Workshop Minutes of February 12, 2013 accurately reflect the responsibilities of the positions. The essential duties for the code enforcement officer were vague and the duties and required certifications were not listed for the building official or safety officer. The position is responsible to the City Planner. The minimum qualifications stated that the employee is required to become certified within the State of Montana for building code, plumbing code, fire code and playground. Heidi explained that these certifications are very expensive and the costs to attend training classes need to be included in the training budget. The State of Montana operates under the Uniform Plumbing Code, which does not have a class and the test is not cheap. The individual must travel to attend a playground safety class when it is available. It is a significant amount of money for the city to put in an upfront cost for an employee. While the city has a 12 -month probation period, all of these licenses might not be obtained in a year due to the way the calendar or the classes fall. The original thought was to require two certifications during the first year of employment and two during the second year of employment. However, that puts the employee on two -year probation, which is not the city's intent. The draft job description states that the employee needs to become certified within 12 months of employment, unless otherwise provided by the city. Heidi explained that the statement might change prior to the council meeting in order to address the certification requirements within the probationary period. There was discussion regarding reimbursement for training expenses if the employee chooses to leave the position. Heidi explained that the city has taken a policy not to ask employees in the police department for reimbursement, and it cannot be done in any other department. There was further discussion regarding a two -year probationary period, the city's 12 -month probationary period, the salary range for the position if the applicant already has certifications, the proposed advertising for the position, and the suggestion to hire a contract employee for the position. • Resolution — City Planner Job Description Heidi explained the changes to the city planner's job description. After Heidi was hired as the city planner in 2011, the responsibility of the building and code enforcement department was placed under the planner, but the job description did not reflect who supervised those employees. The city planner's job description did not state that the planning department is in charge of the Laurel Transit System and administering the grant. The city planner is the floodplain administrator for the city, which was not stated in the job description. The city planner also has responsibilities for the Tax Increment Finance District. Heidi and the planner attend as many LURA meetings as possible, provide a significant amount of staff support, and handle their city correspondence and any applications that exceed LURA's budgetary amount and need to be presented to the council. LURA contributes funds for the city planner's salary. • Council Issues: o Lease Task Force update Bill Mountsier stated that he is impressed with the cooperation and the way things are moving forward. He expects that a draft document could be presented to the council within six to eight weeks, pending legal review. Bruce McGee stated that last night's Lease Task Force meeting was very progressive and forward moving. The main issue is that the building is not habitable yet and it is unknown when it will be habitable. There was a question regarding the costs and completion date for repairs of the building. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of February 12, 2013 Heidi explained that the prior code enforcement officer worked with Alpha Omega to get an estimate on the building. She will contact Alpha Omega regarding the estimate for the building and the caretaker's residence. o Noise ordinance (Bruce McGee) Bruce suggested the need to revamp the rules concerning door -to -door sales and when they take place. There was an incident in the community just before Christmas when residents had sales people at their doors up to 10:00 at night. He has had a discussion with the police sergeant about the possibility of empowering the policemen with a noise ordinance for quiet time from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. That would not prohibit industrial noises or similar things. This is a 24/7 community in many ways, as people work shift work and have many different schedules. He thinks the council needs to take consideration that there should be a portion of time in which people can expect not to be bothered by sales people at their door, etc. There was discussion regarding the allowed times for solicitation, the need to have a permit to solicit in the city, the allowed hours for solicitation, and the need for further discussion about a noise ordinance on the next workshop agenda. o Left hand turn signal / First Avenue to Main Street (Chuck Dickerson) Chuck explained that he requested information regarding the possibility of extending the time limit for the left hand turn arrow northbound on First Avenue onto Main Street. He stated that the current time limit only allows one or two vehicles to get through the light, which he thinks is a safety issue. Heidi stated that her father is the state traffic technician and his boss is the Bureau Chief of the Traffic Signal Operation for the State. She questioned if he wanted the change to accommodate two certain times of the day, in the early morning and after 5:00 p.m., or if the request was for the whole day. Chuck stated his request for a 24/7 change in the time for the green arrow at the stoplight. Heidi will contact the right person to get the information. There was discussion regarding traffic lights at intersections in Billings, the traffic flows in Billings, maintenance of the traffic lights, and the different types of detection systems. There will be further discussion at the next council workshop. Other items There were none. Review of draft council agenda for February 19, 2013 • Public hearing: Schedule of Fees and Charges Attendance at the February 19, 2013 council meeting All council members present will attend. Announcements Mark stated that the Park Board recently reviewed some recommendations regarding safety and parks from Park Board members to the Public Works Director. The Park Board outlined the issues and he 5 Council Workshop Minutes of February 12, 2013 would like to present them at the next council workshop. The issues include broken swings in the parks, removal of the old tennis courts and fencing and weed maintenance. Mark would like to talk with the city attorney regarding the Billie Riddle memorial funds. Mayor Olson stated appreciation for the presentation that Heidi helped facilitate tonight, as it brings focus to what is available. He stated that Heidi's intention is to have additional meetings and interaction with LURA, so there could be some proposals for the council to consider in the future. Recognition of Employees • Connie Crowe — 30 years of employment on February 3' • Cathy Gabrian — 26 years of employment on February 23`" • Cheryll Lund — 25 years of employment on February 9 • Kyle Bryant — 8 years of employment on February 1 • Heidi Jensen — 2 years of employment on February 28 • Monica Plecker — 1 year of employment on February 1 Heidi stated that small things often mean the most to employees. In January, she started listing recognition of employees for their years of service on the first agenda of the month. The first three people on the Recognition of Employees list, Connie Crowe, Cathy Gabrian and Cheryll Lund, all have 25 years or more service to the City of Laurel. Kyle Bryant, Heidi and Monica Plecker have not been here as long but will also continue to work hard for the City. Heidi stated that the city's employee recognition ordinance is out of date and has not been updated since 1982. The city does not recognize employees until they retire and have worked here for 30 years. Usually at the 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 -year marks, employees receive some small token of appreciation, but the city does not do that. This was her first attempt to recognize employees for the years of service, and she will bring the ordinance forward soon for the council's consideration. Mayor Olson stated that it is a fine endeavor that is long overdue. The first three employees on the list have served over 75 years of employment. Heidi stated that Connie Crowe has a thankless position as the animal control officer at the police department. Cathy Gabrian is the payroll clerk, deputy clerk, and handles the city's cemetery. Cheryll Lund, the public works secretary, is the first contact that people when anybody wants to talk to any of the seven employees that work upstairs and she handles the Veterans' Cemetery. The council workshop adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 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. 6