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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 08.05.2025 MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP TUESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2025 A Council Workshop was held in Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Dave Waggoner at 6:30 p.m. on July 15, 2025. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x_Tom Canape _x_Heidi Sparks Michelle Mize x Jessica Banks _x_Casey Wheeler _x_ Iry Wilke Richard Klose _x_Jodi Mackay OTHERS PRESENT: Brittney Harakal, Administrative Assistant Michele Braukmann, Civil Attorney Kelly Strecker, Clerk/Treasurer Kurt Markegard, CAO JW Hopper, Fire Chief Travis Nagel, Assistant Fire Chief Public Input: There were none. General Items 1. Appointment of Paul Thomae to the City/County Planning Board for a two-year term ending June 30, 2027. Mr. Thomae introduced himself to the Council. He has lived in Laurel for close to 50 years. He owned a business for 25 years. He is interested in serving on this board. Executive Review 2. Fire: Resolution- A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Mayor To Execute An Agreement For Provision Of Fire Services For The Laurel Airport Authority. The Fire Chief stated that there was no increase to either contract. Laurel Airport Authority had no calls last year, and so far, no calls this year. Fire District No. 7 has only been bringing in $140,000 annually because it did not have a full board to approve a higher amount. They have a new board and will be able to pay the full amount. The Fire Chief has been in discussions with Molt and various Fire Districts to work on merging them. The new fire truck will be here Thursday morning. There will be an in-depth training, as it is a foot wider than any of the current trucks. 3. Fire: Resolution- A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Mayor To Execute An Agreement For Provision Of Fire Services For The Rural Fire District 7. Discussed with the previous agenda item. 4. Public Works: Resolution- A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Mayor To Execute An Independent Contractor Service Contract With True North Contracting. This small service contract is for a paving project at the Cemetery. This project involves filling potholes and overlaying approximately a block. This project has been budgeted and will be paid out of the perpetual fund. 5. Public Works: Resolution - A Resolution Of The City Council Accepting The Bid And Authorizing The Mayor To Execute All Contract And Related Documents For The Completion Of The Southside Paving Project By Knife River—Billings. The project is to provide an overlay on S. 5th Street, S. I"Avenue, Maple Avenue, and Woodland Avenues. This is not a complete rebuild of these streets, but will be paved curb to curb to reduce the dust on the Southside. Knife River was the lowest qualified bidder. This project will be funded with the Gas Tax. 6. Finance: Resolution -A Resolution Of The City Council Approving Amendments To Appropriations And Revenues For The City Of Laurel's Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget. The Clerk/Treasurer reviewed the attached documents. There were no additional questions. 7. Planning: Resolution- A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Mayor To Execute Task Order No. 5 And All Related Documents For The Bernhardt Ditch Improvements By And Between The City Of Laurel And Triple Tree Engineering, Inc. This Task Order is part of the overall LURA project that has been presented to the Council. This project covers the irrigation ditch off Bernhardt Road and includes landscaping. The work must be done in the fall/Winter when the ditch is not in use. CHS has agreed to allow for the ditch to be covered. 8. Planning: Resolution- Resolution Of City Council Approving Final Annexation Of Property Legally Described As The Amended Plat Of Lots 1 & 2 Of Nutting Brothers Subdivision, Second Filing, Lot la, Adjacent To The City Of Laurel, As An Addition To The City Of Laurel, Yellowstone County, Montana, With Concurrent Approval Of Zoning Designation Upon Annexation Of The Property The School District paved the road last week. They have also installed a sidewalk. They will be putting up the stop signs this week. To obtain SROs for this school, the school must be located in the City to establish jurisdiction. School starts in three weeks; this needs to be finalized. It was questioned if the 4-way stop would be installed at E. Maryland and Alder Avenue before the start of school. It was clarified that those are the signs being installed. Council Issues 9. Mayor: Discussion on Parking on W. 1 st Street and E. 1 st Street. The Mayor has discussed with Staff and business owners on 1St Street. Would like to look at what diagonal parking would look like. Council noted that when this came up a few years ago, it was said that the City could not do diagonal parking because of the emergency response vehicles and losing parking spots. It was clarified that part of the LURA project is to install a crosswalk. This should assist with getting people from the parking lot across the Street. It has been recommended that all striping in the TIF District be done at the same time to make the project most effective. SE 41h Street needs to be restriped. Council noted that while they may be losing parking spaces, this could create the perception of having more parking. It will also provide ADA parking spots. Council commented that they would not like to see back in parking. It was clarified that anytime the City designates parking, it must provide a percentage of parking as ADA compliant. All emergency services would be involved in this conversation and ensure there are no concerns before proceeding. Other Items The CAO and Public Works Director announced that the City lost an employee last week due to illness. Mr. Clifton worked up until the last six weeks. When he ran out of sick leave, other employees donated their sick leave so that he would continue to receive full pay. Both asked to keep his family in your thoughts. Attendance at Upcoming Council Meeting All Council Members present will be in attendance at next week's meeting. Announcements The Park Board's next meeting is Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. The Council workshop adjourned at 7:13 p.m. Res submittcc . 7 Brittney Harak Administrative ssistant NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of the Council for the listed workshop agenda items. CITY HALL City of Laurel 115 W.1st Sc PUB WORKS:628-4796 ISO PWD FAX.628-2241 P.O. Box 10WATER OFFICE:628-7431 Laurel,Montana 59044 W'rR FAX:628-2289 MAYOR:628-8456 Clerk Treasurer DEPARTMENT The City of Laurel needs to make budget amendments to ensure that its financial plan reflects actual revenues and expenditure throughout the fiscal year. These adjustments are necessary to account for unexpected changes such as increased costs, emergency spending, or shifts in project priorities. Budget amendments help maintain transparency, fiscal responsibility, and compliance with legal requirements, allowing the city to allocate resources more effectively and meet community needs as they evolve. Respectfully Submitted, CITY OF LAUREL el lvr EXHIBIT A Budget Amendment Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Fund 2952—Federal Equitable Sharing Original Revenues $ 0.00 Amended Revenues 63.783.02 Increase in Revenue: $ 63,783.02 Original Appropriation 0.00 Amended Appropriation $ 52,445.08 Increase in Appropriation: S 52,445.08 Per the Department of Justice Standard Operating Procedures, appropriations and revenues for the Federal Equitable Sharing Fund may not be budgeted using the fiscal year budgeting process. All appropriations and revenues must be budgeted after the end of the fiscal year, using the budget amendment process. Fund 1000—General Fund-Ambulance Original Appropriation 1500.00 Amended Appropriation S 1766.00 Increase in Appropriation: S 266.00 Increase Appropriations, due to Ambulance staff reimbursing the city for the purchase of more uniform T-shirts. Fund 2928—Transit Grant Original Appropriation $ .00 Amended Appropriation $ 16268.00 Increase in Appropriation: $ 16,268.00 Unanticipated Expenditure for Local Share payment, for the purchase of the Transit Van from 2020. The overage is funded by the cash reserve for the Transit Grand fund. Fund 1000—General Fund-Fire Department Original Appropriation $ 55,000.00 Amended Appropriation S 67,500.00 Increase in Appropriation: $ 12,500.00 Original Revenues $ 3,000.00 Amended Revenues $ 12,500.00 Increase in Revenue: $ 9,500.00 Increase Appropriations and Revenues, due to receiving a DNRC grant for the 2024 Volunteer Fire capacity for wildland clothing. This was a reimbursable grant. Fund 2370—Employer Contribution P.E.R.S Original Appropriation $ 138308.00 Amended Appropriation $ 143408.00 Increase in Appropriation $ 5,100.00 Unanticipated OT for the Ambulance Department. The overage is funded by the cash reserve for the Employer Contributions to P.E.R.S. Fund 7850—Airport Authority Original Appropriation $ 31,609.00 Amended Appropriation $ 32.021.00 Increase in Appropriation: $ 412.00 Revenues for this fund were greater than anticipated so there were more transfers to the Airport Authority than budgeted. Fund 7120—Fire Disability Original Appropriation $ 39,826.00 Amended Appropriation $ 69,616.00 Increase in Appropriation: $ 29,790.00 Revenues for this fund were greater than anticipated so there were more transfers to the Firemen's Relief Association than budgeted.