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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 05.28.2013 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MAY 28, 2013 6:35 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 May 28, 2013. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Emelie Eaton _x_ Doug Poehls Bruce McGee x Mark Mace _x Scot Stokes x Chuck Dickerson _x Tom Nelson x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen Monica Plecker 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. Iry Wilke, 1017 Seventh Avenue, asked if the formal request for the Big Sky State Games would be discussed tonight. The item will be discussed under other items. William Staudinger, 804 Wyoming Avenue, spoke regarding the parking issues by the high school stadium, the yellow painted curb on 8 and Wyoming, the need for striping on Southeast 4 Street, Bright `n Beautiful and issues with junk in the city. Mayor Olson explained that the police department has been writing parking tickets at the stadium, the high cost prevented the creation of an SID to address curb and gutter issues by his house, and the staff and business owners will determine whether to stripe Southeast 4 Street with side street parking or a middle turn lane. General items There were none. Executive Review: • Resolution — Intent to create SID No. 115 Monica Plecker stated that the two SID's were presented previously and the specific costs have been received for the projects. SID No. 115 is for the project on Fifth Avenue and SID No. 116 is for the project on Cottonwood Avenue. Regarding SID No. 115, Monica stated that Exhibit A showed a map of the boundaries and the affected properties. The boundary does not have to be contiguous and is split up to represent where the improvements will be done. Properties that are excluded and will not receive any improvement through the project will not be responsible for any of the costs. The map showed where replacements Council Workshop Minutes of May 28, 2013 will be in relation to the lot owners. Exhibit B showed that the project includes a total of 1,479 lineal feet of sidewalk for replacement through the SID. The total cost of $91,600 will be financed over the course of twenty years. Because of the length of the project, an Intercap loan with a variable interest rate would not be advisable, so other funding will be needed. Exhibit C detailed the costs of the project, including actual direct construction costs of $78,990, the cost of issuance through Dorsey & Whitney will be $7,990.00, and the revolving fund deposit has to be 5 percent of the project. The resolution of intent to create is the first step. If the council passes the resolution, a 15 -day notice period is triggered to notify the property owners within the boundary of the protest period in which they can submit written protest. If 51 percent of the property owners submit written protest, the effort dies. If less than 51 percent protest, the council can move forward with passing the SID. The process includes a resolution of intent to create the district, a notice period and a resolution to create the district. There was a question regarding the two wheelchair ramps on Fifth Avenue. Monica explained that the city is responsible for the cost of the ADA ramps. She also explained that the process to determine costs for a corner property that needs sidewalk replacement on two sides. Statute reads that, for properties that have replacements that are adjacent to two streets, they are responsible for half of the linear feet of the sidewalk replacement. The leftover costs get distributed to the entire district, based on the percentage of what they are contributing. If a property owner is contributing 5 percent of the total project, they are responsible for 5 percent of that unaccounted for corner. The project should begin soon and be completed by the end of July. After passage of the resolution of intent, the members of the district will receive a certified mailing with a map of the district and their principle assessment for the SID. Property owners can then decide whether or not they wish to support the SID. If 51 percent of the members protest the SID, the city still has the property owners on notice that their sidewalks are presenting a hazard and they need to replace the sidewalks. Monica explained that the city mailed notices and held two community meetings regarding the SID's. Only a few residents showed up each time to inquire about the project and review the fact sheets about special improvement districts and the benefits to them. The SID creates a financially feasible way for people to replace the sidewalk, which is the responsibility of the homeowner, and gives the opportunity to spread out the cost. Because it is part of a larger project, the costs are lower. If the SID does not pass, the city has already taken measurements and has acknowledged the problems with the sidewalks, which creates increased liability for the city. The city can then put the property owners on a 30 -day notice. If they choose not to replace their sidewalks within 30 days, the city can enroll them in the residential sidewalk replacement program. The city does not have the $91,600 and $98,000 needed to replace the sidewalks in the replacement program. There was further discussion regarding the 20 -year timeframe for the SID's versus the 6 -year timeframe for the sidewalk replacement program. Since the loan has not yet been secured, the interest payment required has not been determined. • Resolution — Intent to create SID No. 116 Monica stated that SID No. 116 is the Cottonwood Avenue project. Exhibit A showed a map of the district and the sidewalk needing replacement. The total cost for the project to replace the 1,554 lineal feet of sidewalk is $98,400. Direct construction costs will be $84,870, and other added costs 2 Council Workshop Minutes of May 28, 2013 include the 5 percent revolving fund deposit and the cost of issuance for Dorsey & Whitney. The other information is the same as the resolution for SID No. 115. The protest periods will be the same, but the percentage of protests will be tallied separately for SID No. 115 and SID No. 116. The protest period will end before the council votes on the resolutions to create, and the information will be compiled so the council knows if 51 percent of the property owners submitted written protests. There will be separate public hearings for SID No. 115 and one for SID No. 116 at the time of the resolutions to create. If 45 percent of the property owners in SID No. 115 protest in writing and five other owners verbally protested, the verbal protests would not weigh in on the 51 percent threshold. Legally, once the 51 percent is reached, the SID process would die. • Resolution — Accept the petition and annexation of Riverside Park Monica explained that the city is using the process of petitioning to annex the property known as Riverside Park. The Mayor has written a formal petition for annexation. Since the city is 100 percent property owner of the area that is to be annexed, the annexation would become immediate as soon as the resolution is passed and filed. Riverside Park would then be in the municipal boundary of the city. The required annexation plan has been prepared to provide information on how the city plans to provide services. Since Riverside Park is already city property, the city already provides most services. Fire and ambulance protection are currently provided. Upon annexation, police protection will be provided. Some security issues would be fixed with the annexation. The city provides garbage services and street maintenance. The statute is written for annexing a residential area, but there are no paved streets to maintain in the park. Right -of -way has to come in with the annexation, but that is a state route and maintenance would still be handled by the state. Water and sewer are already provided in the park and would continue to be provided through wells, septic and drain fields. The annexation plan must also address costs, but since the city already provides the services, no new costs are identified. Existing resources that are providing the services already will continue to serve in the same manner. No added resources would be needed in order to provide police protection in the park. There were questions and discussion regarding the city's obligation to maintain anything between the city boundaries and the park, the MCA statute that does not allow the city to annex the refinery, and the challenge of providing city water and sewer services in this area. There was further discussion regarding why the city services, except the police department, have been provided to the park over the years. Since Riverside Park is in Yellowstone County and not in the city limits, there have been issues with police protection versus protection from the sheriff's office. Heidi explained that the city's ordinances would not apply in the county. The signs regarding shooting in Riverside Park do not reference city ordinance. The signs reference state law pursuant to the city council to state that no discharge of firearms is allowed without the approval of the city council. • Resolution — Authorize Blue Cross Blue Shield, Delta Dental, VSP renewal agreements Heidi stated that Blue Cross Blue Shield is the city's insurance provider. The rates increased 9.4 percent this year, which Heidi stated was very fair when other plans have increased in double digits. A lot of the increase was due to universal health care, also known as ObamaCare, and the associated fees. The Insurance Committee members that met recently recommended approval to the council. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of May 28, 2013 Delta Dental went up 3 percent and VSP premiums did not increase. Heidi stated that Blue Cross is a provider that is accepted by 100 percent of the hospitals in the state and almost everywhere, and it is some of the best coverage the city could offer the employees. Mayor Olson stated that the agreement needs to be approved in a timely fashion so the city employees continue to be insured. • Resolution — Landfill Use Agreement Heidi stated that the resolution and agreement must be passed every year for the city to continue hauling garbage to the City of Billings' landfill. There will be a $.50 /ton increase this year from $18.00 /ton to $18.50 /ton. In budget discussion for the last three years, the public works director has not seen a need to increase garbage fees. • Council Issues: o Chuckhole on First Avenue under the bridge (Chuck Dickerson) The chuckhole was fixed last week. Chuck mentioned that another one is developing to the south of the original one. o Lease Task Force update Mayor Olson stated that he hoped the Lease Task Force would be willing to address the leases for the Rifle and Pistol Clubs. There was discussion regarding the need for someone to take the minutes at the meetings and the possibility of scheduling meetings with the clubs as soon as turnaround is done at the refinery. o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event Heidi stated that the item is on the agenda to provide an opportunity for the public to speak or ask questions. The next conference call with FEMA will be on Tuesday, June 4 At the same time, the Mayor and Heidi will have a 15- minutes video conference call with Senator Tester's office to plead the city's case. Great West Engineering has provided a bulleted information list of the biggest problems, and Heidi will forward that list to Senator Tester's office. o Legislative Review (Mayor Olson) Mayor Olson stated that the legislative review would be on the June 11 w council workshop agenda. Other items • Request from the Laurel Rifle Club to sponsor the .22 caliber small bore 3 position event at Riverside Park during the Big Sky State Games on July 20 Iry Wilke, 1017 Seventh Avenue, stated that he did not receive the letter from the State Games requesting to have the event, so he was formally asking permission to allow the Laurel Rifle Club to sponsor the .22 caliber small bore event as part of the Montana Big Sky State Games program on the rifle range located in Laurel's Riverside Park. The event has been going on for over 20 years. He stated that a protocol similar to the one presented to the council for the Laurel Rod and Gun Club's trapshooting events will be prepared and presented to the city council before any shooting takes place, but after permission has been granted for the event. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of May 28, 2013 The Big Sky State Games event is scheduled on Saturday, July 20 Steve Krum and Darrell Johnson usually put that function on, but they are working turnaround at the refinery. Randy Grow, a member of the Rifle Club, is a participant in this event and was available to answer any questions about the event. Randy provided information regarding the location of the event in the small bore range, which is the long covered awning, where participants shoot into the berm. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the timeframe for the event, education and notification of the public via the Big Sky State Games brochure, the two shooting events, safety issues and protocol, range officers, insurance requirements, and the 40 to 60 competitors involved in the event. The Rifle Club carries $2 million of liability insurance, but it was unknown whether the Big Sky State Games also carries insurance. Mayor Olson asked Iry to provide proof of insurance ($1 million policy with $2 million aggregate, as required by the City of Laurel) from the Laurel Rifle Club and the Big Sky State Games. He also requested a statement that the insurance company knows the Rifle Club planned to host the event, in order for the council to approve it. Iry agreed to provide the information in addition to the protocol for the event. Review of draft council agenda for June 4, 2013 The Rifle Club's request on the agenda will be chaned to "use the small bore shooting range at Riverside Park for the Big Sky State Games on July 20 from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m." Iry Wilke will prepare another letter requesting the event and stating the date and time and stating the insurance coverage. Attendance at the June 4, 2013 council meeting Tom will be unable to attend. Announcements There were none. The council workshop adjourned at 7:39 p.m. Respectfully submitted, i1 t,%_/-1/4/ (21-4v 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. 5