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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 07.30.2013 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP JULY 30, 2013 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Council Vice - President Mark Mace at 6:30 p.m. on July 30, 2013. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Emelie Eaton _x Doug Poehls Bruce McGee x Mark Mace _x Scot Stokes _x_ Chuck Dickerson _x Tom Nelson Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen Public Input: There was no public input. General items There were none. Executive Review: • Resolution — United Steel Workers variance request (public hearing on August 6 Heidi Jensen stated that a public hearing for the variance request will be held on Tuesday, August 6 In the absence of the city planner, she explained that the United Steel Workers union hall is located on East Sixth Street. The union feels that their building is unsafe, is noncompliant with building standards and cannot be remodeled, so they want to tear the building down and build a new one. Since they are currently zoned in a residential location, they are required to get a variance to tear a building down and rebuild it. The City - County Planning Board heard the variance request twice, as the applicant did not attend the first meeting and the board wanted a union representative to explain how the city's seven required criteria would be met for the variance to be approved. A union representative attended the next meeting to explain that the building is unsafe, why it needs to be torn down, and that the union would rebuild a comparable union hall. The City - County Planning Board voted unanimously to grant the variance. The city planner will attend next week's meeting. There was a brief discussion regarding the possibility of renting the building and a question regarding building standards. Only the variance request is being considered at this time, and the building plans will be reviewed by the building department. • Resolution — Contract with Billings Asphalt to repair streets over waterline breaks, valve replacement and curb box repairs The contract for $8,500 with Billings Asphalt is for street repairs in eight locations where waterline breaks, valve replacement and curb box repairs have been done. Services will commence within 60 days. Council Workshop Minutes of July 30, 2013 • Ordinance — Buildings for lease or rent Heidi referred to the memo that the city planner prepared regarding the ordinance. The 2013 legislature passed some new subdivision regulations regarding buildings for lease or rent in unzoned areas. Since the City of Laurel has a City - County Planning Department, the subdivision regulations are effective in the city and the county. Yellowstone County already adopted the ordinance and the city must adopt it by September 1 The new ordinance does not affect residences in zoned areas and amendments to the subdivision regulations would not affect buildings or potential buildings within the city limits. Zoned areas and agricultural areas are exempt from the rules, but any unzoned area within the city's 4.5 mile jurisdiction in the county would be subject to the new ordinance. • Update on Consolidated Dispatch Center Heidi stated that city staff and the various entities recently held a meeting with Carbon County regarding the proposed consolidated dispatch center. The city's clerk/treasurer and Carbon County's administrative assistant will meet on August 22n to determine a reasonable budget, after which Carbon County will schedule another meeting for all entities in September. Heidi stated that the City of Laurel is not interested in entering into contracts with every city /entity in Carbon County but would only enter into an agreement with Carbon County, who would then decide what percentage each entity needs to contribute. Discussion will move forward to determine whether or not the project is right for the City of Laurel. • Council Issues: o Lease Task Force update Tom stated that the Lease Task Force would meet in a couple weeks to address the lease issues and to discuss the information regarding the building. Heidi received the report from the testing done in the buildings at Riverside Park. The information is technical and confusing, so she requested a summary of the information from Howard Rickard. o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event Heidi stated that the city received $1.4 million from the federal government for the south bank restoration project. Last week, the city gave Great West Engineering the task of completing documents and going out to bid by mid- August so the council could approve a bid on the September 17 agenda. If the council approved the bid in mid - September, the contractor could start at the end of September or the beginning of October and complete the work in November before an ice jam comes down the river. During that low time, 300 feet of bank will be pushed back into the river from the bridge to the power pole on the park side. In today's conference call, FEMA asked for a schedule, which the city had already set up. Heidi spoke further regarding the needed permits, the issue of having 22 alternatives for the long -term permanent solution without a viable alternative, and the fact that the state agencies refuse to permit a weir in the river, which means that the federal tax dollars must be spent on a more expensive project. The first prong of the project was to remove the sediment under the bridge, which has been completed. The second prong of the project is to restore the south bank and try to push water back over the intake, which is on its way to completion. The third prong is to restore water flow to pre - 2011 disaster, which should hopefully be completed by mid -2015. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of July 30, 2013 Heidi stated that the river is getting increasingly low and staff does not want to have last year's emergency situation occur again this year. The city has applied for permits to work on the diversion ditch that goes to the old intake and only two permits are outstanding. One is the Army Corps permit, and Todd Tillinger, the Army Corps supervisor, has been informed that the city would like to be in the water this Friday or next Monday. By the end of the week, the city will apply for permits for restoration to the temporary weir that was placed in the river last August /September. The city is being much more proactive this year. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the preferred alternative of putting the W- shaped weir in the river, the recent meeting with Jeff Ryan at DEQ and his refusal to permit the weir, FWP concerns about fish passage, and the project in general. Other items Heidi stated that a groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled on Thursday, August 1 s`, at 11:30 a.m. at the wastewater treatment plant. Michelle Marsh (DEQ) and Great West Engineering representatives will attend. The newspapers from Laurel and Billings and the television stations will cover the event, as the $9 million project is the largest infrastructure improvement the City of Laurel has ever undertaken. A lunch will be held after the groundbreaking and a preconstruction meeting with the contractors, DEQ, Great West and the public works director is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. at city hall. Review of draft council agenda for August 6, 2013 There were no changes. Attendance at the August 6, 2013 council meeting Mark will not be able to attend. Announcements There were none. The council workshop adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 6_; a, 64,, 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