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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 09.10.2013 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP SEPTEMBER 10, 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 September 10, 2013. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Emelie Eaton _x_ Doug Poehls x Bruce McGee x Mark Mace x Scot Stokes x Chuck Dickerson x Tom Nelson x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen, CAO Monica Plecker, City Planner Public Input (three - minute limit): There was no public input. General items There were none. Executive Review: • Ordinance — F000dplain Monica Plecker mentioned that Exhibit A to the resolution is a 54 -page document and was not included. The document is the model ordinance that came from FEMA and the Montana DNRC. The city is under a deadline to get this adopted because the new maps will be effective on November 6` This ordinance will trigger the maps going into effect. For Laurel's city limits, there were not many changes. DNRC and FEMA look at this countywide, so Yellowstone County is going through the same process now and did have some changes. With so few properties affected by floodplain in the city limits, nothing substantial changed. Monica gave a brief overview of the different sections of the floodplain ordinance. The first section is the jurisdictional area, and the city's floodplain ordinance is only good in the city limits. The ordinance includes a section of definitions and a section for forms and fees. The city does not currently have a fee for the floodplain permitting process, but that could be reviewed when the schedule of fees is changed. The DNRC's standard joint application form will be used by the city. Monica reviewed some uses that are allowed without a floodplain permit. Agricultural related activities, parking and/or loading areas, anything recreational, parks and open space type things are allowed without a floodplain permit. A floodplain permit would be required in order to build a structure in a floodplain, but a shelter of some sort where the ground is allowed to soak up the Council Workshop Minutes of September 10, 2013 water would be allowed. The goal is not to have a permanent structure in a place where a lot of damage is going to occur. Wells, guardrails, utility poles, and resurfacing of highways are allowed in the floodplain without a permit. The categories in the floodplain include the floodway and the flood fringe. The floodway is the part of the floodplain where the flow is the greatest during periods of flooding and not much can be done in the floodway, as that is where the most damage could occur. Monica explained that the Planning Office would review the permits, as she is also the Floodplain Administrator. In the event of an appeal, the council would review the issue, and there is an option for a variance. Monica spoke regarding the development standards. Things that were the best management practices in the floodplain are now going to be policy. In the past, people would have been encouraged to build a foot above the base flood elevation, but now they would have to build a foot above the base flood elevation. FEMA and the Montana DNRC required the city to submit Exhibit A for their approval. Monica mentioned that Montana is looked at as a model for other states across the country for its proactive stance on floodplains. Although it is stringent, it is for the wellbeing of the people. The city has a deadline of November 6 to approve the ordinance so the maps will be in effect. There was discussion regarding how this requirement provides better protection for property owners, the National Flood Insurance Program, the requirement for property owners to have flood insurance for property in the floodplain, the map that will be effective on November 6th, the few properties within the city limits that are affected versus the number of affect properties in Yellowstone County, the impact on the Growth Management Plan, possible issues with buildings that are leased in the floodplain (Riverside Park buildings), the previous 1982 Federal Emergency Management Agencies Flood Insurance Study, the flooding issues in Roundup, Shepherd and Huntley Project, issues with septic systems in floodplains, how property owners would be forced to get flood insurance through their mortgage lender, and the fact that no property would be grandfathered out of the floodplain with the new maps. • Resolution — Parameters of the private sale of bonds for SID Nos. 115 and 116 Monica explained the resolution relating to a pooled special improvement district bond sale. The city has created SID Nos. 115 and 116 and has been working to finalize the special improvement districts. The project on Fifth Avenue is progressing and the sidewalk project should start soon. The resolution is a resolution for parameters. The city is working with the Montana Municipal Cooperative, which will provide the bonds, and has an agreement for $181,500 at a 4.5 percent interest rate. Dorsey & Whitney advised the city that the rate is good, as they have not seen rates that low for other cities. When the assessment is done, the property owner will see a 5.02 percent interest rate because the city is required to add half of a percentage point. The resolution grants the Mayor the authority to sign the documents to enter into an agreement with the Montana Municipal Cooperative for a 15 -year period for the debt service schedule. More resolutions will be presented soon. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of September 10, 2013 • Resolution — Award bid for south bank restoration and boat ramp Heidi Jensen stated that, after FEMA awarded the city over $1 million earlier this month, she told Great West Engineering that the process needed to move forward quickly. A pre -bid meeting was held on August 28 and the bids were opened yesterday. The bids were incredibly competitive, and this bid is below the engineer's estimate and the federal award. Great West submitted a letter recommending award of the bid to Wilson Brothers Construction, who was the contractor for the water main project in Red Lodge this summer. There is no winter shutdown on this project, so the 90 -day project should move forward quickly. Wilson Brothers was able to provide such a low bid because they were authorized to use a local pit so their transportation costs came in lower than anticipated. Bruce commented that, for something to take so unbelievably long, it is amazing it can come together so quickly at the end. Heidi agreed that it is exciting to be able to get something done finally. Mayor Olson stated recognition for the work that has been done by the staff and everyone involved. • Resolution — Amend Purchase and Procurement Policy Heidi stated that the Purchase and Procurement Policy was amended recently to make it more straightforward. However, one sentence was omitted and needed to be added. The addition to the policy reads: "Services between $2,000 and $4,999 require a small service contract that is prepared by the City Attorney and executed by the Mayor /CAO." • Council Issues: o Lease Task Force update Tom Nelson stated that the Lease Task Force has not met, as the task force is waiting for an update on the buildings in Riverside Park. Heidi explained the city received the estimates from both companies that looked at the buildings. The first estimate is very detailed for each building and the second estimate was to remove some materials from the bathrooms. Heidi will contact the companies to find out what the estimates include. Heidi, Mayor Olson and the clerk/treasurer will then determine the budget for the project. Tom stated that a Lease Task Force meeting would be scheduled after the information is available. o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event Heidi stated that today's conference call with FEMA was rescheduled for next week. The conference call will go over the resolution that is anticipated to be approved next week. Great West has been tasked to work on a winter solution right now instead of the long -term solution. Construction in Riverside Park will push some of the flow back towards the new intake, but it is not sustainable. The city is very concerned about ice and slush ice getting into the old intake. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of September 10, 2013 Since winter is approaching quickly, the city tasked Great West to come up with a solution, after which they will be redirected back to the long -term solution. o Fencing around booster station in Murray Park (Chuck Dickerson) Mayor Olson stated that he recently looked at the fencing on the building and it eliminated the potential for a ball to land inside the building. Chuck stated that, when Larry McCann was employed by the city, he explained that the city would probably put a two -foot concrete walkway around the building with posts imbedded and chain link around it to the top of the building. That was prior to the diesel generator being installed up there. At the time, Chuck remembered that it was according to Homeland Security requirements, so he is curious whether or not it is really a requirement. Mayor Olson stated that staff would look into this further. o Annexation of East Main Street from Alder to Locust (Bruce McGee) Bruce questioned why the city had not yet annexed the portion of East Main Street from Alder Avenue to Locust Avenue that is not in the city limits. Heidi stated that she tasked the planner and chief of police to work together to figure this out. It is a patrolling issue and a fining issue. When staff talked to the civil city attorney, he was unsure which area of law this fell into for annexation since the road is owned by the state and coming into the city. Staff has sent emails to the local MDT representative to figure out what to do to annex it. Staff will be working to get this resolved and presented to the council as soon as possible. Other items • Resolution — Change Order No. 2 with Dick Anderson Construction for the 2013 Water and Sewer Rehabilitation Project Heidi explained the change order resolution for the Fifth and Cottonwood project. As the contractors were digging up Fifth Avenue, they came across an area where a gas station had been located approximately 50 years ago. Some of the contaminants have leaked into the soil and DEQ was notified. The remedy to the situation would be to put about 100 feet of ductile iron pipe and some nitrile gaskets in that area and then bury it. Construction has not stopped, as the contractors were tasked to move up the street while some investigation was done with DEQ and samples were sent to the lab. This is the quickest and most cost- effective solution to the issue. There was a question whether the costs would be added to the SID. Heidi explained that this portion is not in the SID for the sidewalk and curb. This portion will be paid out of three different funds, including the sewer, water and street maintenance funds. The project includes replacement of sewer lines, water lines and some street maintenance, as only a portion of the trench can be filled with water and sewer money. These costs will probably come out of the water fund. Although the costs were unexpected, they are not over the contingency amount that the engineers put into the estimate. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of September 10, 2013 Review of draft council agenda for September 17, 2013 There were no changes. Attendance at the September 17, 2013 council meeting All council members present will attend. Announcements Chuck asked regarding the location for annexation of East Main from Alder to Locust. Bill stated that it was a real honor to go to the airport to watch the Honor Flight return last night and to shake hands with history there. Mayor Olson also spoke regarding the Honor Flight and the special individuals that went above and beyond in service for the country. Tom said he wanted to attend the Honor Flight event, but he was able to donate time during the fundraising event at Walmart recently. Mayor Olson mentioned that an Honor Flight is scheduled in October and another one in May. It has been discussed that the Korean War Veterans should be honored next and proposed that the western part of the state could take on that project. Tom stated that the Cemetery Commission meeting should be on Thursday, September 19`''. The only agenda item is the project to get water from the pump up to the cemetery. He asked if staff is prepared for that. Heidi explained that the public works director and the secretary will be unavailable for that meeting. The public works director does not think the meeting is necessary since the Cemetery Commission already discussed it and the project is going forward. The public works director has been tasked with preparing a five -year plan by the end of November, so his recommendation is to cancel the September meeting and to meet in October or November. Tom stated that the next Cemetery Commission meeting would be in October or November. Mayor Olson reminded the council members to bring their LMC books to the council secretary for the current updates. Mayor Olson mentioned the invitation from the County Commissioners regarding a joint meeting on Wednesday, October 2 " Lunch will start at 11:30 a.m. and the meeting will start at 12:00 noon. September 20 is the deadline to RSVP and to submit agenda items. Mayor Olson mentioned that the 9 -11 memorial ceremony is scheduled tomorrow in Firefighters' Memorial Park at 11:00 a.m. He encouraged everyone to attend. Recognition o f Employees 5 Council Workshop Minutes of September 10, 2013 • Jan Faught — 13 years of employment on September 18 • Mike Furman, Jr. — 4 years of employment on September 17 • Jeremiah Johnson — 2 years of employment on September 21S Mayor Olson thanked Heidi for making the recognition of employees a part of the agenda. Jan Faught has served as Ambulance Director for thirteen years, Mike Furman, Jr., has served at the library for four years, and Jeremiah Johnson has served as a police officer for two years. Mayor Olson stated that last week Bret Rutherford notified the city that a mail -in ballot will be held this year. The council workshop adjourned at 7:27 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