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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 01.13.2015 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP JANUARY 13, 2015 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Mark Mace at 6:30 p.m. on January 13, 2015. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x Emelie Eaton _x_Doug Poehls (6:42 p.m.) Bruce McGee _x_Richard Herr Chuck Dickerson _x_ Scot Stokes x Tom Nelson x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen, CAO Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director Monica Plecker, Planning Director Rick Musson, Police Chief Sam Painter, Civil City Attorney Chad Hanson, Great West Engineering Public Input (three-minute limit) There was no public input. General items • Appointments: o Laurel Police Reserves: Jeff Childers, Nickalas Buciuman, Melissa Brennan, Derek Hart, Steven Worisek, Kelly Lasater Chief Musson introduced Nickalas Buciuman, Melissa Brennan, Derek Hart, Steven Worisek and Kelly Lasater. Jeff Childers, a former Laurel police officer, will also be appointed to the Police Reserves. The appointments will be on the January 20th council agenda. o Laurel Urban Renewal Agency: Greg Nelson to fill a term ending 12/31/2015, Mardie Spalinger to fill a term ending 12/31/2018 and Steve Solberg to fill an Advisory Member term ending 12/31/2017 Heidi explained that Greg Nelson will fill the term vacated by Shirley McDermott, who is moving to Billings. Mardie Spalinger will fill the term vacated by Linda Frickel, who recently sold the Owl Café in Laurel. Steve Solberg will fill Mardie Spalinger's term as an Advisory Member. The appointments will be on the January 20`h council agenda. Executive Review • Resolution—Adopt Laurel Gateway Plan Monica Plecker introduced Lauren Wateron,the project manager from Sanderson Stewart. Lauren gave a PowerPoint presentation of the Laurel Gateway Plan. The presentation included the project boundaries, the five goals, where are we now, where are we going, a real estate snapshot, the strategic needs, the implementation plan and a map of recommendations. A copy of the Laurel Gateway Plan is available for review in the planning department or the clerk/treasurer's office. Council Workshop Minutes of January 13,2015 • Resolution—Change Order No. 5 for Septage Receiving Station Kurt Markegard stated that the City of Laurel received DEQ approval for the septage receiving station last week. Chad Hanson explained that the change order is due to the city's request for a cost estimate to construct a septage receiving station per DEQ approved plans. The change order is an increase of $220,793.63, which is higher than the engineer's original estimate. The station is more sophisticated than the original proposal and required $25,000 in additional equipment, doubled the electrical costs, and required additional site work. With the change order, no mobilization is needed, which saves 10 to 20 percent if the project went out to bid. Estimated annual revenues from septic haulers should be $80,000 per year, which would pay back the costs in three years. • Resolution—Amendment No. 1 to Task Order No. 31 with Great West Engineering Chad explained that Amendment No. 1 to Task Order No. 31 was needed because the project requires additional services that were not included in Task Order No. 31. Services will include the connection of the septage receiving unit and the lift station to the wastewater treatment plant's SCADA system and additional improvements to the site layout, including a sidewalk from the headworks building and extending a water line and hydrant to the station. The engineers originally anticipated that construction would take one month, but the contractor's quote includes a 60-day construction period. Compensation for the additional services is estimated to be $12,000, making the total compensation $36,000. There was discussion regarding the lifespan of the project, when the receiving station is expected to be completed and setting up a capital replacement program for the system. • Resolution—Employment contract with Civil City Attorney Heidi explained the two-year employment contract with Sam Painter for civil city attorney services. The contract includes a slight increase in annual salary and includes the city's group health insurance benefit. • Resolution—Adopt Schedule of Fees and Charges (Public Hearing on January 20, 2014) The public hearing is scheduled on January 20th, followed by the resolution to adopt the schedule of fees and charges. • Council Issues: o Height of council tables—Chuck Dickerson There was no discussion, as Chuck was not at the meeting. o Responsibility to clear snow at Fifth Avenue/railroad crossing(Emelie Eaton) Emelie asked who is responsible to clear the snow at the Fifth Avenue railroad crossing. Kurt explained that the city plowed the area and MRL used an air compressor to remove snow. The railroad does not want lessees 100 feet on either side of the railroad tracks. Mayor Mace asked Kurt for an update regarding the railroad crossing on East Railroad Street. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of January 13,2015 Kurt stated that MRL would no longer send rail cars across the crossing because the ties were rotten and it was in bad shape, so Fox Lumber was not receiving supplies. Fox Lumber hired a contractor to replace the crossing and the project was completed last Saturday. o Possibility of council members attending meetings electronically(Emelie Eaton) Emelie asked regarding the possibility of council members attending council meetings electronically. Sam stated that LMC does not allow council members to attend meetings electronically. He will review Montana law to see if it prohibits attendance electronically and will send Heidi an email with his findings. o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event Heidi stated that FEMA said the project worksheet was sent to the State two weeks ago, so Jonathan Weaver, Great West Engineering is checking on that. That would be good news, as the city has about $400,000 in outstanding bills that need to be reimbursed. Kurt and Heidi will attend the legislative session on Thursday to advocate for approval of the city's TSEP Grant, which would be used for replacement of the sediment basins at the water treatment plant. There was discussion regarding the weather forecast and the possible effects on the water intake. o Lease Agreements—List and priorities Heidi presented a list of the city's leases and stated that there are a lot of buildings in Riverside Park that are not useable. Negotiating a lease for a building that cannot be used does not seem to be the most fruitful use of time. Heidi stated that the most important leases are with the Laurel Little League, American Legion Baseball, Laurel Jaycees and the Laurel Chamber of Commerce. Under Sam's advice, she asked Hazel Klein, A Haus of Realty, to determine a fair market lease value for the buildings if they were vacant space and not occupied by the current lessees. Hazel will work on that but did not have a specific timeframe for completion. The Horseshoe Club and the land on West 9th Street are smaller leases that could be reviewed once the other ones are completed. The Search and Rescue Club is no longer an active organization. The Laurel Horseshoe Club owns the metal building and pays $60/year for electricity, but the city owns the land. The Club does not meet on a regular basis. The Rifle Club building is not useable, as it is full of environmental hazards. There was a question regarding the intent of the city to tear down the caretaker's residence and other unusable buildings. Heidi stated that she has not been instructed by the Mayor to pursue that in any way. The Park Board would need to discuss that to make a recommendation to the council. Tom suggested a two-month timeframe to complete each lease. Heidi asked that no timeframe be put on completion of the leases, as this is the first time city staff has had the opportunity to pursue the leases. She cannot force a realtor to provide the market values quickly, but the process is moving forward. Tom stated that he assumed that two entities, the Laurel Little League and American Legion Baseball, would not be operating if they do not have a lease in place by spring. 3 Ili Council Workshop Minutes of January 13,2015 Heidi stated that the organizations have operated without a lease for years. Tom again stated that he assumed the two organizations would not be operating without a lease, and he thinks they would be motivated to have something in place by the time they need to utilize the city's property. He would like the city to stress that to the organizations. Other items There were none. Review of draft council agenda for January 20, 2015 • Public Hearing: Adopt Schedule of Fees and Charges There was no discussion. Attendance at the January 20, 2015 council meeting Scot Stokes will not attend the council meeting. Announcements Doug thanked the clerk/treasurer for providing the information he requested for the Emergency Services Committee. Rick thanked the Public Works Department for a good job with the snow removal. Scot stated that the Park Board will meet on January 22nd at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers. Bill thanked Kurt Markegard for ten years of service to the City of Laurel. Tom thanked the Public Works Department and Kurt for their efforts to get the railroad crossing replaced. Emelie mentioned that the Public Works Committee did not meet yesterday but will meet in February. Recognition of Employees • Robert Johnson 35 years of service on January 31d Water Treatment Plant • Don Nelson 30 years of service on January 14th City Shop • Stan Langve 15 years of service on January 5th Police Officer • Gary Colley 12 years of service on January 6th Code Enforcement • Kurt Markegard 10 years of service on January 3rd Public Works Director Mayor Mace recognized the employees for the service to the City of Laurel. The council workshop adjourned at 7:39 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. 4