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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 10.14.2003 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP OCTOBER 14, 2003 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Bud Johnson at 6:30 p.m. on October 14, 2003. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: x Lauren Van Roekel _x_ Doug Poehls x Ken Olson x Mark Mace _x_ Gay Easton Daniel Dart x Dan Mears x John Oakes OTHERS PRESENT: Mark Anderson Rick Musson Larry McCann Mary Embleton Jan Faught 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. · Ambulance Director, Jan Faught addressed the council. o Dr. Bennett, the ambulance medical director, will be at the station tonight. o Defibrillation license has been received. o Demo ambulances are on clearance during this time of the year. · A 2003 ambulance similar to Care 1 would cost under $65,000 with a trade-in on Care 2. · Prices will be higher and trade-in values will be lower next year. · Jan would need to know if it is a possibility within the next three weeks. CBI)G Grant update - Larry. · City of Laurel received a $500,000 grant from the Department of Commerce. · In May 2000, the city hired Pat Murtaugh, ME&A, to do grant writing. o City of Laurel spent $100,000 to get into the grant process. o Needs assessment was completed and the CIP was started. · Morrison-Malerle completed the Wastewater Facilities Plan. · This is an off year for CDBG, but extra monies were available. o Received notice of the grant on September 11, 2003. o City is authorized to proceed with administrative costs. o Engineering costs will be $117,964. · Mary and Larry will attend a workshop on October 28th and 29th. · A resolution to issue a task order with Morrison-Maierle to design, bid, and construct the wastewater improvements outlined in the CDBG Grant will be on the October 21st council agenda. Council Workshop Minutes of October 14, 2003 · An existing Engineering Services Agreement with Morrison-Maierle allows the city to issue task orders. · Larry wants to apply for a TSEP Grant in April 2004. o City of Laurel is number one to get the grant, which will require a match. o Grant would address these issues. · Trunk line on the east side · Inflow problem · Collection well at the sewer plant o Could advertise for engineering, but another engineering firm would have to develop what Morrison~Maierle has available today. · 8th Avenue Project o Need to prepare list for the MDT to review and get them back before the council o 8th Avenue Project is probably delayed one to two years. Motorcycle proposal - Rick · Motomycle Program was successful. o Public relations o Traffic control o Fuel mileage · Rick presented a proposal to lease a second motorcycle next year. o Outside funding will be requested from the refinery, railroad, and other local businesses. o Officer Santer will continue and Officer Wells is interested in the second position. o Additional needed funds would be taken out of drug forfeiture monies. · Discussion regarding equipment needs such as radios and hand-held radar units. o Department is seeking grant monies for funding of equipment. · Discussion regarding liability for motorcycle officers. · Rick will send a letter of interest for a second motorcycle to Beartooth Harley-Davidson. · Council approval would be necessary to complete the process for the second motorcycle. B-PAD Agreement - Rick · City is in the process of hiring an additional officer. · Current hiring process was outlined and distributed to the council's boxes. · B-PAD is a new element in the process. o B-PAD is a video test that provides a structured, valid and fair method for observing and assessing interpersonal skills and judgment under standardized testing conditions. o B-PAD is not a test of knowledge; rather it is a testing of the candidate's competence in dealing with different types of people in different situations. o B-PAD is a standardized, defensible test. · Trained observers score the test. · Limited Use Agreement is from October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. o Cost for the twelve-month term is $500, which includes the first five applicants at no charge. o For the 6th applicant and beyond, there is a $100 per candidate fee. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of October 14, 2003 · Program would enable the police department to weed out overly aggressive and passive individuals fi.om the h/r/ng pool. · Resolution for the Limited Use Agreement with B-PAD Group will be on the October 21 st council agenda. LEPC - City of Laurel representative · Discussion regarding the need for a representative from the City of Laurel to attend the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meetings. · Dave Gauslow, the Emergency Disaster Coordinator, recently resigned fi.om the position. · Funding for new regulations are dispersed through LEPC and the City of Laurel has not been included. · Rick agreed to be the representative, with Mark Guy serving as an alternate when Rick is unable to attend. · Mayor will appoint Rick as Emergency Disaster Coordinator at the next council meeting. Community Health Care Alliance - Mary · Mary distributed information that was received at the recent League of Cities and Towns meeting regarding creating a successful community health care alliance. · Cities and towns will be invited to participate in a feasibility study, which will be done in several phases at a cost of $75,000. o Will request information pertaining to each member's current employee benefit programs, inclusive of coverage levels, premium costs, premium contributions, premium h/story, utilization exper/ence, labor agreement language and employee census. · Mary explained the process and the proposed timeline. · Discussion regarding providing employee information. o Mayor has a concern with providing employee names and does not want to participate if names are required. Ambulance Medical Director · Jan Faught introduced Dr. Tom Bennett, the medical director for the Laurel Ambulance Service. 2004-05 budget timeline · Two documents were distributed for the council's review. o Local Government Budget Calendar o Budget 2004-2005 Timeline · Mayor stated that the Budget/Finance Committee would review them at the next meeting to define the upcoming process. On call pay · Further review is being done. Council Workshop Minutes of October 14, 2003 Resolution for ambulance crew raises · Mary stated that the crew has received small increments of pay rates during the last four years. · The last resolution to set the compensation rates was approved in 1998. · Increases after 1998 have been done through the budget process. · Ambulance Director received a wage adjustment last year and is requesting an additional increase at this time. Franchise ordinance · Discussion regarding the MDU franchise ordinance. o City should not lock into a long-term agreement. o City should not memorialize an agreement in ordinance with any specific entity. · Discussion regarding a franchise ordinance. o Ordinance is needed to enable the City of Laurel to grant a franchise by resolution. · Discussion regarding the case currently in the Montana Supreme Court - MDU vs. the City of Billings. · Discussion whether or not a general powers entity could assess a maintenance fee. o General powers government can only do things empowered by the state legislature. · Ordinance is needed in order to: a Protect the public right-of-way a Have a separate agreement with each entity that uses the right-of-way o Treat every company equally · Discussion regarding cable TV franchise · Mark will continue further research and prepare a draft ordinance. Attorney RFQ · Two submittals were received. · The committee will meet to review the submittals. Planning Board issues: Planning Board did not meet in October · None Executive review · Jane's Reminders o Mayor encouraged the council to review Jane's Reminders. · Request for Information/Background for the 8th Avenue Project. o Mayor requested any additions to the current list. o List needs to be refined and forwarded to Bruce Barrett. · Concept for council and department heads o Mayor has been establishing the department head meeting agendas. · Two department head meetings will be scheduled on council days each month. Council Workshop Minutes of October 14, 2003 · Department head agendas will now be determined by the needs of the department heads. · Issues will determine whether the department head will attend the next council workshop. o Mayor reviewed the nature of the council workshop. · Workshops need to consist of staff input and outside input should be presented at council meetings. · Discussion regarding the need for council to be involved in the agenda items. · Mold problem in the court building o Mayor received a phone call regarding the state's inspection of the building. o Mayor asked the state to send a letter with the results to the City of Laurel. * Caretaker at Riverside Park o In process of addressing issues n Resolution for ambulance crew raises o Leave crew raises on the resolution o Further review for director's increase · Oversight Committee o Ken mentioned that an overview of the last three years was presented recently. o Economic development coordinator is starting to become a resource. o Rocky Smith presented first update at last meeting. · Has visited with twenty-three businesses in Laurel. · Five businesses are participating in the BEAR Program. · Laurel is a fertile area for development. n Ribbon cutting ceremony o Ceremony was successful and Larry McCann did a great job of coordinating it. Resolutions: · Resolution No. R03- : CDBG Grant administration · Resolution No. R03-__: B-PAD Agreement · Resolution No. R03- : Ambulance crew raises Announcements · None Attendance at the October 21~t eonnefl meeting · All will be present. The council workshop adjourned at 8:47 p.m. Re.spe. etfully s~ C~ 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.