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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 03.30.2004 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MARCH 30, 2004 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 March 30, 2004. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: x Dick Fritzler x Doug Poehls x Kate Stevenson x Mark Mace x Gay Easton __ Daniel Dart Dan Mears x John Oakes OTHERS PRESENT: Larry McCann Sam Painter Rick Musson Joel Bamhart J. Williamson Public Input (three-minute limi0 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. · None Public Utilities Department: · Agreement with COP Construction to clean out the backwash pond at the Water Treatment Plant o Backwash pond needs to be cleaned every four to five years. o Excess mud has accumulated as a result of the water intake project. o Cost of $11,500 · Agreement with Liquid Engineering to clean and video contact basin at WTP o State requires the contact basin to be cleaned every seven years. o Contact basin requires access security to meet the vulnerability assessment. o Estimated cost of $4,000 * Wastewater rates o Larry distributed copies of information regarding the CDBG and TSEP grants, the rate study from Morrison-Maierle, and the drawings for the 2003 CDBG Sewer Project. o The CDBG grant monies will be used to address some of the Phase 1 improvements identified in the Wastewater Facilities Plan. · New sewer line on Railroad Street · Ups[zing the line from Main Street going North on Alder to 7~, west on 7th Street to the alley between Washington and Wyoming, and north one block · Replacement of the collection manhole at the plant · Provide an effluent flow monitor as required by the State · CDBG project requires a city contribution of $268,000 o Funds will come from reserves o $768,000 available for the project · Treasure State Endowment Program Grant o Application is due in May 2004. Council Workshop Minutes of March 30, 2004 o City would have to borrow $445,495 from the State Revolving Fund in order to come up with the required contribution of $433,000 o Application to borrow funds will require a wastewater rate increase. o Application to borrow funds will require bond counsel fees of about $6,000 and origination fees of about $6,495. o Proposed rote increase is $2.00 per month on the base rate. · Present base rate of $9.57 would increase to $11.57. · Based on 6,000 gallons of water use in the winter months, the average wastewater bill would increase from $30.10 to $32.10. State law requirements to increase rates include: Adoption of resolution of intent to increase rates and call for a public hearing o Publish notice of rate increase and public hearing in newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks with publication six days apart; the first publication not more than twanty-eight days and the last publication not less than three days before the hearing. o Mail notice to all persons who own property in the city and tell all customers of the system at least seven days and not more than 30 days prior to the public hearing Conduct public hearing Adopt resolution approving the rate increase © Future: 0 O City is looking at the long-term needs in the Wastewater Facilities Plan. Developing a rate plan in conjunction with Morrison-Maierle · The plan takes into account all aspect of the Wastewater Facilities Plan. · Includes annual systems improvements at a cost of $200,000 per year · Goal is to implement a rate structure that would allow the city to maintain and improve the wastewater system and plant. o Future rate increase to be presented to the council in July 2004 Larry will present the resolutions prepared by the bond counsel at the workshop on April 13t~. Discussion regarding providing services to outlying areas o Variable system development fee would be implemented Rate study update from Morrison-Maierle o A copy of the rate study update is attached to these minutes. Resolution for Task Order from Morrison-Maierle - 12th Street and l~t Avenue waterline o At the corner of 1st Avenue and 12t~ Street, the water line is located under private property. o Mr. Swanson plans to build an assisted living complex. o City needs to get the water line out from under the sidewalk on his property. · City could buy the easement, but if the easement were at the right width, he still could not build on his property. · City would have to buy the property outright or cut up the comer and install the water line correctly. o Resolution to authorize the engineering and construction of the waterline. · Mayor stated that the draft resolution would be distributed on Wednesday. o Estimated costs of $100,000 to $120,000 would be taken out of water reserves. o The State highway would have to be replaced to State standards. o Discussion regarding purchase of the property · Larry stated that there are many water and sewer lines in this city that run across private property with no easements. · Doug requested to see the difference in cost regarding replacing the lines and purchasing the property. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of March 30, 2004 Attorney: · MDU franchise o Sam explained that the intent is for the city to pass an ordinance governing all franchise agreements with all companies. o Sam reviewed the draft document with MDU. · The draft document does not accomplish what the council intended it to do. · Sam will revise it with the necessary provisions. o MDU agreement expires in May. o The city's interest is that, if the legislature authorizes the city to tax right of ways in the future, the ordinance is drafted to allow a tax provision to be passed in accordance. o Mayor's comments · Need to take a good look at this MDU ordinance. · Approval of the franchise ordinance would be a basic blanket policy for all those who want to use the city's alleys and right of ways. · Approval for individual franchises would be done by resolution. o Sam stated that it would be the City of Laurel franchise ordinance, not the MDU ordinance. · Interlocal Agreement with Yellowstone City-County Health Department o Sam contacted Smart Kirkpatrick, who represents the health department. o The agreement is under renegotiation and should be ready by August. o Sam received the latest version for review. Police Department: · Resolution - Grant for equipment o Contract from the Montana Department of Transportation o Grant of $12,300 requiring no matching funds to use for equipment · Radar units for the motorcycles · Cameras for the patrol cars · Portable breath test units · Agreement with Laurel School District for SRO Officer at the Laurel Middle School o School district is reviewing the request for a 75/25 pement agreement for the SRO. o When the current high school contract ends in 2005, City will propose a 75/25 pement agreement. o Agreement was not completed yet, and the resolution will not be presented on the April 6* council agenda. o Rick will present at a future council workshop. Fire Department: · Proposal for 4e' of July vendors o No representative was present for this item. · Montana State Fire Alliance Conference o Joel Bamhart stated that the Montana State Fire Alliance Conference is scheduled in Billings on June 10, 11, and 12. · The Fire Alliance Conference involves volunteer and paid fire departments. · Laurel will host a BBQ and parade on June 11 ~. · Memorial services will be held at the memorial park. · Department wants to hold the groundbreaking ceremony for the State Firefighter Memorial Park adjoining to the complex at that time. · Department will submit a letter to the mayor requesting permission to set off fireworks on June 11th. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of March 30, 2004 J. Williamson stated that the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department and the firefighters within the State of Montana are building the Montana State Firefighters' Memorial in this park. · Three phases for development of the park · Phase 1 is the architect's design · Phase 2 is the groundbmaking. · Phase 3 is construction of the building. Mayor explained that Governor Judy Martz officially dedicated this park as the State Memorial Firemen's Park, and no other park can be built in the State of Montana to honor volunteer and career firefighters. · It is known as a point of designation. · Funding is received through other fire depar~nents. · Funding is not allocated from the City of Laurel. Executive review · Discussion regarding a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign contracts up to a certain dollar amount. o John stated that it would be like a petty cash account o Sam explained the current cumbersome process necessary for the mayor to sign a contract that involves a minimal amount of money. · It makes sense to him, with council approval, to allow the mayor to negotiate and sign contracts for the city up to a specific dollar amount. · The attorney reviews all contracts before the mayor signs them. · The resolution should include a safeguard requiring the mayor to inform the council of any small contract he signed. · If the council wanted to break or rescind the contract, it could be done. o Council discussion regarding the dollar amount · Suggestion of $100/month, $ !,200/year Sam will prepare draft resolution for the next council workshop agenda. · Mayor would not be required to sign a contract if he wanted council approval first. Resolutions: · Resolution approving city services for Aviation & Technology Week on May 10-14, 2004. o Cost figures are included in the resolution. · Resolution to authorize the Mayor to execute all documents necessary to accept a grant from the Montana Department of Transportation for monies to purchase or acquire law enforcement equipment for the City of Laurel. · Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an agreement with Liquid Engineering to clean and video the 250,000 gallon contact basin at the Water Treatment Plant and provide access hatch locks. · Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign a task order with Morrison-Maierle for the 12t~ Street and Ia Avenue waterline · Resolution approving Alderman Fritzler's absence from the City of Laurel. · Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an agreement with COP Construction to clean out the backwash pond at the Water Treatmant Plant. Ordinance: · Ordinance amending the Yellowstone City-Coanty Health Department Interlocal Agreement. o Ordinance is postponed until the new agreement is prepared. · None 4 Council Workshop Minutes of March 30, 2004 Attendance at the April 6m council meetin~ · All present will attend the meeting. · Dan Dart and Dan Mears were not at this meeting. Other items · Dick Fritzler spoke regarding the transition needed for planning board members. o Dick will submit his resignation from the City-County Planning Board effective on Friday. · He will attend the meeting on Thursday, which will be his last meeting. · Letter of resignation will be distributed by Friday. o Mayor Olson will make an appointment to fill Dick's position on the Planning Board at the council meeting on April 6"~. · Advertisement for Administrative Assistant - Capital Projects Coordinator was posted for five days, published in the paper, and one application was received. o According to MCA, the mayor has the ability to appoint/hire the employee. o Nathan Tubergen will meet with the public works director, public utilities director, and the clerk-treasurer this week. · Nathan served as the chief financial officer for the City of Billings for twenty-seven years. o One of the first projects will be funding sources for a street stabilization program. o There are also some issues with our wastewater facilities plan and the grants that are available for that. o John stated that the city needs somebody with foresight and an ability to plan. o Mark mentioned that he has worked with Nathan Tubargen and he has a wealth of knowledge and expertise. · Discussion regarding relocation of the court o ACE building has been a consideration o Doug mentioned the possibility that a new building will be constructed on property close to the FAP. o Research is being done regarding installation of an elevator up to the Old Council Chambem. The council workshop adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Cindy Allen Cotmcil 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 MAIERLE, INC. mcmQ TO: FROM: DATE: JOB NO.: RE: Larry M¢Cann Erl Tuffe, P.E. March 25, 2004 0703.011.04--0200 Rate Study Update 1 [] Urgent [] For Review [] Please Comment [] Please Reply [] For Your Use I am offering an overview of Sewer Rate Study progress to date. I am framing a number of important items that will be part of the rate recommendation. Please do not get bogged down in the details. For now, the most important factors are the overall rate philosophy, figures that are in the ballpark, and funding for capital improvement projects. Current Rates. The existing rates are adequate to fund the current operation, but will not support the Capital Improvement Program. It is my understanding that you are implementing a $2.00 per month rate increase to finance currently planned projects, including the 2004 TSEP grant application project. Cash Balance/Reserves. Records indicate a Cash Balance of approximately $800,000. This should be verified and a decision reached on what level the City wants to maintain. For example, do you want to keep an ongoing reserve of $400,000 for emergency purposes? Capital Improvement Projects. The CIP identifies an ongoing sewer rehab program of $200,000 per year. It also includes multi-million projects for the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The timing of these improvements is a critical part of the rate analysis. For estimating purposes, I have included a $5 million project loan in Year 3. Project Funding. The ongoing rehab projects are to be funded with cash (as proposed). The $5 million loan adds debt service and debt reserve in the amount of $460,000 per year. Rate Study Period. As agreed to, the rate study pedod considers data from FY 02-03 and FY 03-04 and projects forward five (5) more years. Revenue Sources. The Flow of Funds table identifies revenue sources by the same categories as the City's budget. Expenditures. The Flow of Funds table also identifies expenditures by the categories in the City budget. Inflation. Initial rate analysis is based on 3% inflation. A detailed study is analyzing inflation for each budget line item--recognizing that they all vary. C:\Documents and Settings\Larry~ocal Settings\Tempora~ Intarnet Files\OLKl\Rate S{udy Update 11.doc Page 1 of 2 mcmo Population. The Iow-end Wastewater Facility Ptan projection of 1% per year is used in this study. This is for the scenado where the City's service area does not grow significantly. System Development and Construction Buy-in Fees. The Facility Plan identifies areas of growth that, if developed, would generate more income and require additional infrastructure. The 2003 CDBG project currently being designed anticipates some service area expansion-- sizing lines to accommodate growth. The Facility Plan includes an upper bounds growth scenado that aggressively expands the service area and population, nearly doubling the service area population in 20 years. System Development and Construction Buy-in Fees are a source to pay for necessary capital projects. Rate Scenarios. The attached spreadsheets show a possible Flow of Funds for two scenarios---0% and 10% annual increases. Rate Structure. My preliminary analysis of fixed and vadable costs suggests that the City's Base Rate is disproportionately Iow. It generates about 50% of the revenue and should be about 75%. Rate increases for the first 2-3 years should all be applied to the base rate. The $2.00 per month increase planned for this year is a start towards this end. Issues to Review. A few items should be reviewed by the City including: 1. Charges for special accounts (MRL, Cenex, etc.) 2. Revenue from System Development Fees 3. Administrative charges 4. Depreciation reserve 5. Population and service area scenarios 6. System Development and Construction Buy-in Fees I am prepared to continue and complete the rate design with any feedback that is offered. If it is to be accepted, however, I know that I need the City's review, input and support. C:~ocuments and Settings~.ar~\Local Settings\Ternporar~ Internet Files\OLKl~Rate Study Update 11.doc Page 2 ef 2 Montana State Firefighter Memorial History Early 2001 the idea for a firefighter memorial was introduced to and voted on, by the Laurel Volunteer Fire Depatlment (LVFD). March 2001 LVFD formed the Montana State Firefighter Memorial Committee. April/May 2001 CTA Architects Engineers where contacted by LVFD with the project. CTA drew up the initial concept drawings for the memorial. May 2001 the City of Laurel, in the form of Resolution No. R01-24 dedicated the property for the park and renamed it Firefighter Memorial Park. June 2001 LVFD hosted the 49th Annual Montana State Volunteer Firefighters Convention. During the convention, LVFD made their intentions public and received the support of the Montana State Volunteer Firefighter Association. August 2001 Governor Judy Martz participated in dedicating the Firefighter Memorial Park as the future home of the Montana State Firefighters Memorial. August 2001 the memorial Committee contactexl Representative JeffLaszloffy to generate and sponsor legislation for the State of Montana to recognize City of Laurel as the home of the Montana State Firefighters Memorial. November 2001 Pat Murdo drafted HB-353 with the assistance of the memorial committee. January 2002 the bill was mended to include interstate signage and Representative Laszloffy entered the bill into the Montana House of Representatives. February 2002 during testimony to the House State Administration Committee, the International Association of Firefighters announced their support for the memorial project. The bill passed the house as amended and was submitted to the Senate. Senator McGee carried the bill through the Senate. March 2002 the bill passed the Senate and was sent to the Governor for her signature. June 2002 the memorial committee made a presentation at the Montana State Fire Alliance Convention and received the backing of the Montana State Fire Alliance, the Montana State Chiefs Association and the Montana State Fire Dislricts. Governor Judy Martz signed into law HB 353 on 3/17/03. In the interim the committee has worked on the mission statement, criteria for the names that will appear on the wall, the bylaws and the 501 (C) 3 paperwork. November 2003 the Montana State Firefighters Memorial was incorporated with the State of Montana. January 2004 the committee filed 501 (C) 3 paperwork for tax exempt status. June 2004 the City of Billings will host the Montana State Fire Alliance Convention. The Memorial Service will be held in Laurel. During tiffs time we will be conducting groundbreaking Ceremonies. TO: Laurel Mayor and City Council From Larry McCann, Public Utilities Director Re: Waste Water Rates Date: March 30, 2004 Community Development Block Grant As you know we are just about to begin a waste water project with a $500,000.00 grant from Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). This project will address a portion of phase 1 improvements identified in the Waste Water Facility plan. The project includes a new sewer line on Railroad Street. Ups/zing the line from Main Street going North on Alder to 7th. Then west on 7th Street to the Alley between Washington and Wyoming and then North 1 block. The project will also replace the collection manhole at the plant and provide an effluent flow monitor as required by the State. The CDBG project requires a City contribution of $268,000,00. These funds are coming from Waste Water reserves, and make available about $768,000.00 for this project. As we worked to get into the grant cycle CDBG initiated an extra funding year in their system that allowed us to apply for the grant we received for part of phase 1 of the Facility Plan. (Copies of CDBG project are attached) Treasure State Endowment Grant We planned to apply for a Treasure State Endowment Grant (TSEP) and a Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) grant to compete phase 1 and begin phase 2 of the facility plan. The TSEP grant application is for $1,033,000.00. $500,000.00 from TSEP $100,000.00 from DNRC $433,000.00 City This will complete phase 1 and the major portion of phase 2 of the Waste water facilities plan. The Grant application is due in May 0f 2004. Montana Engineering and Administration is just about done developing the grant application. We must determine now if we want to move ahead with this application. For the City to come up with the required contribution of $433,000.00 for the TSEP project we would have to borrow $445,495.00 from the State Revolving fund. The application to borrow funds will require a rate increase in Waste Water. It will also require Bond Council fees of ahout $6,000.00 and Orginafion fee of ahont $6,495.00. The proposed rate increase is $2.00 per month on the base rate. The present rate is $9.57 and this would bring it to $11.97. Calculating waste water cost based on 6000 gallons of water use in the winter months the average waste water bill is $30.10. The new average rate would be $32.10 per month. A resolution of intent will be presented for your consideration at the next Council meeting. To increase rotes State law requires. 1. Adoption of resolution of intent to increase rates and call for a public hearing. 2. Publish notice of rote increase and public hearing in newspaper once a week for three weeks consecutive weeks with publication 6 days apart. The first publication not more than 28 days and the last publication not less than 3 days before the hearing. 3. Mail notice to all persons who own property in the City and tell all customers of the system at least 7 days and not more than 30 days prior to the public hearing. 4. Conduct public hearing. 5. Adopt resolution approving the rate increase. Future The City is also looking at the long term needs set out in the Wastewater Facilities plan. These are costs we need to plan for now and develop rate increases over a period of time. We are developing a rate plan in conjunction with Mordson Maierle Engineering. The plan takes into account all aspects of the Waste Water Facilities plan. It also includes annual systems improvements at a cost of $200,000.00 per year. We are also looking at other methods of funding costs associated with future development areas we have identified. Our Facilities plan set out needed improvements that are expensive. The only way we can address the issues is by planning ahead to accomplish the tasks. At the same time we will take advantage of all grant funds we can access to keep these costs as low as possible for the rate payers. The future rate increases will be brought to the City Council in July of this year. The goal is to set up a rate slructure that is acceptable and will allow us to maintain and improve the Waste Water System and Plant. It will also allow us to accomplish the larger projects identified in the Facilities plan with out asking for a large rate increase. (Progress report from Eft Tufte P.E. Morrison Maieflc Inc. a~lached)