HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 05.12.2015 MINUTES
COUNCIL WORKSHOP
MAY 12, 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 May 12, 2015.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
_x Emelie Eaton _x_Doug Poehls
x Bruce McGee _x_Richard Herr
Chuck Dickerson _x_ Scot Stokes
Tom Nelson x Bill Mountsier
OTHERS PRESENT:
Monica Plecker, Planning Director
Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director
Chad Hanson, Great West Engineering
Public Input (three-minute limit):
Jennifer Ries, 1003 Princeton Avenue, Billings, informed the council that she will be leaving the
Outlook as of May 22nd. A replacement editor has not been appointed yet, but she understands that
there is some fierce competition for the seat so someone should be soon. In the interim, Kathleen
Gilluly will be covering the council meetings and will be happy to help with anything.
Mayor Mace thanked Jennifer for letting the council know. He stated that she will be missed, as she
has been an important part of the meetings.
Jennifer responded that she enjoyed it and wished that more people would attend. She will be taking
a position with the MSU-Billings Foundation doing scholarship administration.
General items
• Appointments:
o Cemetery Commission—Kenneth E. Olson, Jr.
o Laurel Public Library—Bill Hanson
The appointments will be on the May 19th council agenda.
Executive Review
• Resolution—Create SID No. 117
Monica Plecker explained the resolution to create Special Improvement District No. 117, which is in
coordination with the proposed project on Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The council
passed a resolution of intent to create the district on April 21, 2015. The property owners affected by
the district were notified and informed of the protest period. Two written protests were filed with the
city clerk and will be read into the record during the public hearing on May 19th. The two protest
letters are from the same property owner for two different properties, which totals a little more than 5
Council Workshop Minutes of May 12,2015
percent of the improvement. Fifty-one(51%) percent of the property owners would have to protest in
order for the district to fail.
• Resolution— Change Order No. 6 with Williams Brothers Construction
Kurt Markegard asked Chad Hanson to review the specific items in the change order with Williams
Brothers for the project at the sewer plant.
Chad Hanson explained that Change Order No. 6 for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Project is a
combination of several smaller items. Some temporary piping was necessary to keep the plant
running during construction. It was not included as part of the original scope of work, but it was very
necessary to keep the plant running. Once the piping was installed in the lower level of the blower
building, air buildup was affecting a meter so an air release valve was added. The operators noted
that a few things would help their operations. One thing was a hose bib with water in the hypochlorite
storage room where they can clean things, so that was plumbed in for them. The contractor offered a
significant credit to seal the floor in the thickener building instead of applying an expensive epoxy
coating. Staff decided to move forward with just the seal coat, which was almost a $15,000 credit.
Some rehab was needed to bring the old RBC basins back after they were drained. The drain valves
needed a little work and some of the slide gates needed a few minor repairs. The operators wanted to
include some of the hand operated valves into the SCADA system. Some of the DO and ORP
analyzers and flow meters needed thermal enclosures to properly operate in freezing temperatures.
The ones under one part of the specifications were covered under the electrical, but the blowers
provided some that were not included in the original bid package, including the thermal enclosures.
The thickener has an overflow that was piped to a manhole to nowhere, because nobody knew the
manhole went to nowhere. The first time it was turned on, the manhole started overflowing. Since
the manhole was not connected to anything, the line had to be rerouted directly to the lift station at the
bottom of the screw pumps. A $1,000 credit was received for the hooks in the thickener building
when the contractor proposed substituting plastic dipped forged hooks for stainless steel hooks. Some
piping had to be added to meet the manufacturer's specs in the RDT building, as they require certain
length of pipe for mixing before it hits the polymer mixing basin.
Chad stated that Change Order No. 6 is for$37,829.39, which brings the total change orders to date to
$333,242.23 for 5.2 percent of the contingency. Without including Change Order No. 5, which was
$220,000 for the septage dump station, the other five change orders would be 1.8 percent of the
contract. The contract includes a 10 percent contingency of$600,000.
Chad explained that the contractor has requested a time extension of 81 calendar days on their
contract time. Great West went through every item included in all of the change orders and could
justify an extension of 43 calendar days. They want to be fair because a lot of the changes take time
and delay the process. Although that does not affect the council, there is a cost associated with the
extension. Chad will work with staff to determine an amendment to Great West Engineering's task
order because the 43 extra days require extra inspector time at the project site.
Emelie mentioned that the Public Works Committee toured the sewer plant yesterday and that it looks
very modern. The committee kept hearing the comments that everyone is learning the new system,
that it is coming along nicely, and that the numbers that they report to the State are improving every
week. Emelie thinks it is a fantastic asset for the City of Laurel.
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Council Workshop Minutes of May 12,2015
Chad agreed that it is pretty amazing. The full biological nutrient (BNR) removal process has been
online for a couple weeks and the numbers are already encouraging. The ammonia is less than 1, and
the total nitrates are down to 11 to 13, which is expected and should continue to improve. The staff
and TetraTech are currently working on a foaming issue. Chad stated that the project is a testament to
the city's staff because they went from a RBC plant to an activated sludge plant to a full BNR process
in six months. Now they have to study biology and it is an incredible balancing act. They have to
check DO in seven different places, follow solids through, and calculate sludge retention times. The
city is really fortunate to have operators that are vested and willing to learn. One operator is a huge
asset because he has previous experience, and the others have really put themselves forward on this.
Another change order will be submitted for an additional stairwell on the northwest corner of the RBC
basins, for fixing a leak in the old RBC basin, for moving a meter from the downstairs of the blower
building to the thickener building, and for any other items needed to complete the project. The
project should be completed well under the contingency funds. The contractor expects that the site
work should be completed by the end of June and the road should be done by mid-July.
There was discussion regarding the sewage dump station, the capacity of the plant, the 1.7 million
gallon/day design flow of the plant, and the plant's 20-year life expectancy with growth built in.
There was further discussion regarding scheduling a tour of the plant after completion of the project
and the suggestion to have a ribbon cutting for the plant.
• Resolution— Change Order with Wharton Asphalt
Kurt stated that the council recently approved a variance for Dan Foos to build some storage units at
815 East Main Street. Dan had new curb, gutter, sidewalks, and handicapped ramps installed. The
street is in need of repair, as the city's garbage trucks caused much of the damage. The change order
for$5,700 is for paving behind Fast Lane on East 4th Street. The city also had a small service contract
for replacement of some of the curb that the garbage trucks pushed over.
• Resolution— Contract with Hardrives Construction, Inc. for chip sealing streets
Kurt explained that the city solicited bids for chip sealing through advertisements in the Laurel
Outlook and The Billings Times. One bid was received from Hardrives Construction for $89,344 and
the city would like the project to be completed before the end of the fiscal year on June 30th. If the
council approves the contract next week, chip sealing should being ten days later.
• Resolution—Memorandum of Understanding with Beartooth RC&D
Earl Atwood, the Office Manager at Beartooth RC&D, distributed copies of his presentation to the
council. Beartooth RC&D annually asks for the council's consideration and approval to renew an
MOU that covers Yellowstone County and in which the City of Laurel participates with other entities
in the county.
Mr. Atwood spoke regarding the personnel and staff that work for Beartooth RC&D. Luke
Walawander, the Economic Development Director, will be returning to Missoula, so they are
recruiting for his replacement at this time. Jillann Knutson does the Revolving Loan Fund and the
bookkeeping and Dick Rath is the forester for the organization.
Mr. Atwood spoke regarding who they are, what they do, and how their services benefit the City of
Laurel. Because they are a CRDC, they provide a number of specific grant and service opportunities
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Council Workshop Minutes of May 12,2015
and are assisting four different businesses in the Laurel area right now. The projects include the High
Plains Brewery, the Red Rooster Kitchen, Story Mill and Yellowstone Valley Farms. Beartooth
RC&D also participated in the successful completion of the LURA TIF District Grant toward the end
of 2014. The$26,250 grant was for the LURA TIF District Master Plan Development.
Mr. Atwood spoke regarding the Memorandum of Understanding and asked for the council's
consideration and approval to renew the annual agreement and participate in the assessment for
Yellowstone County. The negotiated agreement across Yellowstone County divides the total
assessment four ways. The City of Laurel participates at a 6 percent level, which he thinks is a good
deal in terms of the total services that they deliver to Yellowstone County. The MOU is for$1,645.26
this year, and is formulated using a base fee and a per capita assessment. He is proud of the work that
Beartooth has done for the area and hopes the council agrees that it is worth renewing the agreement
for the coming year.
• Council Issues:
o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event
Kurt stated that staff has been working with Great West to finalize the permits, to get final appraisals
done on the pipeline route, and to finalize the easement routes with CHS Refinery. One person
protested the location of the intake on the Yellowstone County Permit, and Kurt will try to contact
that person regarding his concerns.
Chad stated that the 60 percent plans should be submitted to the city by the end of next week, which is
on right on schedule. Unless the permitting process is delayed, construction should be on schedule to
start this fall.
Kurt mentioned that the environmental assessment for no significant impact has been cleared by the
State Historical Society and FEMA has accepted that. As long as the pipeline route does not change
again, the environmental assessments should be clear.
o Lease Agreements
There was no discussion.
Other items
• Resolution— Contract with Becker Electric
Kurt explained that he has tried to get quotes for the variable frequency drive for the cemetery project.
He has been working with ACE Electric, Colstrip Electric and Becker Electric to get an affordable
bid. Ace Electric's bid was high at $19,500 and did not have any specifics. Kurt contacted Becker
Electric, who submitted a quote that arrived today for $11,590 plus shipping. Colstrip Electric
submitted a quote for $14,500 that also had no specifics. Kurt recommended that the council go
forward with the quote from Becker Electric for the drives for the pump to run the sprinkler system in
the cemetery.
Review of draft council agenda for May 19, 2015
• Public Hearing:
o Resolution No. R15-25: Intent to create Special Improvement District No. 117
Attendance at the May 19, 2015 council meeting
Richard Herr will not attend the council meeting.
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Council Workshop Minutes of May 12,2015
Announcements
Doug stated that the Emergency Services Committee will meet on Monday, May 18th, to discuss the
marketing issues about the safety mill levy.
Bill thanked Kurt Markegard and Tim Reiter for the tour they gave the Public Works Committee at
the wastewater treatment plant. They answered questions very well and explained the procedures.
Bill suggested having an open house for the public at the plant after the project is completely finished.
Mayor Mace will look into that and report back to the council.
Recognition of Employees
Les Deines 34 years of service on May 19th WWTP
Michelle Steffan 21 years of service on May 31st Police Dispatch
Mayor Mace expressed appreciation for the employees' service to the City of Laurel.
The council workshop adjourned at 7:09 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.
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