Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works Committee Minutes 08.16.1999 MINUTES PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE AUGUST 16~ 1999 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Temple Marvin Carter Bud Johnson Lorraine Craig OTHERS PRESENT: Bill Staudinger Ken Olson Larry McCann Jeanette Koch Chuck Rodgers Jim Eastman, Laurel Jaycees There was not a quorum present at the meeting. Water charges. Jeanette Koch presented a list of the delinquent water charges that need to be charged off the books. When the delinquent water charges are charged off, it is the city's loss. The delinquent sewer and garbage taxes are applied to the property owner's taxes. Motion by Bud Johnson to write off the delinquent water charges in the amount of $1,912.52, seconded by Lorraine Craig. Motion carried. CCR Report - to be published. The council previously received copies of the Consumer Confidence Report. Larry McCann expects that the council will receive inquiries from citizens regarding the report after it is published. One copy will be sent to the Laurel Outlook and another copy will be available in the Water Office. Impact Grant application. The City of Laurel is one of three applicants for the Impact Grant. Larry is anticipating that the seriousness of the impact of the intake problem will help the city to receive the grant. FEMA in Washington informed Larry about a Sustainable Development Grant that is also available. Money is available from $0 to $100,000 and from $100,000 and up. The grant application is due September 28th. Because of the short time flame, Larry will be requesting assistance from Beartooth RC&D to prepare the application. On Wednesday, August 18t~, Larry will be meeting with an aide for Conrad Bums regarding some available pork barrel money. Morrison-Maierle will be bringing this individual out. They had a conversation about what th/s application would cost the City of Laurel. Larry told them that the city would still RFP for engineers, and they agreed with that and said there would be no charge to write the grant. The Sustainable Development Grant requires a dollar amount from a participating business. Cenex sent the information to their main office, and Larry is anticipating a response that will specify the actual dollars they will commit. The report from the Corps will not be available until the middle of September, but we cannot wait until then to start application for grants. The City of Laurel has been awarded a DNRC Planning Grant for $10,000 for sewer system planning. Highway Commission meeting. The Highway Commission meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, the 18th, at the Sheraton. Larry will go at 8:00 a.m. and at 1:00 p.m., and he is planning to attend the informal dinner meeting put on by the county with the Highway Commission at 5:00 p.m. at the fairgrounds. Commissioner Kennedy strongly encouraged Larry and the council to represent the City of Laurel. The mayor recently sent a letter to the Highway Commission and it has generated some activity on the east end of town. Fifth Avenue and Main Street to Railroad Street. Lan'y is waiting for more information from Stillwater Engineering on this and plans to complete this project by October 1st. George McArthur, Stillwater Engineering, has looked at the situation and estimates his cost to be about $1,200. Curb and gutter will be installed on the southeast side of Fifth Avenue on the railroad property. The owners of Asphalt Supply have been notified that they need to pay for the curb and gutter on the west side of South Fifth. A letter has been sent to the owner of the TV Repair and Liquor Store properties informing her that she is responsible for the cost of the sidewalk and curb and gutter at those properties. Building Code and Plumbing Code. The City of Laurel is not currently authorized to issue plumbing permits. Larry has one permit ready and is waiting for the City of Billings to authorize us to use one of their plumbing inspectors until Steve Klotz is certified in plumbing code. Steve is ready to take the test and will probably do so in two weeks. Steve spent his first week of employment with the plumbing code inspector in Billings. Steve and Larry will probably attend a class on building permits in Helena the last week in November. Steve has started addressing the weed problem by listing addresses while driving around town. Letters are being sent to owners who have tall weeds on their property. Larry 2 anticipates that citizens will contact their councilmen with complaints about the crackdown on weeds. Murray Park - Sprinkler system. Some complaints were received regarding the dry grass at Murray Park. The sprinkler heads have been changed back to the original design and the grass is beginning to get green again. Thomson Park and Ja¥cees. Jim Eastman, of the Laurel Jaycees, attended the meeting to discuss plans for their upcoming Laurel Fall Festival. There was discussion regarding the insurance issue, clean up, and port-a- pots. Jim Eastman stated that the Jaycees' insurance company would write a rider that would cover any participating groups that do not have their own individual insurance policy. The Jaycees are covered up to $2 ½ million worth of liability. Larry mentioned that the City of Laurel has to be named in the policy. Jim said that the City of Laurel has always been on their insurance policy in order to forfeit any liability to the city and to cover any damages or accident caused by their group. Jim agreed that the Laurel Jaycees would be responsible for the clean up. He did not anticipate that additional port-a-pots would be necessary as about 200-300 people are expected to attend. Jim will submit a copy of the Laurel Jaycees' insurance binder for Joe Leckie's review. Motion by Bud Johnson to recommend that the council approve the request from the Laurel Jaycees to use Thomson Park on September 11, 1999, for their Laurel Community Fall Festival upon the condition that the City Attorney approves their insurance coverage for the event, seconded by Bill Staudinger. Motion carried. There was brief discussion regarding the event use of city parks. Larry distributed a handout outlining certain requirements that would define how business would be done in the city parks. One of the requirements would allow the Public Works Department to authorize all special or event me of the city parks. The council would adopt policy regarding the parks and specify how the Public Works Department should handle the event use. Larry will be contacting Miles Walton about various aspects of requirements at the city parks. Unscheduled matters. Marvin Carter questioned why Double-Tree was hired to do a garbage rate study since the City of Laurel has changed its garbage pickup. It was explained that more cans have been placed and the service remains the same even though once-a-week pickup has begun in certain areas of town. The alley behind the trophy business and the alley between 5th and 6th need some attention. Larry will take care of the problems. Jeanette asked about the status of the Rules and Regulations. Larry explained that there are still some questions regarding the utility billing that will need to be defined after the new computer system is installed. The meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen City Council Secretary 4