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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 09.07.2004 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF LAUREL September 7, 2004 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Ken Olson at 6:30 p.m. on September 7, 2004. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Dick Fritzler Doug Poehls Kate Stevenson Mark Mace Gay Easton Daniel Dart Jennifer Johnson John Oakes COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None Mayor Olson led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Mayor Olson asked the council to observe a moment of silence. MINUTES: Motion by Alderwoman Stevenson to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of August 17, 2004, as presented, seconded by Alderman Poehls. Motion carried 8-0. CORRESPONDENCE: Laurel High School Pep Club: Letter of August 25, 2004, regarding homecoming on Friday, September 24, 2004. Laurel Chamber of Commeme: September 2004 Newsletter. PUBLIC HEARING: Ordinance No. 004-07: Ordinance amending Section 2.68.100 of the Laurel Municipal Code, amending the Judge's salary. Mayor Olson opened the public heating. Mayor Olson asked three times if there were any opponents. There were none. Mayor OIson asked three times if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Olson closed the public hearing. CONSENT ITEMS: Claims for the month of August 2004 in the amount of 514,896.64. A complete listing &the claims and their amounts is on file in the Clerk-Treasurer's Office. · Approval of Payroll Register for PPE 08/15/04 totaling $126,808.95. · Approval of Payroll Register for PPE 08/29/04 totaling $125,145.13. · Receiving the Committee Reports into the Record. --Budget/Finance Committee minutes of August 2, 2004 were presented. --Cit¥-Coun~ Planning Board minutes of August 12, 2004 were presented. --Laurel Swimming Pool Committee minutes of August 12, 2004 wer~ presented. --Cemetery Commission minutes of August 16, 2004 were presented. --Council Workshop minutes of August 31, 2004 were presented. Council Minutes of September 7, 2004 Resolutions. Resolution No. R04-96: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign final Change Order No. 2 closing the Ist Avenue and 12th Street waterline project. Resolution No. R04-97: Resolution authorizing the Mayor to issue a task order to Morrison-Maierle Engineering to prepare design and bid documents for the First Street Reconstruction Project in Laurel, Montana. Resolution No. R04-98: Resolution to approve a consultant contract between the City of Laurel and Cumin Associates for the provision of professional planning services. Resolution No. R04-99: A resolution accepting the attached bid and authorizing the Mayor to sign a contract with Cucancic Construction for the remodel plan of the city hall building. The mayor asked if there was any separation of consent items. There was none. Motion by Alderman Mace to approve the consent items as presented, seconded by Alderman Dart. A roll call voted was taken on the motion. All eight aldermen/women present voted aye. Motion carried 8-0. CEREMONIAL CALENDAR: None. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Yellowstone City-County Health Board Bud Johnson introduced John Felton. John was formerly the executive director of the Northern Rockies Cancer Treatment Center. He recently joined the health department as the chief operating officer. Bud served with John on the Board of Health and the finance committee, and he thinks that the health department will benefit greatly from John's association with it. Bud Johnson gave the following report: An amended Interlocal Agreement between the City of Laurel, the City of Billings, and the County of Yellowstone clarified the intent of the three governmental entities in creating the Health District in 19981 This clarification more clearly defines the dual role of the district in providing direct health services and public health activities. The City of Broadview was also required to agree to the portion of the Interlocal Agreement that incorporated the Air Pollution Control Program into the Health District. The Yellowstone County Air Pollution Control Program was incorporated into Yellowstone City-County Health Department on July 1, 2004. This incorporation involved additional approval of the above mentioned Interlocal Agreement plus a new Air Pollution Control Program document by the Board of Health, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Board of Environmental Review. On July 1st, three staff members transferred their employment to YCCHD along with the responsibility of monitoring the air quality of Yellowstone County. They are under the direction of Ted Kylander, Environmental Health Program Manager, and located on the second floor of the courthouse. Public Health staff has been actively providing community health education on West Nile Virus Prevention. In addition, we have had two major food borne outbreaks, one in a daycare center and one at a religious function. Both have been investigated and appropriate actions taken. The mill levy funding approved by voters two years ago allowed us to have adequate staff to address these outbreaks. Funding for the Community Health Access Program, which was developed with a million dollar federal grant to YCCHD, Deaconess Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare three years ago, has ceased as of August 31, 2004. At the time the project was funded, we knew the maximum funding allotment was three years. We are very pleased to report that the three entities have agreed to sustain critical portions of the project with existing funds in each organization. In YCCHD, that funding is through the public health mill levy. The roles of the community resource coordinators are to enroll those people throughout our community with unmet needs (health care, housing, food, daycare, etc.), and match community resources 2 Council Minutes of September 7, 2004 to meet those needs. We have enrolled and provided services to one-third of the uninsured population in Yellowstone County through this project. Due to changes in Medicare funding rules for in-home services, our Visiting Nurse Service program is one-third the size it was five years ago. That translates into people in Yellowstone County receiving one-third of the services they received five years ago. This has resulted in many elderly people transitioning out of their own homes into residential living facilities or nursing homes. We have been able to accommodate the decreased staffing needs through attrition and/or transfer of staff to other YCCHD programs, particularly the Big Sky Hospice Program which has grown over the past years. There continues to be increased health care needs in our community. As small businesses are unable to offer insurance benefits, the need to provide discounted primary care, dental, and pharmaceutical services continues to increase. As the state funding for mental health care decreases and the use of methamphetamine and other drugs increases, we do not foresee any hope for meeting all of the community needs. We will continue with our monitoring of federal, state and local budgetary issues and attempt to position YCCHD to survive and thrive in the future. Bud Johnson stated that the Yellowstone County Health Department has a history of being a very dynamic organization. They know how to make a nickel work and come back with the return of a quarter, and they are a fantastic organization. Bud mentioned that, due to time restraints, he will probably have to resign from the Board of Health, and he encouraged someone else to consider serving on the board. He stated that someone who wanted to be a part of a dynamic organization would be rewarded many times by serving on the Board of Health. The Board of Health meets at 7:00 a.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Community Health Center. There was further discussion regarding assisted living, Medicare, Medicaid, major health issues; the Deering Clinic, health services, mental health issues, and the growth in the Yellowstone City-County Health Department. Mayor Olson thanked Bud for his service on the Board of Health. John Felton expressed appreciation to Bud for his service on the board and wished the city luck in finding another board member with the same commitment. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS (ONE-MINUTE LIMIT): None. SCHEDULED MATTERS: Confirmation of Appointments: Emergentw Services Committee: Mayor Olson appointed Jennifer Johnson as a council representative on the Emergency Services Committee. · Ordinance No. 004-06: Franchise ordinance. Second reading. Motion by Alderman Easton to adopt Ordinance No. 004-06, seconded by Alderwoman SteVenson. A roll call vote was taken on the motion. All eight aldermen/women present voted aye. Motion carried 8-0. · Request for Zone Change from Agricultural Open to Residential Tracts for Saddleback Ridge Estates Subdivision, 2aa Filing. Motion by Alderman Poehl.q to approve the zone change from Agricultural Open to Residential Tracts for Saddleback Ridge Estates Subdivision, 2na Filing, seconded by Alderman Oakes. Motion carded 8-0. · Laurel High School Pep Club: Request to hold the Homecoming parade on September 24, 2004. 3 Council Minutes of September 7. 2004 Motion by Alderwoman Johnson to approve the Laurel High School Pep Club's request to hold the Homecoming Parade on September 24, 2004, seconded by Alderman Mace. Motion carried 1t-0. · Laurel Volunteer Fire Department: Request to set off fireworks September 24, 2004, during the Laurel High School Homecoming game. Motion by Alderman Dart to approve the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department's request to set off fireworks on September 24, 2004, during the Laurel High School Homecoming game, seconded by Alderman Oakes. Mayor Olson stated that, because of the discussion at the August 31 st council workshop, the school would be approached to see if they would put a notice in the newspaper regarding the fireworks. The Emergency Selwices Committee will address the concerns regarding the need to provide public notice of fireworks displays. A vote was taken on the motion. Motion carried 8-0. · Recommendation by Planning Board to annex Lots 6 through 15, Block 2, Mathis Subdivision to the City: Set public hearing date for October 5, 2004. Motion by Alderman Oakes to set the public hearing for October 5, 2004, for the recommendation by Planning Board to annex Lots 6 through 15, Block 2, Mathis Subdivision, to the City of Laurel, seconded by Alderman Poehls. Motion carded 8-0. · Growth Management Plan: Set public hearing date for October 5, 2004. Motion by Alderman Fritzler to set the public hearing date for October 5, 2004, for the Growth Management Plan, seconded by Alderwoman Stevenson. Motion carried 8-0. · Legislative Outlook 2005 Mayor Olson read the following information regarding the legislative outlook which was received from Alec Hansen recently: The Legislative Outlook is intended to give members of the League's Legislation and Resolutions Committee some background on issues that are likely to be considered in 2005. It is an informational report. It does not recommend positions or presume the decisions that will be made by the Legislation Committee, Board of Directors and delegates to the conference as they approve the final package of resolutions. Mayor Olson will attend the Legislative Committee meeting in Helena on September 22ad. He stated the need for discussion regarding raising the dollar amount from $25,000 to $50,000 for the bid process for projects. Further discussion will be held at the council workshop on September 12th. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA: None. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION (THREE-MINUTE LIMIT): None. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: · Review of Committee Minutes: None. · Review of Monthly Reports - Police, Fire, Ambulance, and Code Enforcement: None Bob Carr, Assistant to the Chancellor at MSU-Billings, is scheduled to present information regarding opportunities for local government to work with higher education institutions to build a better community. The Shared Leadership for a Stronger Montana Economy program will be presented at the council workshop on September 12th. Mayor Olson mentioned the special council meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 15th, at 5:30 p.m. Morrison-Maierle will present the proposed wastewater rates, and Nathan Tubergen will 4 Council Minutes of September 7, 2004 present options for addressing the shortfall in the General Fund. A recommendation from the Insurance Committee might also be on the special council meeting agenda. Mayor Olson mentioned the League of Cities and Towns meeting in Kalispell on October 7th and 8th. Airline flights from Billings to Kalispell are available for less money than it would cost to drive. Contact Mary Embleton for more information. Alderman Mace gave an update on Bob Worthington's presentation to the Insurance Committee last week~ The proposed self-funded insurance program would be administered through MMIA. The latest version looks promising and rates should be reduced. A three to five-year commitment is required. Bob Worthington has agreed to make a presentation to all employees, and the deadline might be extended. UNSCHEDULED MATTERS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Alderman Poehls to adjourn the council meeting, seconded by Alderman Mace. Motion carried 8-0. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Cindy Allen, S~cretary Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 21st day of September, 2004. Attest: ~bleton, Clerk-Treas 5