Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 03.29.2005 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MARCH 29, 2005 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Ken Olson at 6:35 p.m. on March 29, 2005. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x_ Dick Fritzler _x_ Kate Stevenson _x_ Gay Easton _x_ Jennifer Johnson x Doug Poehls x Mark Mace x Daniel Dart x John Oakes OTHERS PRESENT: Terry Ruff Sam Painter Larry McCann Steve Klotz Cai Cumin Kurt Markegard Debi Meling, Morrison-Malerle 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. · None Fire Department: Report from Chief Terry Ruff · ChiefRuffreported on a recent fire department incident. · Three years ago, the department was concerned about their bunker gear, which dated back to the early 1980's. o Terry explained the process of finding a way to finance the purchase of 35 bunker gear sets, which were ordered in April 2004 and received in September 2004. · The incident happened on December 22, 2004 when the department was called to a fire structure. o Vince Ricci, the main nozzle man going into the fire, explained that he had difficulty seeing through the visor on his helmet soon after he entered the burning structure. o After exiting the structure, he realized that the helmet had melted due to the intense heat of the fire; however, Vince was not harmed in any way. · Terry contacted the manufacturer, who sent a representative to Laurel to examine the helmet. o When Terry told the rep that the helmet was three months old and asked if he would warranty it, the rep asked Terry if anyone got hurt. o After Terry answered him that no one was hurt, the rep stated that the helmet had done its job. Council Workshop Minutes of March 29, 2005 o The gear is so good that Vince did not feel any heat through the gear or the helmet. · Terry thanked the council for allowing the department to purchase the thirty-five sets of bunker gear. o Replacement of the helmet will cost about $150. · Mayor Olson stated that it is encouraging to know that the City of Laurel's fire department is manned and equipped to enter such an environment. · Mark Mace proposed the public should be educated regarding this incident, as a paid fire department might be required in the future. · Mayor Olson thanked the volunteers for their commitment to the fire department and the residents of Laurel. Update on East 1st Street Proieet: · Debi Meling, Morrison-Maiefle, stated that the 90% plans were submitted to the City of Laurel on March 14th and MMI received the city's comments last week. · Debi explained the timeline for the project. o Advertisements for bids will be put in the Laurel Outlook and The Billings Times on April 6th. o Bid opening is scheduled for April 28th. o Bid will be presented to the council in May. o Construction is scheduled for June 1st to October 31st. · Project is scheduled to close East First Street to replace the utilities, do the street work, and bring the road back to where it can be reopened. o Then the utilities and street work will be done in the side streets. o Paving of the entire project will be done at the same time. · Concerns regarding the 4th of July are being addressed. Solid Waste Department: · The council will set the public heating date for Ordinance No. 004-08 at the council meeting on April 5th and the second reading will be scheduled for the following council meeting. · Steve Klotz gave a Presentation on the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund - Operational Inconsistencies and Rate Structure o What is an Enterprise Fund? · Accounts for a service that is financed through user charges. · Funded by user fees, not taxes. · Finances are separated from other government services. o Enterprise Fund Advantages · Do not rely on taxes. · Promote fairness. · Encourage conservation of resources. · Increase accountability. · Keep taxes lower. o Current Status of Solid Waste Enterprise Fund FY 05-06 · Beginning Balance - $283,000. · Annual Estimated Revenue- $538,000. Council Workshop Minutes of March 29, 2005 · Annual Appropriation - $651,600. · Ending Balance - $170,000. · Draw on Reserves - $133,000. o Current Fund Options · Adjust all solid waste services supported by user fees to reflect equal assessments · Take advantage of Enterprise Fund benefits · Correct existing fee assessment errors · Put offmte increase with additional revenue · Operate Fund "as is" and raise solid waste fees to all users · Discourage the conservation of waste and resources · Provide disproportionate resource to community · Solid waste rate increase to all customers o User Charges for Collection · Residential waste collection and disposal · Commemial waste collection and disposal o Source of User Fees for the Service Provided - Where does the money come from? · Residential collection and disposal - Residential fees · Commercial collection and disposal - Commercial fees o City Costs to do Collection · Equipment Purchases / Replacements · Equipment Maintenance · Personnel · Land filling costs per weight (volume) · Fuel o Residential Pickup Route · Different sections of the city each day · Each home is serviced once per week · Each home is allotted 90 to 100 gallons of uncompacted waste · 90-gallon roll-out container · One-third of a shared 300-gallon alley container o Residential Fees · Currently $11.80 per month · 90 to 100 gallons of uncompacted waste · Picked up 4.33 times per month · $I 1.80 / (100 gal/pickup x 4.33 pickups) = 2.7 cents/gallon o Commercial Pickup Route · One business route · Each business serviced 6 times a week · Allotted varying degrees of volume · 10% to 100% of a 300-gallon container o Commercial Fees · Calculated from a $11.80 base rate · Varying volumes per type of use · Picked up 26 times per month 3 Council Workshop Minutes of March 29, 2005 · $11.80 / (30 gal/pickup x 26 pickups) = 1.5 cents/gallon o Cost Comparison by Volume - Residential vs. Commercial · Residential Cost = 2.7 cents per gallon · Commemial Cost = 1.5 cents per gallon o Commercial Rate Structure · Initial Setup · One container per customer · Volumetric study per day · Multiplier established (% full) · Adjust service for efficiency o Multiplier Theory · One Can - 20% full - M 2.0 · One Can - 10% full - M 1.0 · One Can - 60% full - M 6.0 · One Can - 90% full o Proposed Solution · Group Multipliers into Realistic Options · 1/3, ½, 2/3, and a full container · Adjust cost per gallon in the commemial division to reflect residential costs and represent user fees. · Adjust multipliers to reflect actual use · Make the adjustment over a five-year period o Fee Adjustments - Cost p~r gallon · $0.015 per gallon to $0.027 per gallon · 80% increase, 16% per year for five years · 1.5 to 1.7 to 2.0 to 2.2 to 2.5 to 2.7 cents per gallon o Fee Adjustments - Volumetric · Multiple cans at current multiplier will be corrected to reflect each can at actual use. · 3 cans at 20% full (to) 3 cans at 100% full. · 60% x 300 gal x 3 (to) 100% x 300 gal x 3 o Additional Revenues (Liberal Estimate) at five years · Cost per Gallon adjustment · $10,700 per month / $127,800 per year · Volumetric adjustment · $11,600 per month / $139,300 per year · Total potential revenue increase · $22,300 per month / $267,100 per year Public Utilities Department: · Task Order No. 8, Morrison-Maierle - Phase 2 of the wastewater project o Debi Meling explained that Task Order No. 8 is for the design, bidding, construction, and post-construction of the sewer trunk lines from the city to the sewer plant. o Survey and design of the project will begin after council approval. o Construction of the project is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2005. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of March 29, 2005 GIS Interlocal Agreement with Yellowstone County o Agreement is to provide GIS services to the City of Laurel from Yellowstone County. o For $2,000, the city will have access to digital mapping and tabular data of the City of Laurel and the Laurel Planning Jurisdiction area. o The County will maintain established and updated GIS data for the area. o The City of Laurel will provide updated information to be included in the GIS system as needed. o The County will develop additional GIS data and generate maps as requested by the City of Laurel at the rates specified in the agreement. o The resolution for the GIS Interlocal Agreement with Yellowstone County will be on the April 5th council agenda. Iron Horse Subdivision: · Resolution for approval of the subdivision and annexation of Iron Horse Subdivision o Cai stated that the resolution would approve the final plat of Iron Horse Station Subdivision. o In order for the final plat to be approved, the developer has to meet all of the conditions set by the City of Laurel at the July 20, 2004 city council meeting. o Cai explained some of the conditions for approval that have not been met yet. o Some mistakes in the Subdivision Improvements Agreement (SIA) need to be corrected. o If the conditions are not met by Tuesday, April 5th, the resolution will be removed from the agenda. · Ordinance approving the zoning of Iron Horse Subdivision o Ordinance amending the zoning map of the City of Laurel to incorporate Phase One of the Iron Horse Station Subdivision will be on the council agenda on April 5th. City Attorney: · Fireworks issue o Discussion regarding: · The current ordinance is unenforceable. · Other cities have changed their fireworks ordinances to allow fireworks at specific times, with liability released to the individuals that set off the fh'eworks. · Sam recommended that the current ordinance be left in place for liability reasons. · Fireworks are a celebration of history and country. · Leaving the current ordinance in place · Police have recourse with problems now. · People will continue to set off fireworks. · Ban on fireworks allows for more parental control. o Discussion regarding bringing the issue to a council meeting o Discussion regarding enforcing and increasing fines for fireworks tickets 5 Council Workshop Minutes of March 29, 2005 o Discussion regarding allowing the issue to die and leaving the current ordinance in place · Minutes show that the issue has been discussed at length by the Emergency Services Committee and the city council. · The issue will not move forward to a council meeting. o Mayor Olson thanked the Emergency Services Committee and Chairman Dart for their review of and input on the issue. Park leases and contracts o Copies of the draft lease agreement for the parks were distributed to the council. o Sam asked the council to review the draft and submit any suggestions to him as soon as possible. o The draft lease agreement will be discussed at the council workshop on April 12th. o Gay stated that the Public Works Committee has been working on this issue for a long time, and he is pleased with the draft lease agreement. o Sam stated that a copy of the draft lease agreement should be sent to MMIA for review. Executive review: · Yellowstone Historic Preservation Board - appointment of Richard Hatfield o Appointment of Richard Hatfield will be made at the council meeting on April 5t~. · Local Government Review Commission - appointment of Keith Wood o Appointment of Keith Wood will be made at the council meeting on April 5th, and the appointment will be effective as of March 28th. · Resolution revising the CDBG Rehabilitation Program Income Plan o Draft resolution was presented at the council workshop on March 8th' o Public hearing is scheduled for April 5th and the resolution will be under scheduled matters on April 5th. o Revision to the Program Income Plan would allow the funds to be used for special projects, including the playground equipment in Thomson Park. Review of draft council agenda for April 5~ 2005 Announcements · Update on foreclosure of house in HOME First-Time Homebuyer's Program o Sam explained the situation with the foreclosure on the house in the Homebuyer's Program. Resolution No. R05-33 allowed the city to purchase the home for up to $87,945 in order to protect its $18,530 interest in the house. o Another bidder purchased the house for more than $87,945, and the City of Laurel will receive its money. · Gay stated that the new recording system is being used at this meeting. · Jennifer welcomed Kurt Markegard, the new maintenance superintendent, to the City of Laurel. Attendance at the April 5th council meetin~ · Doug Poehls might not be able to attend. 6 Council Workshop Minutes of March 29, 2005 Other items · None The council workshop adjoumed at 8:22 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.