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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 12.08.2015 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP DECEMBER 8, 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 December 8, 2015. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: x Emelie Eaton _x_Doug Poehls -x Bruce McGee _x Richard Herr x Chuck Dickerson Scot Stokes x- Tom Nelson _x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen Public Input There was no public input. General items • Reappointments to the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency and Police Commission The reappointments will be on the December 15t council agenda. Executive Review • Resolution- Approve LURA Façade Improvement Grant for Fowl Play Heidi explained that Fowl Play, formerly known as Curt's Saloon, applied for some façade improvements funds. On the application, they requested $56,000, but roofs are not allowed under the façade replacement program. After the $21,000 roof expense was subtracted and the remaining amount was divided in half(50 percent grant), it worked out to a $9,050 LURA Grant. The request was considered at the LURA meeting in November, but there was not a quorum present. LURA held a special meeting to vote on the request and voted unanimously to recommend the full$9,050 grant to the council. LURA also informed the owner about the Technical Assistance Grant that is available through LURA. • Council Issues: o City's response to articles in the Laurel Outlook(Chuck Dickerson) • Addressing requested council workshop agenda items when the council member is not present (Chuck Dickerson) Chuck asked why an item that is placed on a council workshop agenda is not discussed if the council member is not in attendance. Mayor Mace stated his concern that the council does not know the gist of the question and that questions are derived after discussion begins. Council Workshop Minutes of December 8,2015 Chuck stated that the item was explained when he requested that it be on the agenda. Mayor Mace understood that, but stated that it is difficult to have a discussion or to answer a question for somebody that is not at the meeting. There was a lengthy discussion regarding Chuck's explanation of his requested agenda item, the suggestion to automatically place the item on the next council workshop agenda if the council member is not in attendance, the confusion regarding Chuck's request for a response to an article in the Laurel Outlook, the fact that the newspaper has free speech rights and can print whatever it chooses to print, and Chuck's frustration with the outcome of his request for discussion after he clearly stated what he wanted addressed, and the need for council members to place discussion items on agendas for meetings they will attend. Doug asked to return to the original discussion about the articles in the Outlook. He feels that the issues were addressed in subsequent articles. Chuck stated that his main concern was that the public knew what was going on. Tom questioned if anyone had contacted the Outlook regarding last Thursday's article about the council voting on the $1.7 million loan for the water intake. The council voted on Phase 3A and 3B of the Water System Improvement Project, but not on the loan for the new water intake. No one had contacted the Laurel Outlook. o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event Heidi explained that the weir is in the river but it is not high enough. The water has risen six inches, but it is not enough to cover the intake. It is now known if the water rose six inches because of the weir or because the temperature got warmer, which melted some snow in the mountains. This was a concern based on the elevation levels that were permitted by the Corps. Staff sent an application, pictures and information to the Corps today and explained what is happening. The city is asking the Corps to allow us to build more elevation. The elevation will not be built in the center of the river, because that becomes a boating hazard in the spring. The elevation needs to be built on the sides in order to push the water toward the center over the top of the intake. Heidi had not heard back from the Army Corps prior to this meeting. On Friday, Kurt, Chad Hanson and Heidi went to Colstrip to give a presentation to the Coal Board. The city missed the September application by one day, but the Coal Board had very little funding available in September. All September applications that did not receive any funding had to be withdrawn and will be resubmitted in May. The City of Laurel also asked for its application to be withdrawn, and staff will resubmit the application by the May 2"d deadline. Heidi, Kurt and Chad asked the Coal Board if they could still do their presentation to make sure there were no questions about the application and to provide any clarification needed. The application is due in May, the Coal Board will meet in June, and the next annual funding will be available on July 1St. Heidi stated that staff still feels that the Coal Board grant was in no way jeopardized by not going in September since there was not any money funded. The City of Laurel is seeking the grant for the full$1.7 million. Heidi, the clerk/treasurer and the public works director recently had a conference call with a large group of people about the city's two large loans. The first loan is for Schedule A and B for the sed basins and the second loan is for $1.7 million for the water intake. At that time, Great West stated a 2 Council Workshop Minutes of December 8,2015 different timeline than Heidi was expecting for the construction. Great West met with staff yesterday to lay out a timeline for construction of the new intake. Heidi explained the current situations with delays of the permanent easements with the Howreys and the McCoys, the small change in language needed in the easement with CHS Refinery, the increased cost to construct the pipe when the ground is not frozen and the ditches are running in April and later, the astronomical costs of dewatering in the project, the 30 to 60-day review period after the easements are finalized, the possible timeline to go out for bid in May, the small window in July, August and September for construction of the intake while water is low, and the probability that the project will move into another fiscal year. Heidi hopes that the Army Corps will allow the city to build the weir up. o Lease Agreements Heidi had no news on the lease agreements. Other items There were none. Review of draft council agenda for December 15, 2015 There was no discussion. Attendance at the December 15, 2015 council meeting Tom will not attend the council meeting. Announcements Doug mentioned that the Emergency Services Committee will not meet in December. Tom mentioned that the next council workshop will be on December 29th, as there are five Tuesdays in December. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Chuck stated that, at last night's Public Works Committee meeting, a question was asked in reference to changing the meeting time to a daytime meeting. This brought him back to something he brought up some time ago regarding the possibility of combining some committees and boards. Chuck requested that the executive portion of the city look into the possibility of combining some of the committees and boards. He stated his suggestions regarding combining the boards and committees: the Park Board, Tree Board and Cemetery Commission being one; the Emergency Services Committee and Emergency Disaster Coordinator being one; the Public Works and the ADA Coordinator being one. He stated that three boards, the Airport Authority Board, Library Board, City- County Planning Board, do not have an ordinance listed on the committee list. [Secretary's note: As stated in the City Council Workshop minutes of November 10, 2015, after a similar discussion at that meeting: Appointments to the Laurel Airport Authority are made by the Mayor and confirmed by the city council per Resolution No. 1848; Library Board is addressed in LMC 2.80; City-County Planning Board is addressed in LMC 2.72] Chuck also questioned whether the Budget/Finance Committee should be a board, since the committee has control over the funds and how the budget is set. He is concerned that it is difficult to get people to serve on the committees and boards and that it is difficult for council members to attend all of the meetings. He asked regarding the possibility of combining some of the boards and committees. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of December 8,2015 Mayor Mace stated that it would take some time. He will contact Dan Clark to find out the best way to do so and then come back to the council for discussion. Emelie mentioned that the Public Works Committee reviewed several projects that were started this year and will be finalized next spring. Recognition of Employees Les Riddle 25 years of service on December 6th WTP Dave Saylor 25 years of service on December 17th City Shop Guy Rolison 16 years of service on December 6th City Shop Kevin Budge 8 years of service on December 18th City Shop Dave Waggoner 8 years of service on December 26th WTP Mayor Mace stated that there are a lot of years of service represented by these employees. He encouraged the council to congratulate the employees when they see them. The council workshop adjourned at 7:03 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. 4