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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 07.11.2006 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP JULY 11, 2006 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 July 11, 2006. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: x Dick Fritzler x Kate Hart _x_ Gay Eeston _x_ Jennifer Johnson _x_ Doug Poehls x Mark Mace x Chuck Diekerson x Norm Stamper OTHERS PRESENT: Sam Painter Perry Asber Steve Klotz Cal Cumin Rick Musson Public Input (three-minute limit): Citizens may address the Council regarding any item of City business not on the agend~ 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 Plaonine Board issues: · Resolution - Conditional Use Permit for signage for Wal-Mart and out parcels. hearing held July 5, 2006) (Public Wal-Mart has requested the conditional use permit to consolidate advertising for Wal-Mart and Lots 2 and 3 on one pylon-type billboard located at the southeast comer of the property adjacent to the interstate. The resolution for the conditional use permit for signage for Wal-Mart and the two out parcels will be on the council agenda on July 18th. · Resolution - Final Plat Apphcation for Wal-Mart Cal stated that the conditions have been or will be met by July 18th when the council will consider the resolution for the final plat for Wal-Mart. Since the paving of Bernhardt Road and the installation of the traffic signal cannot be completed yet, a letter of credit for 125 percent oftbe cost will be submitted to the city for those conditions. The Public Works Department will not issue an occupancy p~adt until all conditions have been met. The final plat will be ready for signatures at the council meeting on July 18th, and Wal-Mart will take the signed plat and file it the next day. · Resolution - Acceptance by the City of the deed to the land extending SE 4th Street to Bernhardt Road Coundl Workshop Minutes of July 11, 2006 As a condition of approval for the Amended Plat of Laurel Business Park Subdivision, the city required the owner of the land to extend East 4th Street South fi.om South Washington Avenue to Bernhardt Road. Wal-Mart has complied with the requirement by preparing a plat containing the extension. Wal-Maxt has requested approval of the plat and acceptance of the quit claim deed for the property. A special council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 12th, at 6:30 p.m. for the council to consider approving the final plat of Amended Plat of Lot 6-A, Block 2, Laurel Industrial Park Subdivision and to accept the property conveyed via quit claim deed by Wal-Mart to establish and utilize the property as a public mad right-of-way. There was discussion regarding the fagade for the Wal-Mart building. The city does not have the authority to demand a specific facade, but Wal-Mart has agreed to try to comply with the city's request for a stone and timber faqade on the building. Clerk/Treasurer: · Resolution- insurance transfers Transfer of the Insurance Funds monies to the General Fund is a "housekeeping" item that is done twice each year after the large tax collections are received from Yellowstone County. The transfer is needed to help offset the costs of health insurance premiums for the City of Laurel. The resolution will be on the council agenda on July 18, 2006. Administrative Assistant: · Resolution- Amendment No. 1 with Morrison-Maierle, Inc., for the trunk main project Perry explained that Amendment No. 1 to the Owner-Engineer Agreement with Morrison-Maierle, Inc., is for additional design work on the sewer trunk main project. The bids received last fall substantially exceeded the amount of funding available for the project, and the council rejected the bids in order to consider other options. The resolution will be on the council agenda on July 18, 2006. · Resolution - Approval of Change Order No. 5 - Additional Concrete Work - East First Street Improvement Project Two business prope~cy owners requested completion of additional concrete and sidewalk work as part of the East First Street project. The business owners have already submitted payment for the additional cost of $4,812.50 for the work. The resolution will be on the council agenda on July 18, 2006. Budget discussion - Streets and Revenue Funds Steve Klotz is in the process of preparing an estimate for the top five priorities for street projects within the City of Laurel The street department is composed of street maintenance fees and gas tax revenue, which are broken out into two budgets. As the council had not received the budget information, Perry made and distributed copies at this time. With additional revenues in the Street 2 Council Workshop Minutes of July 11, 2006 Maintenance Fund as a result of the increased street maintenance assessment, money is now available to do more than just O&M and basic maintenance. Steve explained the need to use the surplus revenues to build a reserve fund for various needs and to allow the city to be more fluid in funding for projects. The dollar amount for the reserve fund and the number of years required to build up the fund needs to be determined. When Nathan Tubergen worked on this, there was discussion about a reserve fund of $250,000 with an annual $50,000 contribution into the fund. With funding at a bare minimum in street maintenance in past years, the city basically took gas tax revenue and split the budget between street maintenance and gas tax. With the additional revenues, O&M and projects are being moved to street maintenance in order to reflect what is actually done in the streets. Revenues in the Gas Tax Fund will be used to complete projects. The East First Street project is the first preject to be done using Street Maintenance Fund revenues. Street Maintenance Fund revenues are used for snow removal, sanding, street maintenance, etc., and the funds cannot be put into the General Fund. Sweeping district funds are only used for sweeping in the downtown business district. As a point of information, Steve mentioned that X's were painted on East First Street in order to designate the maximum number of parking stalls for parallel parking. Steve explained the process of reviewing the top five unfunded street priorities to dete~-ndne the first priority. There was discussion regarding political factors in prioritizing street projects. In the paver program, collector streets are ranked higher since there is more traffic on those streets. The bike lanes on East First Street were not included in the East First Street project. Perry stated that the Planning Fund documents should be prepared by next week. The main change is the addition of a full-time planner position. The advertisement for the planner closed on June 30th, and sixteen applications were received for the position. The selection panel includes Candi Beaudry, Todd Linder, Cheryll Lund, Mary Embleton, and Cai Cumin. The panel met today to begin the process of reviewing the applications. Interviews with the selection panel will be scheduled on July 26th and 27t~. Mayor Olson, Perry, and Gay will conduct the final interviews, and the mayor will make the final decision. The final budget is set for adoption on September 5th, so the timing will work for the planner position. Executive review: · Appointment - Attendant in the City of Laurel Ambulance Service Mayor Olson will make an appointment to the Laurel Ambulance Service at the council meeting on July 18th. Resolution - Contmet with Cai Cumin Since Cars contract expired on June 30th, the new contract will be retroactive to July 1, 2006. The new contract has a broader scope of responsibilities, and the term of the contract is through December 31, 2006. The six-month contract will allow Cal to work with the new city planner. The resolution will be on the council agenda on July 18, 2006. Council Workshop Minutes of July 11, 2006 · Update/Discussion- Eighth Avenue Mayor Olson explained that MaeNan Ellingson, bond counsel for Dorsey-Whitney, is preparing a proposal for funding for the Eighth Avenue project. The city has the funding for the utility portion of the Eighth Avenue project but does not have enough funding to complete the paving portion of the project. Urban funds provide $208,000 per year, and the city is allowed to borrow up to five years of additionai funding, which is not sufficient for completion of the project. When additional information is available, it will be presented for the council's consideration. The item will be listed on the Budget/Finance Committee's agenda under future items. There was discussion regarding distn'bution of Budget/Finance Committee minutes. Budget/Finance Committee minutes are presented to the committee for approval at the next committee meeting, and the minutes are distributed to the council for approval at the second council meeting following the Budget/Finance Committee meeting. Jennifer and Chuck both stated that the timeframe for distn~oution to the council was too long. After a lengthy discussion, Kate suggested that the Budget/Finance Committee agenda be distributed to all council members via e-mail and council boxes. Mayor Olson mentioned his previous concern regarding having a quorum of council members in attendance at Budget/Finance Committee meetings. After discussion with Ken Weaver and Judy Mathre, Mayor Olson said they would not discourage anyone fi.om attending the committee meetings; however, council members that are not committee members would not be able to vote. Jennifer stated that the council deserves to have items presented and distributed in a timely manner, and the ordinance requires that to be done. Sam stated that the council has the option to remove or delay an item on the council agenda if the information was not received in a timely manner for a decision to be made. There was discussion regarding distribution of information via e-mail and in the council boxes at city hall. Jennifer stated that the ordinance regarding distribution of information should be changed if it is not going to be followed. Doug stated the information is generally received at council workshops and the need for additional information results from questions and discussion. Jennifer stated specifically that information has not been received from the administrative assistant as promised. · Discussion- fireworks ordinance Past discussion regarding fireworks has centered on how to address unnecessary fireworks within the city. Kate stated that it does not matter what ordinance the council passes if it is unenforceable, and she asked the police chief what the police department is capable of addressing. Kate also questioned how to approach Yellowstone County regarding selling fireworks and whether more could be done with the enforcement issue. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of July I 1, 2006 Chief Mnsson stated that a total of thirty-four (34) complaints regarding fireworks were received from May 14th through July 4th, which is a minimum number of complaints. The police department responded to all of the complaints. Rick is a proponent of changing the ordinance to allow fireworks within the city limits because it is imposs~le to enforce the current ordinance. There was discussion regarding: displays of fireworks near Kiwanis Park; police officers on patrol near Kiwanis Park; the cost and effectiveness of additional officers in Billings during the 4th of July activities; using public streets to set off fireworks; review of the fireworks issue by the Emergency Services Committee twice in the past four years; the possible liability of the City of Laurel; prohibiting fireworks on public property; the increased intensity of fireworks available to the public each year; suggestion that the State of Montana put a moratorium on fireworks; the Gold Wing convention in Billings next July 4th; suggestion to publish notice prior to the 4th of July that fireworks are illegal in the City of Laurel; suggestion to allocate additional money to have a stronger police force during the 4th of July; and the lack of budget reserves to justify the amount of money required for an increased police force. Mayor Olson stated his concern when one person's activity infringes on another person's fight to enjoy the 4th of July. · Appointment: Yellowstone Conservation District, Urban Supervisor - Marieanne Hanser The appointment will be on the council agenda on July 18th. Review of draft council a~enda for July 18~ 2006 * Public Hearing - Ordinance No. O06-05: An ordinance approving the recodification of ordinances adopted by the City Council that have been compiled as the "Laurel Municipal Code" in accordance with MCA § 7-5-107. (First reading - 06/20/2006) The public hearing will be held on July 18th. Announcements Two special council meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, July 12~ for the following items: o Acceptance by the City of the deed to the land extending SE 4th Street to Bernhardt Road o Schedule of fees and charges · The Emergency Services Committee will meet on July 24~h at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers to discuss the dog ordinance. · Jennifer mentioned that the tree in Veterans' Park is stressed and needs to be watered regularly. · At Jennifer's request, Doug will remind the church members not to park in front of the FAP building. 5 Council Workshop Minutes of July 11, 2006 Attendance at the July 18t~ council meetino · Ali will attend. Other items · None The council workshop adjourned at 8:34 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. 6