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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 08.08.2006 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP AUGUST 8, 2006 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Ken Oison at 6:33 p.r~ on August 8, 2006. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x_ Dick Fritzler _x_ Kate Hart _x_ Gay Easton x Jennifer Johnson __ Doug Poehls x Mark Mace x Chuck Dickerson _x_ Norm Stamper OTHERS PRESENT: Mary Embleton Sam Painter Public Innut (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 minute,~ 14'hile all comments are welcome, the Council will not take action on any item not on the agenda~ · None Dr. Doun Moore~ Chief Medical Officer of Yellowstone City/County Health Department: Presentation on pandemic flu Since Dr. Moore was unable to attend the meeting, John Puckett gave the presentation on preparing for the pandemic flu. John spoke about Continuity of Government (COG) in health emergencies. An epidemic is a serious outbreak in a single community, population or region. A pandemic is a new strain, an epidemic spreading around the world affecting hundreds ofthonsands of people across many countries. There is no vaccine for the virus that has not yet been idantilied. The symptoms affect the respiratory system, and the incubation period is two to three days. The virus is transmitted through breathing in droplets containing the virus which are produced when the infected person talks, coughs, or sneezes. Lessons learned from past pandemics include the rapid surge in the number of cases over a hriefperiod of time, which is often measured in weeks. The key lesson learned is the unpredictability of the situation~ As much as 25-30 percent of the U.S. population could be affected by a pandemic caused by this vires, and thirty percent of the workforce could be affected. Mr. Puakett mentioned the following ways to protect an entity: Promote essential personal/family preparedness; Protect your ¢iiiployees - vaccinations and sick leave policy revisions; Prioritize essential functions; Implement telecommunication priorities; Cress training of critical jobs needs to be undertaken; Establish additional supply and delivery chain alternatives; Make sure third party suppliers are also prepared for the special circumstances brought about by the pandemic; Institute policies to ensure that employees who are ill will remain at home; Work closely with public health officials to determine how to properly protect the public good while still functioning to provide goods and services to the public. Council Workshop Minutes of August 8, 2006 Mr. Puckett stressed the need to take the time available to properly,prepare people and entities for this pandemic. A mass vaccination exercise is scheduled for October 27'" from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m, There was further discussion regarding possible scenarios mused by a pandemic. Mayor Olson thanked John Puckett for the presentation. Admini,trative Assistant · Resolution - approving purchase of an exchange server Perry stated that the exchange server had previously been presented to the council. The exchange server is budgeted in the proposed budget for this fiscal year; however, he is asking for a specific vote because the budget has not been passed yet. The city's web site will be launched soon, and Perry wants to get the domain name changed for the new web site and the internal e-mails changed to the same address. The exchange server is needed to make that happen. The exchange server will make the city independent flora Yellowstone County for e-mail services, will help to facilitate getting the web site up, and will improve internal and external communications. Perry stated that the exchange server would benefit the entire city by giving the city the ability to do all communications internally without having to go through Yellowstone County. Yellowstone County has blockers that the city does not need. When Yellowstone County goes down, the city goes down and has no contml over it. We will also gain the ability to do joint calendaring. Perry explained that he will be able to look at department heads' calendars to determine when they are free so he can schedule meetings, which can be set up automatically via e-mail. There are other advantages, but the main issues are improvement of communications between employees and getting out from under Yellowstone County. When Perry first spoke to Bart Haskell at Technical Edge about the exchange server, Bart proposed a server that is now at the end of its life. The dual processor generation of servers that is now available costs a few hundred dollars more than the original quote, but it should last longer than five years. Software would need to be updated regularly, but the hardware should be good for a number of years. The exchange server would cost about $12,000. The original estimate was for twenty-five copies of licenses, but thirty will be needed, which resulted in an increased cost. All city computers will be connected to the exchange server. Mark mentioned that he uses the system at his job with the City of Billings, it is a great tool, and he is convinced it is the way to do business. The resolution will be on the council agenda on August 15th. Executive review · Thomae Lumber issues Sam updated the council on the Thomae Lumber issue. He is preparing a counter offer to that proposed by Thomae Lumber's attorney and will forward the proposal to the city staff for review this week to make sure it is acceptable. When the information is complete, the agreement will be presented to the council. Council Workshop Minutes of August 8, 2006 Dick stated that he was uncomfortable with the presentation by Thomae's attorney as it seemed like there was too much leeway to establish the ground roles and which circumstances would or would not present some liability. Mayor Olson stated that the issue is the right-of-way, which the city cannot give away. With this issue, precedence will be set by the city. If additional time is needed to ensure it is done correctly, he is in favor of that as this will be a change in the way Laurel does business. Joint School District/City of Laurel issues Mayor Olson will schedule another meeting with the school superintendent to discuss issues regarding the school resource officers. The issue regarding the easement on Alder Avenue was addressed with the city's acceptance of the right-of-way on Alder Avenue. Mayor Olson and Perry will discuss issues regarding the ditch in that area, and the school should be part of that negotiation. · Appointments: o Airport Authority:. Reappointment of John Smith Dr. Smith has submitted a letter requesting reappointment to the Air~.ort Authority, and the reappointment to a five-year term will be on the council agenda on August 15 TM. o Board of Appeals: Reappointments of Dick Clayton, Marvin Carter, Bob Western, and Miles Walton Letters requesting reappointment have not been received from the members of the Board of Appeals. There was a discussion regarding the appointments to the Board of Appeals, which was created within the last two years. There are five members on the Board of Appeals, and four appointments ended at the same time. Mayor Olson thought that the terms had been staggered when the appointments were made, but that did not happen. o City-County Planning Board: Council appointment is needed Mayor Olson stated th. at a council appointment is needed for the City-County Planning Board. There was a suggestion to advertise for the vacancy, and Mayor Olson agreed that could be done. · Discussion on ordinances Mayor Olson mentioned that mil call votes were taken on ordinances when he was a council member. Since an ordinance is a law, he would like to reinstitute roll call votes for ordinances. With a roll call vote, a simple aye or nay is recorded by the secretary. Mayor Olson thinks this would be a better acknowledgement by the city that the council is adopting a law. · Executive session: Cemetery land negotiations 3 Council Workshop Minutes of August 8, 2006 Mayor Olson stated that the city is currently in negotiations for cemetery land and is trying to get a document to present to the principals for signatures. The document will be presented for the council's consideration as soon as poss~le. Perry stated that the "executive session" listed on the agenda was his mistake. Mayor Olson stated that the council would have ample opportunity to peruse the final document. Review of draft council agenda for August 15, 2006 Chuck questioned listing the appointments to the Board of Appeals on the draft council ~genda. Mayor Olson stated that further consideration may be needed before the appointments are presented to the council. The appointments may or may not be presented at the next regular council meeting. Jennifer stated that the Tree Board was recently established. In the first year, the Tree Board had two (2) one-year terms and two (2) two-year terms. When the reappointments were made, the two (2) one- year term members were reappointed to three-year turms in order to stagger the terms. Further review will be done before the appointments are presented for council approval. · Resolution - Main Street water line project A dratt resolution accepting a bid and authorizing the mayor to sign a contract for the Main Street water line project was distn~outed. The bid opening is scheduled on Thursday for the project on Main Street from Third Avenue to Eighth Avenue. The name of the contractor and the dollar amount of the contract will be distributed as soon as the information is available. The resolution will be on the council agenda on August 15a~. Announcements Mark had a great vacation traveling through both national parks recently. Chuck requested that the status of the lighting at Murray Park be on the next council workshop agenda. Norm will be out of town for a few days and will be back for the council meeting on Tuesday. Jennifer mentioned that a three to four-year-old male brown bear decided to patrol the grounds and make sure that all the garbage was picked up at Pompey's Pillar the weekend at~er the Lewis and Clark event. The bear eluded Fish, Wildlife, and Parks officials, who finally posted signs requesting people to inform them if the bear was seen. Council members need to tell Perry which picture they want to be used for the web site end the lobby. The photographer will retake the pictures if necessary, and additional prints can be ordered. Kate thanked Perry for inviting the City-County Health Department to make the presentation on the pandemic flu. As a member oftbe Board of Health, she does not think Laurel utilizes the services that are available. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of August 8, 2006 Perry stated that the City of Laurel has hired a planner. Afier the advertising, interviewing, and selection processes were completed, Mark Richards of Winnemucca, Nevada, was offered the position and has agreed to start work as the city planner on September 5*. Mark comes to Laurel with a wealth of experience. He has been away from the field a few years, wants to get back into the field, and is excited with the idea of working in a relatively small community and being the first full-time planner. Mark asked Perry to notify Candi Beaudry regarding the decision. Chuck asked Perry regarding the status of the employee picnic. Perry stated that he is running out of steam, has tried to make it work, and has not received a lot of support from staff. Chuck asked what he is lacking, suggested putting it together, inviting the employees, and having a good time with those that attend. Chuck mentioned that the fire department used to put on a corn feed. Perry said that the fire department's eom feed is scheduled for the weekend of August 18th. There was a brief discussion regarding scheduling the picnic for August 26~. Jennifer stated that the staffshould not be forced to go if they do not want to go. The council members are invited to and could just go to the chicken and corn feed. They could bring potluck to the chicken and eom feed and could meet the different council people's spouses and whatever department heads attend. Perry said that is tree and the fire department is already doing the chicken and corn feed. Jennifer said the council could contribute towards the chicken and the food. She does not know how that works, but the council is invited anyway. She asked why the council should not just take advantage of it and not have to set up a special time. There was a brief discussion regarding attending the chicken and corn feed. Chuck, Jennifer, and Perry stated that it was a good idea to attend. Mayor Olson said that the council people and the mayor would be there, if that happens. He suggested that an event should still be done for the city employees. With the two previous mayors, the council and mayor grilled burgers for the city employees on a weekday and it was more of an employee appreciation day than a picnic for the families. He thinks a lot of things can be built on with an offered hand. Kate questioned whether Mark Richards will stay in Laurel if he is overqualified and is just getting back into a planning position. Perry thinks that might be more reason for him to stay. Perry spoke from his own experience, as he had been away from the profession for a couple years. He knew that if he was going to reestablish himself in this profession, it would need to be a six to eight-year COlranitment and could not be done in two years. He thinks Mark Richards looks at it the same way and cannot establish himself in the profession again in a short time period. Council Workshop Minutes of August 8, 2006 Jennifer requested information regarding the qualifications of Mark Richards. When Perry was hired, the only information she received was what was printed in the Laurel Outlook. She asked if she needed to wait until the Laurel Outlook printed information about the new city planner. Perry stated that he wrote the Outlook article. Perry stated that he could prepare a short report about the new planner's background and work history. Mayor Olson stated that the city planner is a contracted person, not an employee. A couple things come to mind with a contracted person. One is the fact that he is under contract. Whether or not this individual fulfills the obligation that the city requires of him is up to the individual to perform. If the city finds that a full-time city planner is not needed, there is a better opportunity to divest the city of that decision with a contracted position than with an employee. He believes that the contract with this individual will allow the leverage and the flexibility to see the fruits of his expertise. Mayor Oison agreed that the individual has a lot of credentials. The hiring and firing goes through the executive, and he accepts that responsibility. The individuals on the interview panel narrowed the candidates down from sixteen to three and put a lot of time and effort into presenting a good candidate. Mayor Olson participated in the final three interviews. In his estimation, Mark Richards has a wealth of information and the credentials to move forward. Mayor Olson again stated that the city planner position is a contracted position, which has its merit and proves to be a wise way to proceed. Ifthcre are problems, they can be addressed. Attendance at the August 15th council meetino All will attend. Other items Mary Embleton distributed copies of the 2006 certified taxable valuation information. The certified mill levy, which was received on Monday, has gone up. Last year, one mill was worth $5,870 and this year one mill is worth $5,996. Mary stated that the City of Laurel can levy a total of 140.55 mills fi.om its taxpayers under 1-105 and the restrictions that are given. Last year, the city levied 136.93 mills. The total tax dollars of $842,736 will be spread through all the mill-levied funds, including the General, Comp Insurance, PERS, Group Health, and Airport funds. The proposed tax revenue budget of $805,000 was based on last year's mill levy and will increase by about $37,000. The permissive medical levy is not included in the figure, as it is outside the restrictions. The council workshop adjourned at 8:04 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