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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 06.28.2016 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP JUNE 28, 2016 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 July 28, 2016. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: x Emelie Eaton _x_Doug Poehls x Bruce McGee _x_Richard Herr x Chuck Dickerson x Scot Stokes Tom Nelson x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen, CAO Shirley Ewan, Clerk/Treasurer Brent Peters, Fire Chief Public Input Iry Wilke, 1017 7th Avenue, showed two pictures of damage from vandalism at the Laurel Rod and Gun Club. He discovered the damage on Sunday afternoon and called the police department. Iry stated that, if the club had a lease or had the property in their hands, this might not have happened with the busyness in the building and in the area. Iry also stated that he received a letter from the Locomotive Engineers Union for the LR&GC to hold another trap shoot for them on Tuesday, August 16t. The party would run from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., but the shooting would probably end at 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. Iry will submit a request for a future council workshop agenda. Karl Dan Koch, 320 Colorado Avenue, spoke about the parking lot by the stadium at the high school, which he brought up at last week's council meeting. He wants to form a committee to look into how that got set up, what the basic agreement is with the school, what can be done to have part of that lot as a public lot, and how to change it to angle parking and paint it blue with the wheelchair logo. There are a lot of parking problems around the city, people abuse it, and the city gives parking tickets for parking in that lot. Dan thinks that only happens on baseball nights because a couple days later there were ten cars and no officer. The next day there were 20 cars and no officer. He stated that the lot is well abused and there is no officer up there giving tickets. He would like to see five years back on how many violations were written by the city in handicapped spots. Maybe they are all in that one location. Maybe somebody gave one across the street, maybe not. Maybe somebody gave one at Walmart, maybe not. He emphasized his point that, if one lot is going to be monitored, then all lots have to be monitored or it is not fair to the public. The night he got a ticket, he did not have his permit with him and the ticket was later dismissed. He would like to form a committee, including two representatives from his ward, to review this issue and to make it better for the public. General items Council Workshop Minutes of June 28,2016 • Appointments to the Laurel Fire Department Chief Peters introduced four of the six selectees to fill positions on the Laurel Fire Department. Darren Kuck, Shane Willis, Shawn Klunder and Dylan Briant attended the meeting. Joe Lowther, who had to work tonight, is already a member of the Laurel Ambulance Service. Jesse Moorman might attend next Tuesday's council meeting. The appointments will bring the roster up to 42 members. Executive Review • Resolution- DNRC Loan for Water Intake Project Heidi stated that the resolution is for the $1.7 million water system State Revolving Fund loan that the city needs in place of the State's 25 percent match for the water intake project. This issue has been discussed many times regarding how important this loan is and why the city has to do it. The city will be hoping for some loan forgiveness from the legislature in the 2017 session and staff will do everything possible to continue working with the State to get the 25 percent match to alleviate this loan for the City of Laurel. Until then, the city needs water and this intake project needs to go forward. The city received good bids for the project, which is scheduled to start construction the week of July 18t. Heidi mentioned that the clerk/treasurer attended tonight to answer any technical finance questions. Doug stated that he wanted the resolution to state that the City of Laurel will ask the state legislature for loan forgiveness of the entire loan, including any payments and interest. He stated that Laurel is the only municipality in the State that did not get any help from the State and the citizens of Laurel have to foot the bill for the State. He wants proof of a paper trail that the city will take the request for loan forgiveness to the state legislature. Shirley stated that staff has gone through every state agency possible. She explained that Doug's request cannot be in this resolution, but there could be a separate resolution stating that the city will continue to look for loan forgiveness and any grants from the State to help pay back the loan. She has heard that the infrastructure bill will be back to the 2017 legislature. The main reason for this resolution is that the money is needed upfront, as it can take up to six months to get the money reimbursed from FEMA. The city can pay the loan off early. Doug again stated his desire to have a paper trail for the future. Shirley stated that this has been a nightmare, but the city will just keep plugging along and trying to get the money back. If the city does not get the loan and FEMA takes six months to reimburse the city, the Water Fund would be in bad shape. Doug agreed and again restated the need to have a paper trail. Heidi questioned what a resolution would say and stated that the city attorney would need to be consulted. Doug suggested a resolution that basically states that the city will approach the 2017 Legislature to ask for$1.7 million of loan forgiveness for this loan. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of June 28,2016 Heidi explained that the city cannot ask the Legislature but has to find someone to sponsor a bill. Senator McCarthy is willing to work with Representative Vince Ricci on a bi-partisan bill to the legislature. Doug again stated that he wants a paper trail. Heidi stated that she understood that. • Resolutions - 5311 &TransADE Operating FY 17 Contracts Heidi stated that the contracts are for the Laurel Transit System. One resolution is for the actual TransADE Grant, which is the 5311 contract under which the city operates and is the same as last year's contract. The second resolution is for the contract between the city and the State to operate the transit system. Shirley explained that the city will receive the same amount as last year. The city has been contributing $10,000 per year in the General Fund, but the amount has been cut back to $5,000 per year. If a bus becomes available, there is enough money in the fund for the city's portion of the bus. More drivers would be needed. Emelie asked if the Transportation Committee thinks there is a need for a second bus. Heidi explained that the city turned in the van that was used when we had a contract with Residential Support Services. The van was not big enough to be a charter service, because it was only transporting Residential Support Services residents. A larger bus was needed to go to Billings every day. The only way to get on the waiting pool for a larger bus was to return the one that the city had and wait until a larger one becomes available. Nothing has been available, so the city is still waiting at this point. • Resolution- Contract with Elk River Law Office Heidi stated that the contract is for the city's prosecutor, Georgette Boggio. There are no changes to the contract for next year, which will remain at $55,000 per year or$4,583.33 per month. • Council Issues: o Lease Task Force update Heidi and the city attorney will be working on the leases soon. o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event Heidi stated that the anticipated started date of July 18th was discussed during today's bimonthly conference call with FEMA. The city does not have the 404 Permit from the Corps at this time. As soon as the permit is received, the city can get the final permit from DEQ. FEMA did not see that as a problem and will continue to process the paperwork. Copies of the bid and bid tabulations were mailed to FEMA last week and will also be emailed to them, as there is a delay of up to 12 days for them to get mail through security. FEMA is happy with the way the bids came in and the way the project was awarded. There will be one change order already on the project. Heidi met with Mr. Harkins, the new property owner of the Howrey property. The city needs to move the control building over 108 feet, which requires a new Certificate of Survey. This will shorten the pipe but lengthen the road to the building. FEMA understands the situation. Heidi is happy with how things are progressing with the Harkins' property. The new Certificate of Survey has been completed by 3 Council Workshop Minutes of June 28,2016 Great West and is under review with the city planner, who submitted it back with some comments to Great West. A couple minor changes need to be made and then it will be submitted to the County. When the Certificate of Survey has been filed, Mr. Harkins will receive his check for the property. Rick asked if the city will pursue getting the other money back. Heidi explained that the city will pursue getting the money back, plus any attorney's fees, plus the increased cost of another Certificate of Survey. The new Certificate of Survey must be done to keep the project on the timeline. The city's attorney is in contact with their attorney and working through the process. Other items There were none. Review of draft council agenda for July 5, 2016 There was no discussion. Attendance at the July 5, 2016 council meeting All council members present will attend. Announcements Emelie stated that a constituent was looking at the reports that the council receives, particularly the one from the police department. The report showed that there were 100 traffic stops and there were 16 parking violations. She questioned if that reflects the number of tickets written. Heidi explained that it is a general report of calls, but she could find out more specifics from the police chief Emelie asked her to find out how many tickets were issued within the last month in order to compare it to the report. The council workshop adjourned at 6:54 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