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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 10.11.2016 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP OCTOBER 11,2016 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 October 11, 2016. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x Emelie Eaton _x_Doug Poehls x Bruce McGee _x_Richard Herr x Chuck Dickerson Scot Stokes Tom Nelson Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Heidi Jensen, CAO Public Input Iry Wilke, 1017 Seventh Avenue, attended the public hearing last week and believes there is a three- minute limit for everybody to speak on or against on a project. It seemed a bit lopsided to the proponents by ten to fifteen minutes. He does not think that is fair, and would appreciate it in the future if that gets a little more in line. Heidi explained that the three-minute limit does not apply to the applicant or their presenter. There is only a three-minute limit on actual public comment. Iry stated that his issue was that he stood up when asked for proponents, which was a set time. He presented his information and then he was up a second time, which took ten to fifteen minutes. Heidi explained that the applicant also has the opportunity to respond and answer any questions that the audience asked. General items There were none. Executive Review • Resolution- Contract with J.L.D. Concrete for the Residential Sidewalk Program Heidi spoke regarding the contract with J.L.D. Concrete for the Residential Sidewalk Program. There were originally six addresses for sidewalk replacement in the Residential Sidewalk Program, but three property owners have chosen to do the work on their own. The three addresses that decided to stay in the program are listed in Exhibit A of the resolution. The total amount of the contract is $13,300. Keith Kolstad, the Code Enforcement Officer, has done a fine job of making sure the participating residents know the costs and the timeframe. The city pays for the ADA ramps. Chuck asked regarding the purpose of the truncated domes and pads. Council Workshop Minutes of October 11,2016 Mayor Mace explained that they were required back in the 1990's, but it has been slow forcing cities to get them. The truncated domes are basically for sightless people to line themselves up to cross the street in the shortest direction possible. Some have been installed improperly on a 45-degree diagonal to the corner or the intersection, but they have to replace them. The wheelchair ramp cannot be more than an 8.33 percent climb, so often the landing area has to be pushed back. In some places, there will be two different landing areas going each direction, depending on the radius. Cross slope cannot be more than 2 percent in any direction. It takes a lot of room, especially in older cities like Laurel where everything has a short radius with buildings out on the corners. All intersections are required to have an ADA ramp, per State requirements. New construction requires ADA ramps, but cities usually replace them in the public right-of-way. Corners are grandfathered in until there is a change in a particular area. Heidi explained that the Sidewalk Replacement Program was started to show MMIA that the city is trying to alleviate some of the hazards that come with not having ADA corners and sidewalks that need replacement. Sidewalks are replaced within the small caps projects that the City of Laurel does in the odd years. Emelie thinks that $13,300 is money well spent. After her recent analysis of the downtown sidewalks, she knows it is necessary. At the League of Cities and Towns Convention last week, Emelie and Tom Nelson attended a meeting about LURA. After the meeting, Tom asked her whether or not LURA plans to do anything about the downtown sidewalks. She had left the information with LURA and was told that LURA was not headed in that direction. Emelie asked if LURA planned to donate any money for the downtown region. Heidi explained that the city spent CTEP money to replace the sidewalks on East Main Street several years ago. LURA does not have plans to replace the sidewalks on the downtown side streets. If a business owner requested help, LURA would consider the request through the small grant programs. The property owners on the side streets by Southeast 4th Street, such as Washington Avenue where an overlay will be done, a Special Improvement District could be formed for the property owners. • Council Issues: o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event Heidi spoke regarding today's weekly construction update. Final colors were chosen for the control building, which will be a shade of brown with a green roof. The coffer dam has been completed and the directional drilling for the lines on the intake will start this week. Two 10-inch pipe pumps are running to continue dewatering until the final plan is determined. The massive amount of pipe delivery continues. The site title opinion has not been finalized on the Harkins' property. Heidi and the city attorney will continue to work on the issue. Other items Chuck recently observed the city crew raking and removing leaves on both sides of some grate openings and then stuffing the leaves on top of the grate down the holes of the grate. He suggested that the city get a couple high-powered Craftsman vacuums that have bags on them to suck up the leaves into the bag for removal. Heidi will pass the suggestion on to the public works director. Review of draft council agenda for October 18, 2016 2 Council Workshop Minutes of October 11,2016 Emelie mentioned the Public Works Committee meeting on October 17th at 5:30 p.m. Attendance at the October 18, 2016 council meeting Bruce might not attend the meeting. Announcements Bruce shared some extra copies of an article written by Tracey Vett about "Saving Manufactured Home Parks". The article was done through the National Association of Realtors. Mayor Mace mentioned that MMIA currently has a professional planner on board to help cities deal with planning issues. There was a discussion regarding the need to get ahead of the planning issues, particularly with mobile home parks, and the possibility of having MMIA's planner help with the issues. Emelie mentioned that she attended a breakout session about the Montana Infrastructure Coalition at last week's conference and suggested that the City of Laurel should be part of this organization. Heidi agreed and hopes to invite someone from the Montana Infrastructure Coalition to give a presentation to the council soon. Emelie mentioned the Public Works Committee meeting on Monday. If there are no agenda items, Public Works Director Markegard wants to take the group down to the new intake outlet. Richard stated that the Draft Program Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment from the Exxon monies will be discussed on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at FWP at 2300 Lake Elmo Drive in the Heights. Recognition of Employees • Nancy Schmidt 21 years of service on October 17th Library Director • Joel Sauter 19 years of service on October 14th Police Officer • Fred Gregory 9 years of service on October 15th Police Officer • Justin Baker 4 years of service on October 9th City Shop • Fred Lyons 3 years of service on October 28th Library • Noel Eaton 1 year of service on October 26th City Planner Mayor Mace recognized the employees for their years of service to the City of Laurel. The council workshop adjourned at 6:59 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. 3