HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole Minutes 09.07.1999 MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
SEPTEMBER 7, 1999 6:30 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Chairman Chuck Rodgers
Dirk Kroll (6:52) Gary Temple
Ken Olson Norman Orr
Gay Easton Bud Johnson
Bill Staudinger
OTHERS PRESENT:
V. Joe Leckie
Larry McCann
Mary Embleton
Rick Musson
Jim Stevens
Cal Cumin
Bill Staudinger said that the grass in the park north of the baseball field is starting to grow
and no cars have been driven in the area.
Mayor Rodgers mentioned that a past councilwoman commented that the parks look the
best that she had ever seen.
Gay Easton thanked the Mayor, City Council, staff, Ambulance, Police Department and
Fire Department for their concern and support during the last two weeks.
Bud Johnson received a draft copy of the proposed Interlocal Agreement regarding city-
county planning and will make copies for each councilman to review. The document will
require some changes because of a conflict with Billings. Bud was unable to attend the
recent meeting when they discussed the agreement.
Bud asked that the council or mayor send a request to Kerwin Jensen, the head of the
Planning Department, to come and give a proposal regarding the services and costs of
having them perform our planning function and becoming part of this Interlocai
Agreement. This would provide the information necessary to make an evaluation
regarding participation in this agreement.
Bud mentioned that a Ward 4 meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 16th at 7:00
p.m. in the Graft School Cafeteria. The visual preference slides, which are part of the
Transportation Grant, will be shown at this meeting. Bud invited everyone to attend the
public meeting to give opinions and feedback.
Gary Temple informed the council that the Canyon Creek Battlefield Ceremony scheduled
for Saturday, September 1 lth has been cancelled.
Cai Cumin is trying to get different Laurel groups involved in providing input regarding
the visual preference series. Some individuals will be here on October 15th to suggest ideas
on how to accomplish the goals regarding how Laurel wants the community to look. He
would like to have a couple hundred responses so that they can be tabulated and rated into
priorities. Debbie Ricci and the Laurel Revitalization League are coordinating the use of
the slide presentation.
Larry McCann presented a thank you card from Local #316 for the Employee Appreciation
Luncheon that was recently provided by the council.
Repair work is still being done on the water line located at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue.
The water line repair work will continue this week and next week, cleaning the intake will
take two weeks, and the work at South Pond will be delayed until the end of September.
The bids for the park part of the South Pond Project will be published in the September 8th
Laurel Outlook. Ken Miller and Roger Perkins should have their part done by the end of
September, but they lost some ground after the last rain. The fingers are about under, water
now. If necessary, there is money to hire equipment to come in and pull the fingers back
out.
A new channel needs to be dug in the river and the rock needs to be removed. Schessler is
interested in the job, but Larry will put it out to bid.
Bud Johnson asked Larry if there has been a final determination of the status of the system
improvement dollars that were a part of the increase. Mary and Larry recently met with
Erl Tufte regarding this, and they are fairly comfortable with what is there for system
replacement. The Double-Tree report has not yet been received, and Larry will ask Jason
Rittal to complete it by the end of this month.
Putting the bids out for the South Pond Project will allow the contractor to complete the
work this fall or next spring. The bids will be opened on September 29th.
The engineering on the Fifth Avenue crossing should be done by the middle of September.
Since MRL cannot do their part of the project until spring, Larry will put our project off
until then so the project can be coordinated.
Rick Musson informed the council that two police officers successfully completed their
one-year probationary periods. Jason Wells completed his probation on March 18, 1999,
and Shane Weinreis completed his probation on July 8, 1999. Marcy Byrne completed her
six-month probation period on August 10, 1999.
Rick distributed the statistic report for the month of August. There has been a two-week
lull in major activity for the Police Department. Some training sessions have been
scheduled for the Police Department.
Rick is still waiting to hear about Cheryl Marshall's status. The new relief dispatcher,
Cory Cutting, is doing a fine job.
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No information has been received regarding the resource officer. Jay Hatton recently
attended school for resource training and would be Rick's choice if the grant money were
received. If the grant were approved, the money would cover the expense of the resource
officer for three years.
Jim Stevens reported that the Yellowstone County Commissioners have lifted the burn ban
for Yellowstone County. Open burning can resume with a permit from the Air Pollution
Control Board and notification of the Fire Department. When the bum ban was first
issued, only agricultural burning was allowed. Originally, Jim granted the dispatchers
permission to authorize bums as long as the farmers followed the criteria to control them.
As conditions got drier, the Fire Department took an active role and went on site to make
sure there was proper equipment to control a fire.
Mary Embleton contacted the Department of Revenue in the Billings office and was
informed that the certified mill levy should be available this Friday.
The worksheets are complete, and the draft for the budget documents is about 65%
complete and should be finished by the end of the week.
Joe Leckie informed the council that he and Ms. Bonner, the attorney for Hall Outdoor
Advertising, have discussed that Mr. Keeter would be agreeable to pay a fine or penalty.
Joe also informed the council that a complaint was filed in district court this week. The
Branstetters, who reside on Laurmac Lane, alleged damage to their property as a result of
water that allegedly escaped out of the city water lines. Joe turned it over to MMIA and
they have accepted defense on the complaint so nothing more needs to be done at this time.
Dirk Kroll arrived at 6:52 p.m.
The meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cindy Allen
City Council Secretary