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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 05.29.2007 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP MAY 29, 2007 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Ken Olson at 6:30 p.m. on May 29, 2007. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Emelie Eaton Kate Hart _x_ Gay Easton _x_ Vonda Hotchkiss x Doug Poehls x Mark Mace x Chuck Dickerson x Norm Stamper OTHERS PRESENT: Sam Painter Mary Embleton Steve Klotz Larry McCann Jan Faught Rick Musson Kurt Markegard Terry Ruff Jean Kerr Chris Shay Carl Anderson, Morrison-Maierle Pat Murtagh, Great West Engineering Public Innut (three-minute limit): Citizens may address the Council regarding any item of City business not on the agenda. 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. There was no public input. Judoe Jean Kerr: · Remodeling of the court clerks' office and courtroom bench area Judge Kerr informed the council of the need to remodel the court and reconfigure the work centers in the court clerk's area. The court mom is too small and the bench needs to be extended in order to accommodate the court clerks. There are concerns that the current court mom is not large enough to hold a jury trial. Chris Shay explained that the court clerks' area does not provide adequate space for the clerks to move around, particularly when one clerk is assisting someone at the counter. Jean also had a letter written by Shed Phillips regarding the issues. Judge Kerr stated concerns with the heating and cooling systems in the building and explained some remodeling ideas. The proposed remodeling will not require knocking out walls but will reconfigure the workspace areas. Some rewiring will be required, and a carpenter would need to cut some of the counter spaces in order to divide the space and utilize a central open space in the clerks' are~ Jean estimated that the remodeling would cost sppmximately $13,400. Additional expense would be incurred for two new 60-amp breakers needed to get proper heating and air conditioning in the building, including the motor vehicle department. Jean stated that the court hopes to move or get more space in the future. The heating and cooling issues were not addressed in the Johnson Controls project. Jean stated that the original remodel was completed in 2004, but the court was told that it was temporary and they were concerned about the space then. Judge Kerr will present the issue to the Budget/Finance Committee on June 5th and at the next council workshop on June 12th. Council Workshop Minutes of May 29, 2007 Planning Board issues: · Resolution - Canyon Creek Subdivision Final Plat Mayor Olson stated that the final plat was routed through the planning department in Billings. The final plat met the requirements and has been signed by the Billings Planning Department. Council action is needed to approve the final plat, which divides one lot in half. The resolution will be on the June 5th council agenda. Fire Detmrtment: · Resolution- Fire truck bid Assistant Fire Chief Terry Ruff stated that five bids were received for a new 4x4 pumper truck and the bids were opened last Friday. The line officers reviewed the bids, which ranged from $339,000 to $273,000. The department recommends the bid t~om Montana Fireworks, which submitted the lowest bid. Montana Fireworks is a local manufacturer, the truck is 270 days out, the bid met all the specs, and the warranty work will be done in Laurel. With the other proposals, shipping expenses would have been incurred for the city to ship the truck back to the factory to have work done. If Montana Fireworks cannot complete work on the fire truck in Laurel, they will trailer it up to Big Sky. Terry distributed pictures of the new fire truck and recommended that the council accept the bid from Montana Fireworks. The resolution will be on the June 5~ council agenda. ,, Resolution - Mutual Aid Agreement with the City of Billings There was discussion regarding the mutual aid agreement. Mayor Olson stated that the final agreement is on Billings Fire Chief Marv Jochem's computer and the city does not have it. The draft agreement has met all of the fire department's specifications and Sam has approved the document. Copies of the final agreement will be distn~outed to the council as soon as possible for consideration at the council meeting on June 5th. As the chairman of the Emergency Services Committee, Doug Poehls thanked the fire department and Norm Stamper for their work on the mutual aid issue. The resolution will be on the June 5th council agenda. Public Utilities Department: · Morrison-Maierle, Inc. - Water Facility Plan Larry McCaun introduced Carl Anderson, who also prepared the city's adopted Wastewater Facility Plan. Carl presented the first part of the proposed Water Facility Plan. Carl presented a check to the mayor for Mordson-Maierle's part of the recent Canyon Creek Ditch issue during the trunk line project. Carl distributed copies of the PowerPoint presentation, and a copy is attached to these minutes. The presentation addressed the following: Why do a Facility Plan?; Scope of Facility Plan; Population and Planning Period; Existing Water Distribution System; Existing Water Distribution System Health and Safety Concerns; Existing Water Treatment Plant; River Intake; Raw Water Pump Station; Flow Measurement and Chemical Addition; Flocculation and Sedimentation; Filtration; Chemical Addition; Treatment Plant Storage; Sludge Pond; Control/Filter Building; Existing Water Treatment Plant Health/Safety and Operational Concems; Phase 1 - Improvements 2008 Total Estimated Project Cost; 2 Council Workshop Minutes of May 29, 2007 Phase 2 - Water System Improvements 2009/2010 Total Estimated Project Cost; and Phase 3 - Improvements Beyond 2010 Total Estimated Project Cost. Following the presentation, there was discussion regarding security issues. Carl stated that some minor corrections would be made to the draft Water Facility Plan. The Water Facility Plan has been submitted to and approved by DEQ. He stated that grants for the next legislative session will be due in a year, and the city could apply for a $750,000 TSEP grant again. Carl will attend the June 12th council workshop to complete the Water Facility Plan presentation. The public hearing will be scheduled at the council meeting on July 17th. · Resolution - Recommendation of firm for engineering services and approval of contract Larry McCann stated that the city received five pmposais from the RFP for engineering services. The review committee, consisting of Larry McCarm, Mary Embleton, Gay Easton, and Steve Klotz, rated the proposals. The committee recommends Great West Engineering for the engineering services. Mayor Olson stated that time is needed for review of the agreement, which was received just prior to the meeting. After discussion, it was determined that Sam Painter would review the agreement tomorrow in order for it to go forward. The resolution will be on the June 5t~ council agenda. · Resolution - Fencing for Neumann/Elena Subdivision Booster Station Larry explained the maintenance agreement for tho Eleua Subdivision Booster Station. Jerry Neumann is the subdivider that owns the lots that the booster station sits on and it is appropriate for him to participate with the city to make it look nice. Doug asked regarding a letter received from Ruby Hanson. Mayor Oison stated that Ruby's concern is a different issue, which has to do with the bridge and fencing in Elena Subdivision. The fence issue is a sound barrier between the existing property owners and the new subdivision. The fencing for the booster station is just west ofCharlie Fisher's place by the booster station~ Mayor Olson stated that a response will be given to Ruby Hanson's letter. · Resolution- Pool contract with YMCA Steve Klotz visited with the YMCA today regarding the pool agreement. There are still a few maintenance issues to work out. Steve said the YMCA plans to open the pool next week, but he does not know if the city will allow that without an approved contract. Steve explained the maintenance issues that the YMCA does not want to include in the agreement. The YMCA's new aquatics specialist informed Steve that they no longer want to add chlorine to the chlorinator or backwash the filters, which the YMCA has done in past years. The agreement the YMCA wrote excluded those items, which means that the city would be responsible for hackwashing the filters, putting chlorine in the chlorinator, and those types ofissuas. Steve stated that the price and the pool hours will probably come forward the same, but the city staff will have to provide the maintenance. The city will probably incur some overtime expenses for that on the weekends. Steve will try to get last year's records fi.om the YMCA to dct,mdne bow often they filled the chlorinator and did the hackwashing to see what the impact will be on the city. According to YMCA policy, a Certified Pool Operator's certificate is needed for someone to add chlorine or backwash filters. The staffing in the YMCA's bid 3 Council Workshop Minutes of May 29, 2007 does not include a CPO, so those items are not included in the bid. Steve will meet with the YMCA representative on Thursday to go through the pool building. Mayor Olson stated that he is hesitant to open the pool without a contract. There was discussion regarding the timeframe to approve the contract. Sam stated that the drafi contract is done and asked if the council would agree to have it sent out as soon as it is finalized in order for it to remain on the June 5tu council agenda. Sam stated that some clarification language to define the maintenance issues might be added to the agreement. Mayor Olson spoke regarding the issue of Billings YMCA, Laurel YMCA, and Laurel children using the pool. He recently asked Zada Stamper what would happen if a Laurel child is standing outside watching a Billings child swim in the pool. Zada's reply was that they would not schedule Billings Y kids into the Laurel pool on a continual basis to fill up the pool. The other question is what can be done ifa bunch of people ~om Billings come to swim and Laurel kids are not able to swin~ The only option is to charge them more. Sam stated that it is a public facility and the city cannot discriminate based upon residency. He recommended that the city charge non-residents more because the local taxpayers supplement the pool cost. There was further discussion regarding busing Billings YMCA kids to Laurel, the maximum capacity at the pool is 100 kids, daycare destinations, the Laurel branch of the Billings YMCA, which is now known as the Yellowstone Valley YMCA, removal oftbe diving boards because of liability issues, the new fees for the pool, and that the pool costs exceed the revenues received. The pool hours are Monday through Friday from noon to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m. Norm Stamper stated that it is his understanding that the YMCA requirements filter down from YMCA of the USA and are not necessarily local decisions. It is the YMCA's intent to allow the children of Laurel the access and not to bus kids in from Billings to use Laurel's pool. The resolution will be on the June 5th council agenda. Clerk/Treasurer: · Resolution- IVlMIA Employee Benefits Plan Mary Embleton explained the proposed resolution approving the MMIA Employee Benefits Program. The city has been with MMIA since 2004 and made a five-year commitment to join the self-funded plan. MMIA allowed the city to keep its current plan for the third year in a row, and the Insurance Committee and the union agreed to remain with the current plan. The costs in the proposal include: The employee only rate will increase from $484.37 to $504.37; the employee with children rote will increase from $777.49 to $809.49. Both of those have a $700 cap and the employee pays the cost above that amount. The Employee/Spouse rate will increase from $1,069.39 to $1,113.39; the Employee/Family rate will increase from $1,245.60 to $1,296.60. Those two have an $1,100 cap. Mary stated that the life insurance plan renewal is usually presented with the health insurance plan renewal. However, further work is being done on the life insurance. It will be presented at the June 12th council workshop. The member/representative contract will also be presented at the next workshop. 4 Council Workshop Minutes of May 29, 200? · Ordinance - Approve recodification of ordinances Mary explained the ordinance approving the recodiflcation of ordinances. The city has LexisNexis recodify the ordinances adopted throughout the year into the body of the code book. She was recently mede aware ora law that requires the council to adopt an ordinance to approve the recodification. It is an edditional step, but it ensures compliance and ensures that the ordinances were codified correctly. State law requires that it be done every five years, but the city has historically done it every year. The first reeding of the ordinance will be on the June 5th council agenda. Executive review: · Resolution - City Planner job description Mayor Olson stated that the city ha~q job descriptions for the City Planner I and II positions. A City Planner job description was distn'buted to the council for review. There was discussion regarding adding the title of manager, director or chief to the proposed city planner job description. Since the advertisements for the city planner position have been submitted, the job description needs to fit the edvertisement. Candi Benudry recently informed Mayor Olson that the City of Billings cannot provide planning services indefinitely. Mayor Oison stated that the edvertised salary for the city planner position has been increased fi-om a range of $30,000 to $33,000 to a range of $33,000 to $36,000. There was discussion regarding adding "department head" to the job description. The job descriptions for other department heads do not specifically state that. The resolution and the City Planner job description will be on the Jane 5th council agenda. · Discuss ordinance in reference to the form of government Mayor Olson stated that this issue would be discussed at the council workshop on June 12t~. Dr. Ken Weaver and Judy Mathre recently presented information to the council regarding the manager form of government. With the manager form of government, the council would have nine members, including the mayor. The manager would be held accoantable by the council. The mayor would have a vote but would have no veto powers. Sam stated that, with the manager form of government, the council would adopt policy, but would not manage the city. The mayor would not manage the city or employees, who would be managed by the manager. Mayor Olson stated that it would be the manager form of government wrapped around self-governing powers by means of a charter. The edoption of self-governing powers would also be part of it. The city would be mn according to the preamble of charter. There was discussion regarding the timeline for approval of the issue. It will be discussed again during t? council workshop on June 12th and presented for council action on the council agenda on June 19 . It has to be presented to Duana Winslow at the Election Department seventy-five days prior to November 6~h. Mary mentioned that a resolution of intent, public notice, and a resolution to put it on the ballot need to be completed. Jane 19~ is the last date to do the resolution to present and August 23~a is the last date to submit it to the election edministrator. A draft ordinance will be presented to the council at the next workshop. · Discuss ordinance for bond for temporary use permit 5 Council Workshop Minutes of May 29, 2007 Mayor Olson stated that more research regarding bonding requirements is being done. The items will be on the June 12a~ council workshop agenda. · Requests from Laurel Chamber of Commerce: o Culpepper & Merriweather Circus on Friday, June 22, 2007 The item will be on the June 5th council agenda. · Chief Joseph Run and Grand Parade on Wednesday, July 4, 2007 Mayor Oison stated that the Chamber of Commerce is currently looking at its ability to provide event insurance. The item will be on the June 5th council agenda. · Request fi'om Laurel High School Pep Club o 2007 Homecoming activities on Friday, September 28, 2007 The item will be on the June 5th council agenda. · Appointment: o Dick Fritzler to the Cemetery Commission, two-year term, ending June 30, 2009 The appointment will be on the June 5t~ council agenda. o Discussion regarding vacancies and reappointments to boards and committees Mayor Olson stated that the structure of boards and committees would change with a manager form of government. Doug asked if positions are advertised for vacancies and expired terms on boards and committees. When there are vacancies on a board or committee, an advertisement is placed in the local newspaper. If a committee or board member agrees to be reappointed to the position, the position is not usually advertised. There wes discussion regarding the dmt~ committee list, which was distributed to the council. The chairmen of the committees and boards will contact the members regarding reappointment to terms that will expire soon. The two-year terms for the Cemetery Commission members will be determined by the mayor and chairman. Prospective members for the Emergency Services Committee, the Cemetery Commission, and the Park Board will be contacted. · The Crossings - Trail Easement Agreement There was no further discussion and the item will be removed from future council workshop agendas. · Update on Asphalt Supply Mayor Olson stated that they blocked off the square. Steve Klotz stated that fencing has been installed on the back side of the plant between the railroad and the property. Doug Poehls mentioned that a big chunk of edging is coming off the second tank. Mayor Olson stated that the city will continue to monitor the situation. · Council Issues: o Discussion regarding building height requirements (Council Member Dickerson) Steve stated that the current building code does not differentiate between a canopy and a building. By definition, our zoning says twenty-five feet is the maximum height for buildings. That limits a canopy height because it is limited the same as any other building on the property. Steve stated that it 6 Council Work,hop Minutes of May 29, 2007 would be good for the City of Laurel to have the same zoning requirements as Yellowstone County and Billings in order to have the stone builders, and the same area, and the same zones, and the same type of commercial zoning. In their zoning definition, there is a building and a separate canopy height restriction. The Public Works Department recommends the increase in height requirements for several reasons, including the need to be regional with codes. The drait ordinance will be on the June 12th council workshop. o CPR training for the city crew (Council Member Dickerson) Larry stated that the Montana Safety Culture Act is twelve years old and the city does not yet have a safety program. In June, MMIA will begin developing job safety assessments. CPR training will be included in the process, and Jan Fanght will do the training. Larry estimates that the safety training process will take a year or more to complete. Larry stated that there is a safety committee within the union that resulted fi:om the union contract. Other issues: Mayor Olson stated that a recent newspaper article on the Veterans' Cemetery indicated that the council is looking into selling its portion of the property to Yellowstone County for $41,600. The city is currently looking into the rate of payment and the timetable for this. A proposed contract will be presented at the June 12th council workshop. Review of draft council a~,enda for June 5, 2007: There was no discussion. Attendance at the June 5th council meeting: Vonda Hotchkiss might be late for the council meeting. Announcements: The leader of the Laurel Roadrunners 4-H Club recently contacted Norm Stamper. As part of their community service requirements, the club plants flowers and does work around the public library. The club has a question about some signage for fire lanes at the library. Norm told the leader to contact the Public Works Department regarding the signage questions. As part of the education process for the club, she asked if the club members could do a presentation to the council about their findings. Norm will inform her to contact the council secretary to schedule the presentation. Tho council workshop adjourned at 8:52 p.n~ 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. Why do a Facility Plan; Develop tools for effective decision making - Project priorities Cl~y eligible for Iow iaterest loans and state/federal grants Scope of Facility Plan? Population and Planning Period Popuistlon Projection YettowstoneCounty= 129,352 136,111 143,244 150,724 158,272 161,245 City of Laurel 6,255 6~806 7,162 7~595 7,914 8,062 City,f Laurel 9,255 8~075 10,910 12,39013,754 14,299 · 20-year ptanning pedod typical for water Facility planning process Existing Water Distribution System · High service pumps at water treatment plant · Parallel 18-Inch transmission mains · Ovar 30 miles of water distribution system · 4.0 MG reservoir · I Booster Station Existing Water Distribution System · Original system 190~s · High service pumps are over 50 years old · Controlling larger high service p~mps difficult · Colo~lated required storage volume is 5.1 (4.0 MG available) Existing Water Distribution System capacity (northwest, · 9~650 I.F of unde~ized mains (4~ or smaller) · No fire pro~ectien at WWZP · Iow pressure in Cherry Hills Area (Northwest) Existing Water Distribution System Health and Safety Concerns · Manual control of high service pumps · High service pumps and controls nearing their design life · Distribution system cannot produce needed fire flow in the eastern~ northern, and southern areas and at WWTP · Water distribution system experiences continued leaks and breaks Existing Water Distribution System Health and Safety Concerns · Insufficient stordge volume to address operational and emergency storage {Adequate storage for fire protoctlon) · Lack of backup power at only booster stotlon · Lack cf controlled access (alarms, fencno~ gates) to key water distdbutfen components Existing WTP · Censbuctod in 1940s · Major upgrades in t955, t976, t979, 1997~ and 2003 · Able to meet SDWA reg.latlons and discharge permit · Historical peak j.st over 5 MOD · Need additional capacity and upgrade a01ng River Intake · Yellowstone River · Original in 1940s · New Intake 2003 - 20 MGD Capacity - Submerged Passive Raw Water Pump Statlm · Pumps - WTP (8.6 MGD) · Expandable to 15 MGD - Cenex (3.2 MGD) · Expandableto 5 MGD · Control - WTP - manual or clearwell level - Cenex- automatic on discharge pressure · Oood condition and adequate capacity 4 Chemical Addition · Alum and Polymer . Manual - Being replaced · Panhall Flume - Mixing - FJow Measurement Flocculation and Sedimentation · Floccalation Basin - Uncovered - Baffled - No mechanical tloc - Structural concerns · Sedimentation Basins - One uncovered - One covered - Difficult to clean - Structural concerns Filtration Chemical Addition Treatment Plant Storage · Concrete Cle~nvell - C4nstruc~d in 1997 - 250,000 gallons - CT caped~ - 10 MGD - Improved hydraulics - Lift pumps/wet well · Backwash Tank - 250,000 gallons - Ste~l - needs lining - Backwash capacity Sludge Pond · Backwash Waste · Flocculation Drain · Sedimentation Drain · Discharge to river · MPDES Permit ·Baokwash Recycle · Inadequate Capacity Control/Filter Buildin · Laboratory · Control Room · LuRch Room · Storage · One Area Existing Water Treatment Plant Health/Safety and Op~atlonal Concerns · Firm capacity of filters cu~ently inadequate · Flooculatlon and sedlmentetion basins in poor condition and are not meatlr~ operational needs · Steel tank rusting and needs to be Uned · Sledge pond capacity inadequate new polymer Phase t - Improvements 2008 Total Estimated Project Cost Phase 2 - Water System Improvements 2009/20t 0 Total Estimated Pre ect Cost Phase 3 - Improvements Beyond 2010 Total Estimated Project Cost ANY QUESTIONS?