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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 10.30.2007 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP OCTOBER 30, 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 October 30, 2007. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: x Emelie Eaton x Kate Hart _x_ Gay Easton x Alex Wilkins x Doug Poehls x Mark Mace x Chuck Dickerson x Norm Stamper OTHERS PRESENT: Rick Musson James Caniglia Kurt Markegard Sam Painter (6:39 p.m.) Mary Embleton (6:40 p.m.) Public Input (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 lnput 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. Police Department: · Resolution - State and Local Task Force Agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration Denver Field Division Rick stated that the resolution would allow the mayor to sign an agreement with the DEA to continue the task force work. Officer Pitts is involved in the task force, and it has been very successful. The first paragraph of the resolutions states that the DEA's objectives are to disrupt the illicit drag traffic in the Billings area. Officer Pitts has federal credentials, which allows him to work on federal cases. The city reaps the benefit with asset forfeitures. Rick recommended continuation of the city's partnership with the DEA. He stated that $15,854.25 would be reimbursed through the program for the officer's overtime. The resolution will be on the November 6th council agenda. Public Works Department: · Ordinance - Ordinance deleting a section of the "Laurel Vehicles and Traffic Ordinance" located at Chapter 10 of the Laurel Municipal Code Mayor Olson stated that some of the ordinance will be deleted and staff is reviewing some needed additions to the ordinance. The ordinance will be presented to the council after further staff review. · Resolution - Agreement with MDT for 8th Avenue from West 12th to West 9th · Resolution - Agreement with MDT for West 12th Street from 5th to 8th Avenue · Resolution - Agreement with MDT for Maryland Lane from Washington to 8th Avenue North Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2007 Kurt Markegard stated that the resolutions are for agreements with the Department of Transportation for chip ~seal projects on certain streets in the City of Laurel. The three projects are: 8th Avenue from West 12 to West 9th; West 12th Street from 5th to 8th Avenue; and Maryland Lane from Washington to 8th Avenue North. Kurt recommended approval of the resolutions and agreements, which will be on the November 6th council agenda. Planning Board: · Ordinance- Annexations James stated the f'mal review of the draft ordinance should be completed this week and will be presented at the November 13th council workshop. · Resolutions - Milliron project James stated that the Millhon project is at a residence between Woodland and Yellowstone by Russell Park. The city has an agreement, which has not yet been signed, to receive an alley from the property owners. The property owners will construct the waterline nndemeath the alley and connect it to the waterlines on Yellowstone and Woodland. The owners have also agreed to put gravel on the alley. The city needs the alley for fire protection purposes and garbage removal. The resolution for the plat approval and agreement will be on the November 6th council agenda. Clerk/Treasurer: · Quarterly Budget Report Mayor Olson stated that the clerk/treasurer was late and the presentation was delayed to later on the agenda. Executive review: · Ordinance - Establishing urban renewal plan and TIF District Mayor Olson stated that Steve Zeier (Big Sky EDA) was unable to attend the council workshop tonight. The ordinance is in reference to the resolution of intent that the council has discussed previously. It shows a considerable likeness to the resolution of intent. The Findings, the Plan Adoption, and the Existence of Blight are there as the origins of the ordinance and the legal description is on the second page of the ordinance. Emelie Eaton asked for clarification to understand the connection between the proposed TIFD and what funding Big Sky EDA would receive from the TIFD. Mayor Olson stated that there is a mill levy in Yellowstone County to support BSEDA. Big Sky EDA's obligation in accordance with the mill levy is the responsibility to actively help any agencies with growth issues. BSEDA has done that with TIFD's in Billings and in Yellowstone County. BSEDA actively works to bring forward development and companies, such as GE. At the joint meeting on October 25th, the BSEDA Board chairman spoke regarding the amount of the mill levy, which is about 2.8 mills. She stated that a $250,000 house would be assessed about $8.00 a year, or 67 cents a month. Commissioner Reno challenged the fact that, because it is approaching the net worth of $1 million, the mill levy should go before the vote of the electorate. There were some comments regarding pros and cons at the joint meeting. Mark stated that, when he and Emelie discussed this last week, she questioned if people like Steve Zeier would get paid out of the TIFD. The mill levy pays for Big Sky EDA's assistance, and the 2 Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2007 TIFD dollars would be used for the project and not for personnel. Mayor Olson stated that the administrative costs are paid to BSEDA out of the mill levy. · Ordinance - City of Laurel truck route · Resolution - Establishing the City of Laurel track route Mayor Olson stated that the track route is ready for the council's consideration. The fifth paragraph in the resolution will be reviewed and revised to reflect the exact boundaries of the proposed truck route. The revision will be distributed to the council by the end of the week. Kate stated that, at a previous workshop, she had mentioned receiving a call from a constituent regarding gas delivery trucks using the streets behind Ricci's Express. Since Ricci's is on the truck route on First Avenue, she questions whether there should be any reason for the trucks to use the side streets. There was further discussion. Mayor Olson suggested that Chief Musson be contacted for enforcement of the truck route. Chief Musson stated that the tracks have to turn around somewhere. The truckers come in from the south, pull in the lot and park between the pumps and First Avenue. In order to get back on the truck route, the driver needs to mm around somehow. Rick suggested that he would mm around on Eighth Street, go back to Seventh Street, and then out First Avenue. If not, the driver is forced to go straight north until he can turn around off Airport Road. There has to be an outlet for the drivers to get out, and they are allowed to go to the nearest location. Rick stated that he would hate to write a ticket for that or force the driver to go to areas they do not need to go. Kate questions who pays for repair on the streets that are not built for the truck route. Mayor Olson stated that the city will have to see how best to accommodate the delivery trucks. A delivery truck must use the truck route to get to the street closest to the delivery and then the shortest possible route to the destination. There was further discussion regarding deliveries to Graft School, the nursing home, the Laurel Middle School. Doug stated that the fact is that trucks are used to deliver goods. Businesses have semi-tracks pulling up to the business, and it would be crazy to ticket drivers for delivering goods to the community. Kurt stated that he caught the delivery truck driver right outside city hall when Vince Ricci first opened the store, and he called Vince Ricci and asked him to warn his drivers to get back on First Avenue. Kurt stated that the macks use Second Avenue to mm around and head back to First Avenue. They have been notified to get the delivery macks offthe streets when they are leaving Ricci's. Kurt stated that the Public Works Department will let local business owners know that if they have drivers delivering goods, they should tell the drivers to use the streets that can handle the weight of the mack. Public Works will give the business owners a chance to respond before the police are contacted. Chuck suggested providing the businesses and schools with a mack route map and copies of the ordinance. Mayor Olson stated that mack route signage would also be posted. The ordinance and the resolution will be on the November 6th council agenda. Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2007 · Resolution - Job Description for the Director of Public Works Mayor Olson stated that the job description was adjusted to accommodate the new job posting for a public works director. The interview committee has reviewed the applications and is in the process of scheduling interviews. · Resolution - Petition for Redetermination to Amend Certification of Exclusive Representative of Certain Bargaining Units at the City of Laurel Mayor Olson stated that the police officers, animal control officer, and emergency dispatchers will be identified separately in AFSCME Local 303, which is separate from AFSCME Local 316. AFSCME stands for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. · Appointments: o Building Official - Gary Colley The appointment will be on the November 6th council agenda. o Laurel Airport Authority - to fill term ending June 30, 2012 Mayor Olson referred to a letter from Dr. John Smith regarding a vacancy on the Laurel Airport Authority. Two letters of interest were received. Mayor Olson would like to appoint Don Schlegelmilch to the position. Doug Poehls stated that he would like to contact both individuals to find out their vision for the airport. Mayor Olson agreed and stated that someone with an aviation background is an important criterion for the position. · Council Issues: o Walkway on bridge (Chuck Dickerson) Mayor Olson stated that the County Bridge Department is responsible for maintenance of the newly- constructed bridge. Chuck asked regarding who is responsible to contact the county when maintenance is needed. He questioned if the city or individual citizens need to do so because the walkway is not being maintained. Mayor Olson stated that a concerned citizen could do so, and the city has brought forward issues at times. The county replaced the bridge and is responsible for the maintenance. Other items: Mayor Olson stated that the appointment of Kelly Reinemer to the Laurel Ambulance Service would be added to the November 6th council agenda. Clerk/Treasurer: · Quarterly Budget Report Mayor Olson asked Mary Embleton to present the Quarterly Budget Report at this time. apologized to the mayor and council for being delayed. Mary Mary presented the Quarterly Report for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007. The document was distributed last week so the council had an oppommity to preview it. She 4 Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2007 focused on a couple highlights. While preparing the report, Mary reviewed the city's investments. There has been discussion and will be more discussion at the Budget/Finance Committee meeting next week regarding what to do with the investments. There is also the consideration of keeping the business local. STIP is paying a 5.5 percent interest rate right now, and she has asked the other lending institutions if they could match that. A $100,000 CD matured last week and Mary rolled it over into STIP so it could earn more money. She would like to discuss some of the issues at Budget/Finance next week. Discussion is always good to see how the financial health of the city is in its investments. The city has considerable money in investments and that is typically money that is not used from month-to-month. Mary stated that the major funds, including the General, Street Maintenance, Gas Tax, Water, Sewer and Garbage Funds, are in line with this time of year. Some line items will be watched, and those line items are detailed in the Revenue Detail Report that Mary reviews and the Mayor receives every month. The mayor also receives a copy of the Funds Expenditure Report every month, and the department heads receive the appropriate department copies for review of line items. Mary offered to prepare graphs as part of the monthly report if the council would like. Emelie stated that the graphs would be helpful. Review of draft council agenda for November 6, 2007: · Ordinance No. O07-10: Ordinance amending certain sections of the "Laurel Zoning Ordinance" located at Chapter 17 of the Laurel Municipal Code. Second reading. (First reading - 09/18/2007; PH - 10/16/2007) The second reading of Ordinance No. O07-10 will be on the November 6th council agenda. Attendance at the November 6th council meeting: All council members will attend. Announcements: Mayor Olson stated that Doug helped him with his last commitment to present the form of government proposal going before the electorate next week. He encouraged the council to answer or forward citizens' questions to him to ensure that questions are answered. Doug stated that copies of an editorial he wrote for tomorrow's paper are in the council mailboxes. Emelie brought several issues to the council. An individual contacted her when the stop light was being installed on South First Avenue. The individual suggested that MRL be contacted to delay train schedules if future detours are needed on South First Avenue, particularly during high traffic times. Mayor Olson stated that this would be forwarded to MDT. Emelie asked regarding the two new bathrooms in Kiwanis and Russell Parks. Someone commented to her that they look like fmc structures but they are not open to the public. Mayor Olson stated that the bathrooms were open but have been closed for the winter. When the weather turns cold, the Public Works Department winterizes the bathrooms. Mayor Olson mentioned that there seem to be some extra keys floating around for some of the restrooms. The issue will be addressed, and he stated that the Park Board could propose a policy. 5 Council Workshop Minutes of October 30, 2007 Emelie asked regarding the October 11th correspondence from Montana Hydro Electric. The letter from Richard Feekin thanks the mayor for the oppommity to construct a small low-head hydro test unit in Laurel at the comer of North 12th Street and 1st Avenue. Them was discussion regarding this issue and the various entities involved. Mayor Olson explained that Mr. Feekin is trying to catch some of the dynamic energy off the waterfall for a generating unit to see if it could be enough to sell it to the grid and produce electricity. Emelie asked for the council's advice on how to proceed with some wording for ordinances for the Yellowstone Historic Preservation Board. Some time ago, she submitted wording for an ordinance to ensure that the City of Laurel will contact the Board so it can photograph old buildings before they are slated for demolition. She stated that there are numerous pages of needless wording referencing the fact that there is a member of Laurel who sits on that Board. There are issues with rewording. Emelie will provide the information and history for the issue, which will be discussed further at the council workshop on November 13th. Emelie asked if property owners who live on comer lots pay more for lighting than other members of the city. Mayor Olson stated that the question would be researched and the answer would be given to her. Mark referred back to the generating test unit discussed earlier. He stated that there had been some confusion as to whether it was county property or city property. Gay explained that this project came through the Beartooth RC&D. The property was listed in the Growth Management Plan as a city park or a county park, which was Cal Cumin's determination. Gay stated that, after looking farther into it, it is private property and not a city park. The city is not involved in the project. He will ask for further information at the next Beartooth RC&D meeting on November 8th. The council workshop adjourned at 7:25 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 CITY HALL 115 W. Ist St. PUB WORKS: 628-4796 PWD FAX: 628-2241 WATER OFFICE: 628-7431 WTR FA~Yx 628-2289 MAYOR: 628-8456 City Of Laurel P.O. Box 10 Laurel, Montana 59044 Quarterly Report As of September $0, 2007 For Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Clerk/Treasurer DEPARTMENT Introduction: The first quarter financial reports for fiscal year 2007-2008 are provided herein. These reports compare the budget to actual revenues and expenditures. This report is intended to provide a quick overview of each fund's activity in comparison to the budget and amount of time elapsed since the fiscal year began. We are now at 25% of the year expired. Any funds showing revenues at more than 25% are better than projected. Any funds showing expenditures at less than 25% are better than projected. The following major funds are included: General Fund(*) Slreet Maintenance Fund(*) Gas Tax Fund Water Fund Wastewater Fund Solid Waste Fund It is important to remember that not all revenues and expenditures occur evenly throughout the year. This is especially true in those funds that receive a good portion of their revenues from tax collections, designated above with (*). Taxes are collected in two large installments: taxes due in November are paid to the city in December, and taxes due in May are paid to the city in June. Cash reserves play an important role in these funds, as it is these reserves that allow the city to carry through the months when little or no revenue is received, yet monthly expenditures still occur. The city does receive its entitlement money from the State of Montana in quarterly installments, and this helps the cash flow in the mill-levied funds. The city also has money invested in various institutions. The city is limited to investing in instruments that are backed by very secure assets, as provided by state law and as outlined in the city's investment policy. The following is a list of the city's investments: Institution APY $ Term Montana Board of Investments 5.501% $4,008,063.86 month Yellowstone Bank 4.55% 835,504.75 month Western Security Bank 3.80% 100,000.00 year Western Security Bank 3.00% 100,000.00 month Avanta Federal Credit Union .55% 100,000.00 month SEG Credit Union 1.25% 100,000.00 month Interest rates continue to increase, and the city is realizing better revenues from interest earnings. The city's operating cash is handled by Yellowstone Bank, and this money also earned interest (.5% Al?Y) on an average balance of $1,448,757 during this quarter. Excess funds will be transferred in October to the money market account with Yellowstone Bank in order to earn more interest. With the credit unions earning such low rates of interest, it would be prudent to move these dollars to a better interest-earning account, such as STIP. City of Laurel is an EEO Employer Equal Housing Opportunity Quarterly Financial Report As of September 30, 2007 Page 2 GENERAL FUND(*): The total revenue for the General Fund as of 9/30/07 is $503,979, which is 17% of the budget. Included in this figure is the first quarterly payment of FY'08 Entitlement revenues from HB124. The General Fund cash balance is $656,477 as of 9/30/07. The General Fund expenditures are at $771,850 or 24% of the budget. However, revenues are exceeded by expenditures by $267,871. Last year, the deficit was $253,75l at this same time of the fiscal year. The reserve balance will carry the fund until December revenues are received. STREET MAINTENANCE FUND(*): Revenues as of 9/30/07 for this fund are at 3% of budget for a total of$18,614. Expenditures for the same period are at $74,700 or 16% of budget. Revenues are exceeded by expenditures by $56,086. The reserve balance will carry the fund until December revenues are received. GAS TAX FUND: This fund is utilized along with the Street Maintenance Fund for street work. The annual revenue, received monthly, is determined by the state, based on the number of miles of street and alley within city limits. As of 9/30/07, a total of $33,633 or 25% of budgeted revenue has been received. A total of $33,864 or 14% of budget has been expended as of 9/30/07. Revenues are exceeded by expenditures by $231. WA TER FUND: Revenue for this fund totals $639,950 or 28% as of 9/30/07. Expenditures so far this year total $368,096 or 11% of the budget. Revenues exceed expenditures by $271,853. ,.gE~VER FUND: The Sewer Fund has collected revenues at 6% of budget, or $330,642. This is below the norm of 25% due to the TSEP and DNRC revenues that have not been received as yet, for the second phase project (truak line to plant) that was finished last spring. The budget also includes the third phase project (lift stations and plant improvements) which has not yet been designed and bid. The expenditures are at 4% of budget, or $239,707. This is also due to the projects. Currently, revenues exceed expenditures by $90,935. GARIIA GE FUND: As of 9/30/07, revenues total $168,475 or 26% of budget. Expenditures are at 15% of budget, or $129,196. Revenues exceed expenditures by $39,279 as of 9/30/07. If you have any questions after reviewing this report, or any of the monthly financial statements, please feel free to call me at 628-7431 ext. 2 Respectfully submitted, Mary I(2. Embleton, CMC, Clerk/Treasurer 10/23/07 c~ ~ ~ c~ d c~ c~ d o