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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 01.08.2008 MINUTES COUNCIL WORKSHOP JANUARY 8, 2008 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 January 8, 2008. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRE~qF, NT: x Emelie Eaton x Kate Hart _x_ Gay Easton _x_ Alex Wilkins x Doug Poehis x Mark Mace x Chuck Dickerson x Norm Stamper OTHERS PRESENT: Sam Painter Mary Embleton Bill Sheridan Kurt Markegard James Caniglia Rick Musson Jan Faught Will Guenthner Public Innut (three-minute limit): Citi~ns 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. YYhile all comments are welcome, the Council will not take action on any item not on the agenda. Larry Tanglen, of the Laurel Outlook, stated that his purpose was to distribute a letter concerning the situation with the Laurel Charter and a question that has been raised concerning the authority of the council to bring this question forward in the manner in which it was done. He was asked to distribute a copy oftha letter from the Outlook publisher and editor, Milt Wester, concerning this issue. Larry gave a copy to the Mayor prior to the meeting and distributed copies of the letter to members of the council and the city attorney. Fire De. lmrtment: · Appointment of Brian Fox Assistant Chief Will Guenthner introduced Brian Fox, who was a former member of the Laurel Fire Department. Brian has had ten years of experience with the department and wants to join the dapmment agairr Mayor Olson thanked Brian for his willingness to serve the City of Laurel. Planning Board: · Resolution - Variance for Paul Bokoske, Trees of Eden James Caniglia stated that the applicant is seeking a variance to have a 50x50 foot tree farm which would allow a maximum of sixty trees on the property. Planning Board voted 3-2 in favor of it. James stated that there is some concern about the authority and the ability of the city to enforce the variance. He is the code enforcer in the county. It is a big concern, especially if the city allows more variances and it becomes impossfole for him to do anything in those regards. This particular variance seeks allowance to sell trees at his property. Mr. Bokoske has been granted a home occupation, which allows him to trim trees offprcpeaty. He wants to have trees on property in order to have something Council Workshop Minutes of Sanuary 8, 2008 to sell to his customers, and he would sell to them by appointment only. Since the last meeting, he is also seeking a 10xl O-foot holding area to store and sell bulk orders of trees. The Planning Board felt, as they voted 3-2 in favor, that it was a good area for something like this because it is city wilderness across the street from the city's water tank, is catty-corner to county wilderness, and surrounded by twenty-six acres of agricultural land. The only single family homes nearby are to his north and there are not many..[allies stated that it does have a unique situation where it is in a better place than it would be compared to most other places that may have something like this. However, he recouu~ended not approving to the Planning Board because of enforcement issues and rather doing things like this in the future through zoning. At a council workshop last month, Emelie had asked if a zone change was appropriate. James researched the questions and found that it would be illegal in Montana It would be spot zoning to change the zoning for one particular person and that has been deemed illegal in the state. Also, there cannot be a conditional use for zoning. If the property were rezoued to community commercial, the city could not stipulate that the property be used for a tree nursery and the owner could decide to do something else. James stated that rezoning is not a p0ssfoility. There was discussion regarding: notification oftbe varianoe application to the neighboring property owners; the proposed maximum (sixty) number of trees allowed; the city planner's responsibility to enforce the requirements; and that the business would be by appointment only. Paul Bokoske, 1535 Valley Drive, is the applicant for the variance for a small tree nursery on his property. He stated that he had some additional questions to present to the council for approval. The temporary area (10xl0-foot) northwest of his garage would be used to store a small delivery of trees that would be paid for in advance by a customer with an agreed date of pickup or delivery. He does not think the trees would be there more than a couple days. The area is at least 39 feet fi'om Valley Drive and would hold twenty or thirty trees with the buckets pushed together. Paul explained that there are two areas in his yard that are like garden areas. The previous owner used the areas for vegetable gardens and he uses them as holding areas. The areas look like gardens in the ground, but they are perennial nursery plants that are in containers in the ground so that the root balls do not f~eze. The plants include flowers, ground cover, shrubs, and some young trees. He wanted to state for the record that this has existed on his property for many years and is not for sale. He is in the gardening club in Yellowstone County and enjoys horticulture. If the variance is approved, he wanted the record to show that it exists and has nothing to do with the business so he would not be found in violation. Paul stated the measurements for the two areas. One area is 14x20 feet and is located 15 feet from the Highline Ditelt The second area is 6x37 feet and is located 30 feet from the Highline Ditek Both areas have walk-ways in the middle and are for his observation and experimentation. He presanted the question that, if the variunco was approved and he was to eliminate these hobby plants, if he could order trees in one-gallon buckets in order to have a more immediate supply of trees. The trees would not be available to customers. The trees would be in one or two-gallon pots that he would grow to upgrade into twenty or thirty-gallon pots, which would be the size that would sit in his future nursery. He stated that having the trees in Montana's climate would provide a better opportunity for the plants to survive. It would also be helpful for him to have a supply of trees without having to order a co~ain number of trees. Paul stated that he hoped these requests would not discourage the council tirom approving the variance request, and the additional requests were not necessarily needed. The business would be run by appointment only during the growing season. Chuck stated concern regarding increased traffic ff larger vehicles are used to deliver trees to the proposed holding area. He also asked how Paul was planning to control the appointments. Council Workshop Minutes of January 8, 2008 Paul stated that no one would be there to accommodate a customer if he is out trimming trees. Regarding the temporary area, he had previously stated that the customer would pay for the trees in advance and there would be an agreement regarding pickup or delivery of the trees, which should be done within two or three days. Chuck again stated that the issue is the additional traffic on Valley Drive for delivery and pickup. Emelie asked regarding the size of the delivery truck. Paul explained that the main deliveries out of Minnesota would probably be in a semi-track. However, he does not qualify for a minimum order. His potential supplier in Kalispell would probably not use a semi-track to deliver trees to supply local towns in Montana. He would have to find out that detail. As far as accommodating the deliveries, Paul stated that there would be no problem as he has plenty of driveway space offroad. There would be no congestion on the mad other than when the truck arrives and leaves his property. Paul stated that the proposed small nursery is a springboard to starting a future tree farm. Chuck asked if the resolution could he reviewed in one year if the variance is approved. Sam stated that would not be workable. Staff is hired to do the enforcement inspections. If staff determined that there was a violation, it would recommend the variance be revoked. Sam stated that it would be more advisable to direct staffto conduct the inspection annually. Norm mentioned that the dralt resolution, as currently written, did not state anything about the t~mporary holding area and Mr. Bokoske's requests. Mayor Olson stated that an amendment to the resolution could be considered. · Ordinance - Annexation Policy James stated that the Public Works Department and the Planning Board discussed ideas on enfomement. The annexation policy in the 2003 utilities book was passed again in 2006 with a resolution. James stated that a public hearing will be held at the next Planning Board meeting to have an ordinance to adopt an annexation policy that would follow Montana State law verbatim A resolution approving an annexation policy will be presented later. There have been some problems with annexations where engineering had not been done. The proposal is to require people to post a bond that would provide 125 percent of the engineering costs when annexing a minor subdivision. If the person sells the land within a year or two and the land has not been engineered, the city would have the money to complete the engineering for curb, gutter and sidewalk. The proposal is to have a development agreement signed when someone applies for a building permit from the Building Department. James stated that it is like an SIA but would be more detailed as far as what is done and when it is done. Mayor Olson stated that a drat~ annexation ordinance will be presented at the council workshop on January 29~a. Staff will develop a proposed annexation policy, which will be presented to the City- County Planning Board for a recommendation to the city council. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of Sanua~y 8, 2008 Clerk/Treasurer: · Resolution- Collection of annual $2.00 service fee for all water users Mary explained the annual service fee that the State of Montana requires all municipal water utilities to collect to support the DNRC in Helena. The $2.00 fee per hookup is considered a pass through cost so the city does not have to go through the public hearing process. The fee will be assessed on the January bills, collected in February, and paid to the state in March. Laurel has between 2,600 and 2,700 water service hookups. · Resolution- Insurance transfers Mary stated that the monies collected for insurance purposes are transferred twice a year. A worksheet included with the draft resolution illustrated how the mills levied for health insurance costs for the City of Laurel in the General Fund do not cover all the health insurance costs. It has been a tremendous boost to the city's cost mitigation to invoke the Permissive Medical Levy, which has been done since allowed in 2003. Mary stated that it has helped keep the cost down on health insurance. The only other solution is to reduce the city's health insurance costs as a whole. Mary asked for the council's approval retroactive to the end of December so it would show on December's hooks. .There was discussion regarding charging health insurance expenses to the swimming pool when there m a contract with the YMCA for the pool. Mary explained that city employees do maintenance and administration of the pool. The cost is based on the allocation that the public works department developed to allocate certain employees' time to the pool This is also done for the parks, cemetery, and city shop. The judge's general health cost of $4,200 is six-month's worth of fi'inge benefit which is allowed to tha judge, as contained in ordinance. Executive review: · Resolution- Technical Edge Consulting Agreement Mayor Olson stated that this has been discussed at length by department heads, who would acknowledge the need for a computer services agreement. Mayor Olson stated that the services are needed for upkeep and maintenance of the city's computer system. He encouraged the council's consideration of this contract. · Resolution- Transition Plan for Form of C-overnment Mayor Olson stated that Dr. Weaver and Judy Mathre originally presented the transition plan and the appropriate changes have been added. Doug stated that, with the letter presented by Larry Tanglen earlier in the meeting, he would like to ask a question of legal counsel. He asked regarding the legal steps required if someone wanted to contest the chan4e in the form of government and the requirements for a legal protest. Mayor Olson stated the pwcedure for accepting issues onto the agenda. He stated that items are put on the agenda so there is ample opportunity for response and this would be a variance of the accepted form of business. Doug stated that the Transition Plan for the form of government is on tonight's agenda. Sam stated that time is a process in the statute providing for a legal challenge to the action taken by the voters for the city government. The pwcess provides for ten registered voters to challenge the action within sixty days of the approval or change. It must be filed in the district court in Yellowstone County. He stated that there would be a future response to the document that was delivered tonight. 4 Council Worl~hop Minutes of Sanua~y 8, 2008 Doug stated that his point is that the council received a mandate from the voters and the council needs to proceed with that mandate. If someone wants to protest that, there is a legal way to do that. There was discussion regarding the deadline for the legal process, which is sixty days from the date of the vote. Sam explained that the city attorney is empowered by statute to seek an Attorney General's opinion. An Attorney General's opinion basically carries the weight of law until overturned by a court. If the city council desired to have this process and procedure reviewed, it could direct him to do so. It is not something illegal that the city council cannot do. There was further discussion regarding the Transition Plan, the advice given by Dr. Weaver and Judy Mathre, and the legal research done on the documents. Mayor Olson stated that the consulting firm employed was the past director of the Local Government Center that is funded by the state to facilitate and help local governments. Dr. Weaver has had many opportunities for interaction with all types and forms of government and his experience and education to come forward with a valued document. Sam stated that the transition plan was substantially prepared by the contractor. He reviewed it, changed some of the citations, and compared it to the transition statute and it does comply with the state's transition statute. · Ordinance - Judge's salary Mayor Oison stated that the four percent increase in the judge's salary was included in the budget that was approved in September 2007. By ordinance, the judge's salary has to be increased through an ordinance. The first reading of the ordinance will be on the January 15t~ council agenda. · Appointments - Committee vacancies Mayor Oison stated that the following appointments will be on the January 15t~ council agenda: Tree Board - Emelie Eaton; Big Sky EDA, City Representative - Alex Wilkins; and ADA Coordinator - Bill Sheridan. Mayor Oison mentioned that there is one vacancy on the Emergency Services Committee, one vacancy on the Park Board, and two vacancies for county appointments on the City- County Planning Board. Suggestions for the Park Board should be submitted to Chairman Kate Hart. Mayor Oison stated that Ordinance No. 619, as adopted in June 1976, states that the "City-County Planning Board shall consist of eleven members." James Caniglia stated his desire to retain eleven members on the board. There was further discussion regarding the size of the Planning Board, the lack of and need for a quorum at the Planning Board meetings, the jurisdiction of the board, and the poasfoility of an applicant for the board. Regarding the board's jurisdiction, Ordinance No. 619 states that "the jurisdictional area shall include the area within the corporate limits of the City of Laurel and extend four and one-half miles (4½) beyond the limits of the City of Laurel." · Council Issues: o Discussion regarding Historic Preservation Board Sam will prepare a memo for the council regarding this issue. When he was directed to review this issue, the questions were where does the Historic Board come from, how are they created, how did Laurel get involved with them, and is it worth Laurel exploring forming its own Historic Board and pulling out of the agreement with Yellowstone County. The actual Board comes from a federal law 5 Council Workshop Minutes of January $, 2008 called the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and its amendments. The law established a federal program under the Department of the Interior and it provides a pass through from the federal government to state government. State governments are obligated to work with local governments or bodies who are certified as local entities to administer the purposes of the overall program. There are about a halfdozan requirements of the program which are geared at taking care of the older properties ard preserving historical buildings. There is a two-step process to get locally certified. You must be certified by the State of Montana and by the Department of the Interior. Sam stated that it is a long process and is not a matter of deciding to pull out of an agreement and forming another board. It would be an involved process. Sam will delineate the required steps in the memo. If the council decides to do this, it would be a big project. He suggested that the council may want to consider continuing with the current board and trying to get more members on that board with the intention of someday certifying a local organization. Mayor Olson encouraged the council to consider Sam's memo. o Enforcement of trucks with hazardous materials stopping at uncontrolled intersections (Chuck Dickerson) Mayor Olson stated that staff has been unable to locate this information, and there was discussion regarding it. Mark suggested contacting Dave Siljestmm to obtain a copy of the information. o Planning Board size (Chuck Dickerson) There was further discussion regarding the size of the Planning Board. James again stated the need to keep eleven members on the board. Several council memben also stated their desire to keep the board as it is. Mayor Olson encouraged the council to find people who are interested in serving in the county positions on the board. Names of applicants should be submitted to the County Commissioners. Other items: There were none. Review ofdrat~ council a~enda for Jnmmry 15, 2008: There was no discussion. Attendance at the January 15t~ council meeting: All eight council members will attend. -~nllouncements: Chuck asked regarding the right turn only sign in front of the Conoco station when coming offthe interstate and turning north onto First Avenue South. The sign is ten feet off of the comer of Southeast Fourth Street and should be moved back toward the offramp to give drivers more time to get in the proper lane. There was discussion. Mark suggested that staff could contact MDT to get a determination for this. Mayor Olson will direct staffto do so. Joint City-County Meeting on Wednesday, January 9~, at 5:30 p.m. in room 105 at the Yellowstone County Courthouse 6 Council Workshop Minutes of lanuary 8, 2008 All council members, except Kate Hart, will attend the meeting. Mayor Olson stated that Candi Beandry will present a mill levy request for planning services, and he encouraged James to attend the meeting. Mayor Olson asked department heads to attend if possible. Mark asked regarding the County's progress on the walk bridge on 12th Street. Mayor Olson stated that the bridge project is scheduled for spring 2008. · Workshop for newly-elected council members on Thursday, January 10m, at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers All council members, except Doug Poehls, will attend the workshop. Mayor Olson spoke regarding the water and sewer rate survey. Resources have been dedicated for a comprehensive study of the city's current water and sewer rates to see if the rates would support the anticipated capital projects. Last spring, Governor Schweitzer presented the City of Laurel with a TSEP grant of $750,000 for the wastewater project. The city must provide the remaining $3.5 million to complete the project. A rate structure that will accommodate the encumbrance must be in place before the city can bond for the funding needed for the project. The results of the water and wastewater rate survey being done by Morrison-Maierle, Inc., will be presented to the council soon. Mayor Olson asked for the council's consideration to place the letter received from the Laurel Outlook on a council workshop agenda. Emelie requested that it be discussed in order to stay appdscd of the city's stand. The item will be on the January 29a' council workshop agenda. The council workshop adjourned at 8:09 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. 7