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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Head Meetings Minutes 02.05.2008 MINUTES DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING FEBRUARY 5, 2008 3:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ken Olson Sam Painter Rick Musson Gay Easton Bill Sheridan Mary Embleton Jan Fanght Scott Wilm James Caniglia Nancy Schmidt Nancy RoMe (3:12 p.m.) Council Agenda - February fir 2008 Public Hearing: · Ordinance No. O08-01: Ordinance amending Section 2.68.100 of the Laurel Municipal Code, amending the Judge's salary. (First reading - 01/15/2008) Scheduled Matters: · Con6rmation of Appointments: o Emergency Services Committee: Scotty Snowden o Laurel Ambulance Attendant: Lisa McDowall o Insurance and Benefit Committee: Chris Rosenberg Mayor Olson will make the appointments at tonight's council meeting. · Election of Council President and Council Vice-President · Resolution No. R08-10: A resolution of the City Council eccepting the bid for a new water tender vacuum truck from Reberland Equipment, Inc., dba Firovac. Scott will be unable to attend tonight's council meeting. · Resolution No. R08-11: A resolution approving the attached Task Order No. 5 authorizing Great West Engineering to perform the tasks and duties related to grant administration for Phase Two of the Wastewater Improvements Project for the City of LaureL · Resolution No. R08-12: A resolution approving the attached Task Order No. 6 and authorizing Great West Engineering to perform the tasks and duties related to TSEP Grant application for Water Plant and Water System upgrades for the City of LaureL Emelie Eaton e-mailed Mary today with some questions regarding the task orders. Mary will forward the e-mail to Bill, and Bill will contact Great West Engineering to request that a representative attend tonight's council meeting. · Resolution No. R08-13: Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an amendment to the previously approved Independent Contractor Service Contract and Agreement with Engineering, Inc. for the reconstruction oftha City Public L~rary parking lot. · Resolution No. R08-14: Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an agreement with Beartooth RC&D Economic Development District. · Resolution No. R08-15: A resolution of intent to adopt an official Schedule of Fees end Charges for the City of Lanrel, repealing all previous resolutions that set fees or charges that conflict with the schedule attached hereto upon its effective date. Nancy RoMe called Mary today regarding reproducing copies for the Public Defender's Office. There was discussion regarding the fees, the time it takes to reproduce the requested media, and who is Departxneat Head Meeting Minutes of February $, 2008 responsfole to charge and collect the fees. Nancy Rohde arrived at the meeting during this discussion. There was a lengthy discussion regarding this issue. Sam stated that the responsible parties should meet to discuss incorporating a change into the Schedule of Fees and Charges prior to its final adoption. Mayor Olson stated that a recommendation should be presented at the February 12m council workshop. · Resolution No. R08-16: A resolution mending Resolution No. R05-66 to increase the contract price for fiscal year 2007 with Olness and Associates for auditing services through fiscal year ending 2007 and to atthorize the Mayor to execute a contract amendment on behalf of the City of Laurel. · Resolution No. R08-17: Resolution oftha City Council to approve a franchise agreement with LightNex Communications for the operation end maintenance of a cable communication system within the City of Laurel, Montana. Sam completed the final draft of the franchise agreement today. · Ordinance No. 008-02: Ordinance adopti~4g annexation regulations for the City of Laurel for incorporation in Chapter 16 of the Laurel Municipal Code. First reading. Draft Council Workshop Agenda - February 12, 2008 Laurel Police Reserve appointments Rick will have the list of names for reserve appointments this week. If the background checks are not completed, tho appointments could be delayed until the council workshop on February 26t~. Fire Demar'anent: · Resolution - Agreement with CHS for Fire Protection The resolution and agreement are not ready for this council workshop agenda. Scott stated that Dong Poehls gave the agreement to Pat Kimmet to send to the corporate office. The agreement did not include the timeframe prior to July 1~t. Public Works Department: · Presentation of proposed wastewater project Bill stated that the presentation should be ready by next week. · Rest, lutio.n - Construction agreement with _th~M, ontana D~ment of Transportation regarding roaaway unprovements to Main Street fi'om 3 Avenue to 8u' Avenue The MDT informed Bill that the City of Laurel needs to sign and return the agreement in order to complete design of construction, cost estimating and related document preparation. The project is scheduled for the 2009 construction season. There are concerns regarding which entity will pay for which parts of the project. Bill asked that the proposed snow removal and handling policy be added to the February 12th council workshop agench. Clerk/Tressurer: · Resolution - INTERCAP loans for the new ambulance and fire water tender vacuum truck Mary stated that the INTERCAP loans have been approved. INTERCAP wants to have seven-year loans for the ambulance and vacuum truck, and the city could prepay the loans without penalty. Scott would like to see the tender truck paid offin five years. There was discussion. Mayor Olson stated that Mary should request five-year INTERCAP loans. 2 Departmem Head Meeting Minutes of February $, 2005 · Discussion- 2007-2008 Mid-Year Budget Review There will be discussion regarding the Mid-Year Budget Review, which Mary distributed to the council at the workshop on January 29a'. Executive Review: · Appointments: o Library Board There was discussion regarding whether Library Board members are required to live in the City of Laurel. Laurel Municipal Code and State statute are silent on this issue. Nancy will look in the library's by-laws and/or trustee's handbook and will contact tho state l~rury regarding this issue. · Paperless Council Packets Mayor Oison proposed the purclmse of laptops for the council members to help reduce the amount of paper distn'buted each week. Pohcies to govern the process would need to be determined. The issue will be discussed at the next council workshop. · Council Issues: o Status of right hand turn sign on South First Avenue coming off the interstate (Chuck Dickerson) Bill will contact the MDT engineer regarding this situation. o Status of information regarding trucks stopping at uncontrolled intersections (Chuck Dickerson) Bill will contact Dave Siljestrom to request this information. · Garbage cans and fees at the FAP building (Emelie Eaton) Mayor Olson stated that this will be discussed at the council workshop. Mayor Olson stated that the city needs to determine if it is legal for the engineering firm that started the wastewater project (Mon'ison-Maierle) to continue the project, since the city recently went out for RFP's and chose a different enl}ineer (Great West Engineering). Sam will provide legal counsel. The item will be on the February 12°. council workshop agenda. James stated that the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Thursday on the proposal to extend the Central Business District to Alder Avenue. Community Commercial zoning currently starts at Pennsylvania Avenue. This proposed change would not affect the TIF District. The main reason for the chimge is to allow more lot coverage in this area. A drait ordinance will be presented at the council workshop on February 12th. Mary asked if tho Impact Fees Feasibility Study should be scheduled on February 12t~. Mayor Olson stated that the Budget/Finance Committee would discuss it at tonight's meeting. Department Renorts: Ambulance Service Jan needs the form to fill out to report danutge to the ambulance cot. The cot from Care 3 is now being used in the new ambulance. Choryll submits claims to MMIA. Claim forms should be available at the police department. I~partm~mt ISamd Me~ting Minut~ of Fobruary 5, 2008 Jan asked regarding when and how to go forward with the project in the ambulance office and bay area. There was further discussion. Mayor Olson told her to go ahead with the project. City Council President There was no discussion~ Clerk/Treasurer · City's computer network Mary stated that Bart determined that hard drive failure was occurring on the exchange server last week. A new hard drive was ordered, received, and will be installed on Thursday. Bart will shut down the city's e-mail network for about thirty minutes when the new hard drive is installed. Bart will be at the city on Thursdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a. rm Zee Creative sent Mary a letter stating that the mylaurekcom domain will expire on March 21st. Mary will inform Zee Creative that the city no longer needs this. Bart has prepared a list of things that need to be done on the server. Department heads should e-mail requests to Bart. Johnson Controls has been contacted regarding the heat issues in the upstairs room that houses the server. Bill stated that the local office will address the issues. · CIP update Mary stated that Miral Gamradt requested that the CIP information be submitted by February 8th. Miral has asked if the city wants to continue the rating process. Mary stated that the General Fund needs should be rated. Mayor Olson stated that the rating process is dynamic, not static, but that the process has some inherent flaws. At the Mayor's Conference, Miral stated that the CIP is usually formulated by the council and the department heads satisfy the goals of the council. There was discussiorr Mayor Olson stated that the rankings done by the department heads should be reflective of the council's goals. Mayor Olson will contact Miral to determine the best way to get the council's input first. · TIF District update Mary stated that the requested letter stating that the TIFD is properly zoned was sent to the Department of Revenue on Monday. · Budget process Mary stated that the budgets should be returned by February 15th. She asked the department heads to estimate regular and overtime hours but not to worry about personnel costs. Mary encouraged them to use the Notes Field. Fire Department · Cenex contract update This was discussed earlier in the meeting. Mayor Olson thanked Scott for the information he distffbuted regarding the new fire hall. Scott gave Mary a letter fix)m Froightliner that explained the delay on the chassis for the urban pumper. 4 DepaRme~t Head Meeting Minutes of February 5, 2008 Lib~ Nancy stated that a l~rary clerk was hired last week and the second clerk will be leaving soon. There was discussion regarding the process, whether or not the h'brary could use the recent applications to hire for this position, and if the city's hiring policies apply. There was discussion. Sam stated that it would be best to put another ad in the newspaper. Mary suggested writing letters to the applicants explaining that they were not chosen for the first position but that another position is open. Police Deoartment * Bus parking zones at schools Rick stated that a ch'att ordinance will be prepared for the school district's request for bus parking at all schools except South School He asked regarding the timet?ame for review of the city's ordinances for the change in the form of government. Police Commission issues need to be reviewed. City Planner · Update on annexation policy James stated that Sam gave him the droll annexation policy today. department heads for review. Copies were distributed to the James stated that the sound barrier wall should have been installed in Elena Subdivision by this month. The developer does not have the money to do so. The developer claims that the SIA required the city to maintain the parks in a Park Maintenance District, but that has not been done. There was discussion. James stated that Paul Bokoske wants to expand the tree nu~ business but does not want to apply for another variance. Mayor Olson stated that the council approved the first request, but Mr. Bokoske would need to come back for anything else. Public Works Department There was no discussion. City Attorney There was no discussion. Mayor Olson · Laurel City Voice Mary explained that some articles needed editing. Mayor Olson stated that the articles should be a reflection of the department heads and they should have the fight to have the articles published as originally written. The future due date for articles will allow department heads the oppommity to review edited articles. The department head has the final say on their article. · Website progress There was discussion regarding problems with the website. Scott's work phone number still shows up when he brings up the website. Jim Huertas is waiting for department heads to submit suggestions for the site. Other · Personnel evaluations Mayor Olson will schedule department heads for personnel evaluations in the next three to four weeks. He stated the need to provide department heads with a written evaluation of expectations. There was Deparm~e~t Head Meeting Minutes of February 5, 2008 discussion regarding the evaluation form used by the mayor and the need to develop a form and format for department heads to use for er,~,loyee evaluations. The meeting adjourned at 4:42 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen Council Secretary Public Works Staff Meeting February 4, 2008 Bill Sheridan Kurt Markegard Gary Colley Chris Rosenberg James Caniglia Cheryll Lund Public Works Kurt attended the AMTOPP Conference in Bozeman on January 28~a and 29th where he learned about identifying tree damage from fimgus, bugs and chemicals. Kurt talked with people f~om DNRC about Laurel's participation each year in the Arbor Day celebration and in every day tree care in Laurel's parks. DNRC is happy that the City of Laurel has made Arbor Day a yearly tradition. Kurt announced that the City of Laurel received a $1,000 grant for Arbor Day. The City of Laurel's 'Tree City" designation has to be finalized and sent to DNRC. The City is going to demo a garbage truck on Tuesday. The bid for the new route truck has not been done yet. A jet rodder needs to be purchased. Our existing jet redder is over 5 years old. The crew will bum the limb and branch pile at the Container Site on Tuesday, weather permitting. P]annln~ James will visit the County offices and look into whether or not the City is getting its 2 mills that it is supposed to be getting. It appears that we are receiving 1.4 mills. The City Attorney is dra~ing a letter to Dave Bequette, the developer of Elena Subdivision, regarding putting up the sound retaining wall around the subdivision as required in their SIA. The wall was to be constructed by January 2008. James has contacted owners of property on E. Main Street regarding annexation into the City for city services. Jim Cotter and Randy Peers are the only 2 owners interested in pursuing this issue although Jeanette Wilm may be interested in the future. James will contact them about attending a meeting with Public Works and Planning staffpossibly this Friday. Code Enforcement Chris bas a trial to attend today in Billings at 1:30 pm. Chris had approximately 30 people that did not comply with (2) letters they received requiring them to have addresses on their houses. He will send out a 3ra letter to give them 10 more days to comply. Building Gary stated that 2 new businesses have opened up: Tmckside Quilting at 401 E. Main St~et and Lennox Apartments at 219 W. Main Street. The ear that burned up by the Mormon Church still has not been removed. Gary sent them a letter regarding this issue. Gary has been in contact with the person that is advertising a 20-unit apartment building. Gary has received phone calls regarding an ad placed in the Laurel Outlook without designating a location. Gary contacted the owner and gave him a list of fire, zoning and building issues that need to be considered prior to submitting plans for the apartments. The Middle school has rented out building space to the Yellowstone County Youth Court Services. Issues with change ofoccupency and off-street parking need to be addressed prior to occupeny. The City of Lanrel was not informed of the proposed cha~ges and only learnad of it by reading the Laurel Outlook. The letter from the High School regarding bus parking issues has been turned over to Rick Musson for his review and consideration. Bill stated that the City Council would like the Public Works Department to draR a snow removal policy. Bill asked for input from Public Works staff. Discussion was held on the proposed SID for SE Fourth Street. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 am. Respectfully submitted, Cheryll Lund