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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 03.13.2018MINUTES +COUNCIL WORKSHOP March 13, 2018 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Tom Nelson at 6:30 p.m. on March 13, 2018. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x Emelie Eaton _x Heidi Sparks x Bruce McGee x Richard Herr _ Scot Stokes x Iry Wilke x Richard Klose x Bill Mountsier OTHERS PRESENT: Bethany Keeler, Clerk/Treasurer Carl Jackson, KLJ Public Input Dan Koch, 320 Colorado Avenue, stated that he noticed some errors on the City website. In particular, the Mayor, Council Members, and calendar are not current. Mayor Nelson stated that the City is aware of the issues with the website. The City is working on getting these fixed. General Items • Appointment of Heidi Sparks to the Human Relations Committee. Mayor Nelson was approached by Heidi regarding the vacancy listed under the Human Relations Committee. He asked her to provide a letter stating her interest in the committee. He thought she would serve well on this committee. Executive Review ® Resolution - Transportation coordination plan Laurel transit. Bethany Keeler, Clerk/Treasurer, presented the transit plan to the Council. This plan is done yearly and needed to obtain the transit grant. This plan outlines what the City is currently doing and what improvements the City plans to make to improve service. Emelie spoke regarding a news story that she had seen recently. A City in Texas had a failing transit system. They chose the model of using passage vans and identified drop off locations to improve their ridership -She questioned if the City's transit system would receive more ridership if we had a system similar to what this town in Texas had done. Bethany stated that the grant requires a bus and therefore cannot have passenger vehicles. Dorothy does go door to door. Residents call in and schedule a time a destination with Carrie. Walmart is the most popular destination. She stated that she could bring the data on how many people are currently riding the bus. Currently, there are not a lot of riders under 60 years old; most are elderly. Council Workshop Minutes of March 13, 2018 Richard Klose stated that to use passenger vans, they would need to be handicap accessible which would be very costly. He did see the value in maintaining this program. He stated that this past fall he was in Glasgow and at about 6:30 p.m there was a couple who were dropped off by a transit van. The van ran during the day and was on call in the evening hours. Iry questioned how often the bus goes to Billings and are those services utilized. Does the bus only go to doctor's offices or does it make other stops as well? Bethany stated that every other week the bus goes to Billings and mainly for medical visits. The bus will only transport Laurel residents. Bill questioned if they are restricted to only medical visits. Bethany clarified that in town they could go anywhere, but Billings is for medical appointments. There will be a Transportation Advisory Committee. This will be a public meeting and will be announced once the date has been finalized. • Resolution — Maintenance MOA for manholes. Mayor Nelson stated that most of this packet had been presented to Council before. This agreement is with the State regarding the maintenance of the concrete used to level the manholes. This agreement needs to be in place to receive the permit to do the work. Emelie questioned if this agreement list that the initial work is the City's cost with the State maintaining them. Mayor Nelson stated correct. • Resolution — Planning Services by Forrest Sanderson with KLJ Carl Jackson, from KLJ, stated that this is a Task Order for on-call Planning Services. Forrest Sanderson has approximately 30 years of experience, many of which working for municipalities. This service is by request only. Exhibit A lists the scope of this project. If something like a rewrite of Zoning Laws, Growth Policy, or Subdivision Regulations were to come up those would be its own Task Orders. He reminded that some items are legal items that will need legal counsel to review. In those events, the City Attorney would review those items. Heidi questioned how the payment amount would be determined. Carl stated that all Task Orders are typically given a lump sum fee, with this Task Order it is difficult to quantify. Forrest would be paid per hour; he stated that he could send those hourly rates to Council. Bill questioned the statement regarding advance authorization. Does this mean that KLJ can move forward on a project, without consent, that the City would need to provide written notice to stop? Carl clarified that the Task Order is a template. Items that do not pertain to a specific task order are stricken through. In this Task Order that does not pertain and therefore is stricken through. In other Task Orders, this may be added, this is for an instance where there is an emergency, and public safety is in question. It gives the Engineering Firm to begin work to resolve the issue in a timely manner. Council Workshop Minutes of March 13, 2018 Mayor Nelson requested an email outlying Forrest's hourly cost. Bruce questioned how many small communities utilize Forrest's services. Carl stated that there are many and gave a few examples of municipalities and counties that use this service. Emelie brought up a concern of the new duplexes being built west of the police station which are being built up to the sidewalk. She questioned if this will become a hazard once completed. Mayor Nelson stated he would send this request to code enforcement to make sure all ordinances are being followed. Mayor Nelson stated that the City is actively working to fill the City Planner position. There are a few subdivision and annexation requests coming down the pipeline. The contract with KLJ is not any more expensive than doing a small service contract with the City of Billings for these services. @ Council Issues: o Update on 2011 Yellowstone River flooding event Mayor Nelson stated that there is no new update. Mayor Nelson stated that soon the Governor would be signing off on the 12 million from Exxon. Once those have been approved, there will be an update on what Laurel was awarded. o Committee List Review Mayor Nelson requested that Council review the Committee list with their respective groups to identify any errors. Please give all changes to the Administrative Assistant. Other Items Mayor Nelson stated that the City is working on getting each Council Member business cards. The Administrative Assistant collected that information prior to tonight's meeting. Review of Draft Council Agenda for March 20, 2018 There were no changes. Attendance at the March 20, 2018, Council Meeting All those in attendance plan to attend next week's Council meeting. Announcements Heidi questioned if there was an update on the signage for Turnaround. She also stated that there are large potholes on S. 4' Street. Mayor Nelson stated that the City is out and starting to work on those. Bruce stated that he witnessed Billings using a piece of equipment that only needed one operator. He questioned if there is equipment that can increase the efficiency of our road crews. He also noted that some streets while fairly new, such as the one he lives on which is only 12 years old, had a water main break and the surface of the street needed to be torn into. Council Workshop Minutes of March 13, 2418 Emelie reminded Council of the Public Works Committee meeting scheduled for March 19th at b p.m. in Council Chambers. Mayor Nelson stated that he is working on solutions for Turnaround and should have an update on when signage will be placed. Mayor Nelson stated that he is working to resolve the issues with the Ambulance service. Mayor Nelson stated that he is working on options for minutes to be taken at Committee meetings. Recognition of Employees • Jason Wells • Christopher Erb 20 years on March 18`h Police 9 years on March 11 `h Library The council workshop adjourned at 7:17 p.m. Respect lly submitted,-,, Brittney Moorman Administrative Assistant NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of the Council for the listed workshop agenda items. 0