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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 09.24.2018MINUTES COUNCIL fr ► SEQ A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Tom Nelson at 6:30 p.m. on September 24, 2018. _x Emelie Eaton —x Heidi Sparks Bruce McGee_x_ Richard Herr Scot Stokes Iry Wilke Richard Klose _x_ x Bill Mountsier Matthew Lurker, Chief Administrative Officer Matt Wheeler, Maintenance Superintendent Riley Hutchens, Assistant Ambulance Director Carl Jackson, Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson Judy Goldsby, LURA Public Input There were none. General Items There were none. Executive Review Resolution — A Resolution Of The City Council Approving An Agreement Between The City Of Laurel And Pintler Billing Services, LLC. Pintler is an ambulance billing service. Pintler will only get paid when the City gets paid. The current provider has a standard monthly rate regardless of the revenue brought into the City. Riley Hutchens, Assistant Director of the Ambulance Service, spoke regarding his recommendation to switch from Solestone to Pintler for ambulance billing services. He had compared over 30 companies, both local and nationwide. It was questioned how many companies provide ambulance billing services. In the State of Montana, there are seven companies that provide ambulance billing services. Some are large; some are small. Pintler has approximately 20 employees. Pintler has six billing technicians who work on various accounts. The City will have a dedicated biller where the City's billing will follow into that person's queue. In larger companies, the larger accounts will be attended to first. The two largest insurance providers are Medicaid and Medicare. The longer it takes to bill, the less likely the City is to be reimbursed. The City needs a billing company that can do so quickly and efficiently. Solestone is also local and based out of Missoula. The City began working with them in 2010. Council Workshop Minutes of September 24, 2018 It was questioned what percentage Pintler would be taking per call. The expected percentage is between six and eight percent per call. (Jur current provider operates on a flat rate fee. This means the City is paying for the service even if the claim is not being paid on by Medicare or Medicaid. It was questioned what other criteria were used to base this recommendation on. The criteria used were as follows: location of company - is there a face to the name, customer service - are staff able to speak with a live person in a relatively short period of time, statistics and reporting — how robust of a report is the company able to provide, and the process of billing — is it easy to use. Currently, our ambulance billings service uses software to submit claims. However, this software does not pick up on abbreviations and can lead to the claim being submitted improperly to the insurance provider. This can result in a denied claim. The billing company should be investigating why a claim is denied and notify staff of any further action. This is not occurring with our current service provider. Are there any additional hidden fees beyond the six to eight percent as listed. There are no hidden fees, Pintler prides itself on providing straightforward service. The final amount in fees will still be negotiated. The current provider has been charging hidden fees. This past year the City has paid thousands of dollars for a collection company that we were unaware the City had a contract with. City Staff has repeatedly requested more information on the fees the City is paying. However, those requests have not been answered. It was questioned if this contract has been finalized. This contract has not been finalized. However, the percentage will be between the given parameters. Pintler identifies the collection company they use, which is also a Montana based company. It was questioned if Pintler gave any references and if those references were followed up on. Pintler did not give a list of references, however, with the connects with other agencies around the State Assistant Director Hutchens was able to get reviews on Pintler. He spoke with 17 agencies around the State. There were no negative reviews on Pintler. In the 20 years, Pintler has been in business only one of those agencies left Pintler. They left because they became associated with a hospital and moved to use the hospital's billing service. It was questioned if the City will have a separate contract with Centron and will the City be paying both companies for the collection of a bill. The City can choose to have a separate contract with Centron to take care of all collections, or the City can choose to pay for those services through Pintler. The City Attorney will need to advise which option is in the City's best interest. The City also has the option to use a different collection agency. It was questioned if Pintler is not able to collect on an account and is transferred to a collection's agency will the City be required to pay Pintler and the collections agency. These are two different services. However, Assistant Director Hutchens will get clarification. It was questioned if the same arrangement can be made with the collections company where they only get paid on accounts that are collected on. 2 Council Workshop Minutes of September 24, 2018 Resolution — A Resolution Of The City Council Approving A Contract Between The City Of Laurel And The Montana Department Of Justice Natural Resource Damage Program. This contract is in regard to the funds from the Natural Resource Damage Program. These were the fiends applied to for Riverside Park. The Riverside Park Master Plan was essential in solidifying these funds. This is the contract to accept the funds for these projects. It was stated that between the awarded funds and the funds saved for Riverside Park the City would have the opportunity to spend a substantial amount in the park. It was reiterated the need for these projects to be accomplished in a timely manner. Council was reminded of the potential of the park. It was further clarified that these funds would come from the State as the work is completed. The City has two years to have contracts in place for the work or will use the awarded funds. It was questioned if this contract needs to be accepted prior to moving forward on the vault toilets. It was clarified that in order for the City to receive reimbursement for the installation of the vault toilets this contract needs to be accepted first. Council Members were reminded that some of these funds would be spent at the Lions Park as well. Resolution — A Resolution Approving A Task Order Authorizing Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, Inc. For The Development Of The City's Pavement Management Plan. Carl Jackson, KLJ, spoke regarding this resolution. The Pavement Management Plan is used to identify which streets are the highest priority for replacement and repairs. Bringing the Pavement Management Plan current is needed to be able to apply for assistance in these projects. The Pavement Management Plan helps show how the City is managing its streets. The method derived from the University of Wisconsin helps simplify this process and is recognized by the Montana Department of Transportation. This Task Order is to move forward with the data collection, creation of the maps, and give a prioritized list of pavement maintenance projects. There are streets in town that will not be rated as they have already been identified as poor and will be receiving the poorest rating. Others will require KLJ staff to go out and count each crack and pothole to establish a rating. It was questioned how old the last Pavement Maintenance Plan was. The last time the Pavement Maintenance Plan was updated approximately 2009. The recommendation is to update this plan every two to three years. The State has not identified a time interval required for updating this data. However, the State has indicated the data is out of date and is required to be updated. The method used to rate the pavement is simplified and is not complicated to follow. This will allow for a more accurate rating of the City's pavement. The Mayor and Public Works Director met with the Department of Transportation this past spring regarding this issue. Once this plan is completed, this will allow the City to apply for other assistance Resolution — A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Release Of Funds From The Tax Increment Financing District Fund From The Technical Assistance And Facade Grant Programs To Improve Property Located Within The City Of Laurel's Tax Increment Improvement District. Previously a Council Member had asked how many of the assistance grants were outstanding in needing Council approval. It is believed this is the last one that will need to be brought forward to Council. As stated in the memo from the Public Works Director, see attached, the previous Planner had split this grant into two parts. Half was paid out in November of 2017. The remaining balance has not been paid and will need Council's approval. 3 Council Workshop Minutes of September 24, 2018 The spreadsheet that LURA will be using in the future will be a double check on the funds awarded to an applicant. That spreadsheet will be part of the LURA financial statement each September. ® Resolution — A Resolution Of The City Council Approving A Partial Proof Of Loss For Storm Related And Caused Damages To City Owned Property. This will be roof repair of the following buildings: Police/Fire building, American Legion building, Jaycees Hall, and City Shop. This was due to hail damage. The City is working with MMIA to resolve this claim. The City would be paying the $2,500 deductible. These quotes are good through October 2, 2018. The contractor stated the work could be completed within two weeks after approval. It was questioned if the $2,500 deductible is per building or per claim. It was clarified that the $2,500 deductible was for the entire claim. It was questioned if the back corner of the American Legion building would be repaired. It was believed that this type of repair is not included in the scope of work. City Staff had identified a leak in the Ambulance building, a $10 repair to a damaged skylight, saved the City a good sum on this potential costly repair. It was questioned if all the buildings were inspected as well and if so, were these the only builds that had hail damage. The adjuster did inspect all buildings; these were the only buildings to be found with hail damage. Resolution — A Resolution Of The City Council Accepting A Proposal And Approving A Contract Between The City Of Laurel And CIP Construction Technologies, Inc For Manhole Rehabilitation. This is the company we have used in the past. It's the only company that currently does this type of repairs. The City can rehab three manholes for the cost of replacing one. The City started with the worst manholes and are working on rehabbing as many as possible. This contract has two complete rehabs with 11 that are sunk into the street that are causing problems. There is one that has an issue in the bottom that will require a lining repair. It was clarified that because the City is flexible on when this company can come to do the work the mobilization fee has been waived. The work will be completed when the company is in the area working on other projects. It was questioned if this work will be done this fall. It was clarified that the company is expected to be in the area soon. o Council Issues: o 2017 Intake Update Working to use the new intake as much as possible. The City is working on continuing to blow out those screens to make sure the intake is useable. The City is also looking at bringing in a company that deals with these issues. They work with intakes located in lakes and rivers. The City is still working on closing out this project. It was questioned if there is still a sediment issue and is the rock weir removed. The sediment issues were this spring. The rock weir is slated to be removed by the end of the week. rd Council Workshop Minutes of September 24, 2018 Last year at this time, when City Staff went to inspect the intake, it was completely buried. Approximately two weeks ago City Staff were out inspecting the intake, and it is completely clear. It was questioned if this was a function of the river or Staff learning how to operate the new intake. It was clarified that high water cleared out most of the debris. o SED Basin Update The SED Basins have been completely removed; the footings are being dug at this point. The project is on schedule at this point. The old SED Basins were in such pore condition that it did not take much to remove them from the site. Any Council Members who would like to see the progress made can contact the Public Works Superintendent to schedule a time to tour the site. o LURA Financials The LURA Financials are attached to these minutes. The Mayor has reviewed these figures with the Clerk/Treasurer. These reports will be more detailed next year with the addition of the spreadsheet. Judy Goldsby, LURA Chairs, clarified that some of these line items would not be present on future reports, such as meals. Previously it was needed to provide lunch to get participation. LURA is in the middle of rewriting the grants and will be coming forward at another time. Other Items There were none. Review of Draft Council Agenda for October 2, 2018 There were no changes made. Attendance at the October 2, 2018, Council Meeting All those in attendance will be at next weeks meeting. Announcements The Administrative Assistant will be attending the Montana Leagues of City's and Towns this week in Butte. Council will not receive their packet for next weeks meeting until Monday. The patching work has begun. The pavement on West 4th Street has been removed. The council workshop adjourned at 7:38 p.m. Respectfully subvAitted, 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. 5 CITY HALL 115 W, 1"S'E City Of Laurel PUR. WORKS: 628-4796 WATER OFC., 628-7,431 COIRP 628-1964 P.O. Box 10 17AX 629-2241 Laurel, Montana 5904-4 September 18. 201 b %i4att Lurker. CAO Office of the Director of Poblic Works ,Re. Technical Assistance Grant for Todd and Debi N4cling (Lazy 8 Properties) Matt, Last fall Todd Melin" turned in a grant request for help to convert the Gene's Pharmacy Building into a usable space for future business ventures. The previous planner tried to present it to the LURA Committee but they did not have a quorum at their September meeting. Emails were Z:� exchanged to approve the grant request by four of five voting members of the LURA Committee. ,file previous planner then ernail the Melings and informed them their grant request was approved and to proceed with hiring A&E Architecture. I have found that this aNvard should have been taken to City Council for their approval as the total award is above the 55,000.00 threshold granted by the City Council in the Technical Assistance Poliev of resolution I210-112. A partial payment of S-3.611.2.5 has already been made to A&E Architecture last November and now they would like the balance paid. The total grant award is forS6,390.00 Total Award $6390.00 November 21017 Payment ($3.611,2�D Balance due 52,778.75 The City has received design drawing=s that A&E Architecture completed for this grant which is proof of work product as conditions of ng grant funds beidistributed. I would like to have this a� t:" issue resolved by forwarding the grant request to the City Council for final approval prior to anymore payments being issued. A z "ET Kurt IN'larkegard Attached: Invoices for A&E LURA — Fiscal Year 2018 Financial Report 0710112017-0613012018 Members: Judy Goldsby — Chair Dean Rankin —Vice Chair Daniel Klein Mardie Spalinger Don Smarsh Advisory Members: Linda Frickel Steve Solberg Janice Lehman Katy Easton Revenues Received: Beginning Cash Balance $1,264,012.52 Tax Rev $ 626,812.82 HB Entitlement $ 72,175.16 Grant Application Fees $ 3,900.00 Investment Earnings $ 6,053.06 Total Revenues Received $ 708,941.04 Expenditures: Grants: Technical Assistance Grants $ 26,511.31 Large Grants $ 93,642.00 Facade Grant $ 15,580.19 $ 135,733.50 SE 41h & Washington Improvements: Construction Project $ 367,133.65 Transfers to General Fund & Planning: Transfers $ 12,000.00 SupplieslMeals: 271.25 Advertising 322.20 Storm Water Loan Ending Cash Balance $ 96,562.93 Total Expenditures $ 612,023.53 $ 1,360,930.03 If you have any other questions regarding the TIM program, please consult Bethany Langve, Clerk/Treasurer or any Board member.