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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Head Meetings Minutes 10.21.2008MINUTES DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING OCTOBER 21, 2008 3:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ken Olson Bill Sheridan Nancy Rohde Mary Embleton Kurt Markegard Rick Musson Jan Faught Mike Zuhoski Council Agenda - October 21, 2008 Scheduled Matters: * Fire Department: Report on fire hall mill levy The fire department will present the report at tonight's meeting. • Ordinance No. 008-09: Ordinance creating the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency pursuant to MCA § 7-15-4232 and to codify the ordinance as Title 18 of the Laurel Municipal Code. Second reading. The second reading of the ordinance is on tonight's council agenda. • Resolution No. R08-117: A resolution to modify the previously approved compensation levels for the Volunteer Ambulance Service. Jan stated that the wording of the resolution was changed to provide step raises with no cap. • Resolution No. R08-118: A resolution approving Change Order No. 1 with COP Construction LLC, for labor and materials to assemble and install fire hydrants on the 2008 South Laurel Stormwater and Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project and authorizing the Mayor to execute the attached Change Order No 1 on the City's behalf. Bill stated that the change order for $23,000 is for the installation of fire hydrants. + Resolution No. R08-119: A resolution approving a contract between the City of Laurel and G & G Contractors Services Inc. for asphalt patching work to be performed on City of Laurel streets. Kurt stated that the resolution is for a contract to provide asphalt patching services for water breaks. G & G Contractors Services has not worked for the city before. • Resolution No. R08-120: A resolution authorizing the disposal of city records. Mary stated that this is a housekeeping issue. Draft Council Worksho Agenda - October 28, 2008 Chief Administrative Officer: • Resolution - Task Order No. 8 with Great West Engineering, Inc. Bill will present Task Order No. 8 at the council workshop. Executive review: • Resolution - Assigning certain statutory powers to the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency; Bylaws of the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency Department Head Meeting Minutes of October 21, 2008 Bill stated that Sam has prepared the resolution. Mayor Olson stated that the Urban Renewal Agency was created via ordinance. The resolution will adopt the bylaws and the authority by which to operate the agency. Council members have stated that the agency should be a recommending body. Kurt asked if star would work with the agency to formulate recommendations to the council. Mayor Olson stated that staff would be available upon request from the agency. • Council issues o Cemetery Commission's recommendation for the Laurel Cemetery Master Plan (Norm Stamper) Norm Stamper will present the Cemetery Commission's recommendation for the master plan. Mary stated that the Commission realizes it is a conceptual plan and could be changed in the future. o Letters regarding the Police Department (Emelie Eaton) Rick stated that he is only aware of one complaint. Mayor Olson stated that he, Rick, Bill, and Sam need to discuss this issue before it is presented to the council. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the process for complaints, how personnel issues are addressed, and the need for council members to direct the issues to the staff. Department Reports: Ambulance Service • Update on shower Jan will contact DR Plumbing to look at the shower. Clerk/Treasurer • MMIA Wellness Program Mary distributed information regarding the MMIA Wellness Program. The educational sessions are scheduled on Tuesday, October 28th, at 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 1:00 p.m. in the fire hall. Screening sessions are scheduled on Wednesday, October 29th, from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. There was discussion regarding whether volunteers could participate. Employees and spouses that are covered by the health insurance can participate in the event. The cost is $70 for anyone not covered by the city's health plan. There was discussion. Mayor Olson stated that he would discuss the issue with the Budget/Finance Committee tonight. There was discussion regarding paying WTP, police, and dispatch employees to attend the program if they are not scheduled to work during those hours. Mary stated that employees should be paid for the time spent, but not a two-hour callout. Mary will provide information regarding similar past events. Health Insurance Committee Mary spoke regarding the Health Insurance Committee and gave a history of the city's health insurance plans since 1999. She stated that the committee looks into aspects of the benefits and makes recommendations to the council. There was discussion regarding the committee's desire to get quotes for insurance plans, the recent changes from Blue Cross to Allegiance as the plan administrator, and the issues with Laurel's premiums being higher than other cities. Mary stated that the city is currently in the fifth year of a five-year commitment to MMIA. Mary would be responsible for the transmission of information to get premium quotes for health insurance and HIPAA requirements must be followed. Fire Department 2 Department Head Meeting Minutes of October 21, 2008 • Report on new brush truck • Preparations for new fire station There was no discussion. • Property tax assessment for new fire station Mary stated that she hopes the mill levy will pass, as it would benefit everyone in the city. There was discussion regarding funding to remodel the current FAP. There is no funding in the current budget, nor was it included in the mill levy request. Library There was no discussion. Police Department • Status of new vehicle Rick stated that the vehicle should be ready soon. Rick mentioned that the party for Sergeant Zuhoski will be held on Friday, October 24'', from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the fire hall. Mayor Olson will be there at 4:15 to say a few words. Mike thanked the city for the opportunity to work with everyone for the past seventeen years. City Planner • Annexation of Riverside Park There was no discussion. Public Works Department • Status of streets Kurt stated that the crew is still hauling branches to the container site, and it will take weeks to finish the job. The pile of branches was burned today and the ash will be hauled to the landfill in Billings. The container site received 165 loads on Thursday, 165 loads on Friday, 270 loads on Saturday, and 50 loads on Sunday. Kurt reviewed the applications for street help on Monday. Patching of the water breaks will begin if the council approves the contract at tonight's meeting. Kurt will submit a purchase requisition for ice slicer to the Budget/Finance Committee tonight. • Status of water intake at WTP Kurt has not received a response from HKM Engineering regarding the water intake. Kurt will submit a claim to MMIA. • Alder Avenue Kurt stated that Alder Avenue was bladed recently. The School District did not repair the street as required by the development agreement. Kurt would like legal advice regarding this. • Status of Main Street from 1" to 8t' Avenues Kurt sent the easements to Elk River Law Office on Monday for further review. Verbiage in the easement agreement states that the city would maintain the sidewalks, which is not true of any other easements in the city. The verbiage needs to be removed from the easement agreement. 3 Department Head Meeting Minutes of October 21, 2008 • Cemetery Agreement / irrigation water / responsibility for vaults When Bill recently met with Commissioner Kennedy and the Veterans' Cemetery Board, he informed them that the City of Laurel cannot be responsible for payments of vaults. The city should proceed with the agreement before the Veterans' Day event. The cemetery agreement for the Veterans' Cemetery will be on the October 28th council workshop agenda. • Report on progress with South Laurel Business SID Kurt stated that the weekly progress update meeting will be tomorrow at 10:00 am. The on-site engineer has been keeping the business owners updated on the progress. Potential 6th Street SID project Kurt stated that this project could be worked on this fall. Kurt stated that there are issues with the boiler at the sewer plant. He will present a proposal for replacement of the boiler controls to the Budget/Finance Committee today. Kurt will meet with someone tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. regarding an electric generator to power the plant using the methane discharge from the plant. Kurt will present a request to the Budget/Finance Committee to purchase new tires for the garbage truck. The tire contains a sealer that seals punctures. Each tire costs about $120. The City of Columbus would like to buy the city's 1985 Sun Vac street sweeper. Bill stated that a legal opinion is needed to determine if the city can sell it or needs to advertise it for sale first. Mary stated that one sweeper could be designated to sweeping and a second sweeper could be designated to street maintenance. Kurt has received calls regarding easements for the container site. Sam needs to review the easements. Kurt stated that it is in the city's best interest to give an alternate easement that does not affect the container site. Kurt stated that the Public Works Department will miss Gay, who was part of the team. City Attorney • Purchase and Procurement Policy There was no discussion. • Negotiations with Cenex regarding fire flow There was no discussion. Ma or Olson Mayor Olson asked regarding the base of Alder Avenue. Kurt will contact the County for documentation of how the street was built. He stated that the failures in the road are not due to the base but resulted from trench excavation by the developers. Mayor Olson stated that a citywide storm water district would be added to the October 28th council workshop agenda. 4 Department Head Meeting Minutes of October 21, 2008 Kurt will complete the specs for the garbage truck, get the bid package together, and go out for bids. Chief Administrative Officer Bill recently requested funding from the State of Montana to deal with the broken branches after the storm a few weeks ago. The State would require the city to charge two mills against property owners and provide visual pictures of the storm. Kurt stated that Fred Bicka, DNRC, informed him regarding the deadline for a grant application for tree programs. Other Mary and Miral Gamradt spoke recently regarding administrative costs. She will present the information to the Budget/Finance Committee tonight. There was discussion regarding closing city hall on Friday to allow employees to attend Gay Easton's funeral, requiring employees to use vacation, comp, or personal time, and prior times with similar circumstances (i.e. Christmas Eve). Mayor Olson will make a decision by Wednesday morning. The meeting adjourned at 4:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen Council Secretary