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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Head Meetings Minutes 01.20.2009MINUTES DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING JANUARY 20, 2009 3:05 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ken Olson (3:10 p.m.) Mary Embleton Bill Sheridan Kurt Markegard Brooke Baracker Nancy Schmidt Mark Guy Jan Faught Scott Wilm (3:18 p.m.) Council Agenda - January 20, 2009 Correspgndence: • Department of Natural Resources and Conservation: Letter of December 30, 2008 regarding DNRC Renewable Resource Grant and Loan Program. Bill stated that the City of Laurel did not rank high enough to receive the $100,000 grant. He spoke to the legislature on Monday regarding the project. • Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company: Letter of December 22, 2008 regarding pipeline facilities. There was no discussion. Consent Items: Mary stated that the tax monies were received recently. Kurt stated that the first Public Works Committee meeting went well. Scheduled Matters: • Resolution No. R09-06: A resolution transferring certain insurance funds of the City of Laurel, Montana. Mary explained that the city's levies for group health insurance and the permissive medical levy are transferred into the General Fund twice a year. • Resolution No. R09-07: A resolution approving a contract between the City of Laurel and the Eastern Montana Association of Affordable Housing to provide assistance with the HOME Grant Project Implementation and Grant Administration Services. Mary explained that Double-Tree originally administered the HOME Grant Program Big Sky EDA took over administration of the program but has decided not to continue. The contract with Eastern Montana Association of Affordable Housing is for administration of the grant program. • Resolution No. R09-08: Resolution of annexation of Lots 2 and 3, Block 1 Ward Subdivision and Lots 1-5 Laurmac Subdivision to the City of Laurel, Yellowstone County, Montana. There was no discussion. • Resolution No. R09-09: Resolution of the City Council to approve revisions to the existing Utility Plants Superintendent job description for the City of Laurel. Bill stated that the position will provide a superintendent for the water and wastewater treatment plants. After council approval, the process to fill the position will begin. Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 20, 2009 Resolution No. R09-10: Resolution relating to $690,000 Water System Revenue Bonds (DNRC Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Program), consisting of $500,000 Series 2009A Bond and $190,000 Series 2009B Bond; authorizing the issuance and fixing the terms and conditions thereof. Bill stated that the funding is for the water project, and the city is also seeking additional grants. Draft Council Worksha Agenda - January 27, 2009 Planning: * Ordinance - Delete LMC 17.40.090(A) (3) - "No required parking space shall be located in a front or side yard." Kurt stated that James wants to eliminate this outdated code. • Ordinance - Change LMC 17.20.020 - "Breweries: only allowed in Light Industrial (LI) and Heavy Industrial (HI)" to add "are allowed also in Central Business District, Highway Commercial and Community Commercial." The change would allow breweries within the Central Business District, Highway Commercial and Community Commercial zones. Kurt stated that there has been talk about a microbrewery in the old grain elevator. Executive Review: • Laurel Urban Renewal Agency Mayor Olson stated that, if there has been no response from the council by Tuesday regarding the six applicants, he will recommend five names for council approval for the five positions on the agency. + Council Issues: o Helena Chemical Mayor Olson stated that staff should be prepared to speak regarding the issues at Helena Chemical. ¦ Truck parking in parking lot (Emelie Eaton) Kurt explained that there are no setbacks in the CBD and property owners can build to the lot line. Since clear vision triangles are not required, changes to the ordinance would be needed to restrict corner lots. Code enforcement does not have the necessary code to require the trucks to move. Landscaping in boulevard (Doug Poehls) Mayor Olson stated that Doug recently questioned why the landscaping requirements were not completed on this property. He asked staff to be prepared regarding this issue. Devartment Reports: Ambulance Service • Update on shower - Daniell Aldinger 245-0777 Bill stated that the plumber will look at the shower soon. Jan stated that the Ambulance Service received multiple calls at the same time last weekend, and extra crewmembers were listening and available to answer the calls. A 24-hour refresher course is scheduled on January 30th, 31St, and February 1St. This is the ninth year the course has been offered. Sixty to eighty volunteers from Blue Creek, Molt, Broadview, Joliet and 2 Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 20, 2009 Columbus will attend the refresher course, which will be held at the Methodist Church on Friday and Saturday and in the fire hall on Sunday. Clerk/Treasurer • Health Insurance Committee Mary stated that the proposed guidelines for the Health Insurance Committee in the draft Personnel Instruction and Implementation Guide need some work. The proposed guidelines state that the committee's role is advisory, but some conflicts need to be reviewed. Mary read the current policy regarding the committee and the responsibilities of the benefits coordinator. When she received two requests for information earlier this month, she responded that she was not authorized to provide the information or to go out for quotes at this time. On December 2nd, Mary wrote a memo to the city attorney, city planner, and public works director requesting a time to review the City of Laurel's properties. A date needs to be scheduled for the meeting. Mary and Cindy recently viewed an online demonstration from E-Gov Link regarding website solutions. She encouraged department heads to schedule an online demonstration. Mary explained the possibilities available with this company, which could design and host the website. There was discussion. Mary will e-mail the information to Nancy. Mayor Olson will check with Rick regarding scheduling a meeting with Jim Huertas. Mary stated that the property values need to be submitted to MMIA by the end of January. She asked department heads to schedule an appointment with her to review the property values for individual departments. Some premium dollars could be saved by using stated values versus replacement values. Fire Department • Preparations for new fire station - plans in place Scott will work on the information this week. Scott received no response regarding the delivery date for the new truck, but he expects that it will be delivered late this week or early next week. Payment will be made after the truck is accepted by the fire department and approved by the council. There was discussion. Mary added a resolution for an Intercap loan for the fire truck to the January 27`h council workshop agenda. Li_ ?tbrary Nancy stated that the library has been busy and some programs were recently updated. The library will advertise in-house and in the newspaper for the two vacant positions. Police Department • Update on sergeant process Mark stated that the sergeant testing is scheduled on January 27'h and interviews will be conducted after the testing is completed. Mark mentioned that the floor in his office in the FAP is sinking. City Planner 3 Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 20, 2009 * Annexation of Riverside Park There was no discussion. * Bus Transit Grant Bill stated that the city will submit a request to do a study for a grant to purchase transit vehicles. * Various grants for "Laurel Dump Cleanup" Bill stated that the city is working to find available grants. Public Works D artrnent * Winter streets Kurt stated that the crew will try to patch potholes on Wednesday. Snow is expected later this week. Since Monday was a holiday, two garbage routes needed to be done on Tuesday. * Status of streets Kurt mentioned that the new computer is hooked up and he has been reviewing the data from Great West Engineering in order to evaluate streets, water lines, etc. * Status of water intake at WTP Kurt stated that COP Construction and Pat Murtagh reviewed the status of the river. Slush ice is no longer coming down the river, but the bridge shades the ice in some places. * Status of Water Plant upgrade Kurt stated that the contractors met regarding the project today. The contractors will start removing the filter media on Tuesday morning and the pump should be installed in April. Contractors will work Monday through Thursday (three 11-hour and one 9-hour shifts) and not Friday through Sunday, unless their schedule cannot be kept. * Alder Avenue Kurt stated that the surveying and core sampling needs to be done. Fresh millings should be available in June or July. Stefan Streeter will attend a scheduling meeting in Helena this week. Mary asked regarding a document showing ownership of Alder Avenue. There was discussion. Further review is needed. * Status of Main Street from 1" to 8 h Avenues Kurt will meet with Jim Horton and Dean Fausnaugh on Wednesday to get signed easements. The third easement still needs to be negotiated. The state was out surveying for the project today. * Report on progress with South Laurel Business SID Kurt needs to schedule meetings with the owners regarding the street. * Potential 61h Street SID project Funding sources are needed for this project. * Status of Wastewater Plant upgrade Kurt stated that Carl Anderson is working on securing the funding for the project. He asked if the council had directed the engineer to include the pipe crossing in the project. Kurt received a call from 4 Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 20, 2009 Stephanie Seymanski this week, but Kurt knows that Morrison-Maierle does not have a contract with the city for the crossing project. Mayor Olson stated that there would be further discussion at the council workshop on January 27`h Mary stated that a TSEP representative informed her that the legislature has asked regarding the status of Laurel's grant. Mary told her the representative that the city has every intention of preserving the grant. • Frozen water line to Riverside Park There was discussion regarding the frozen water line, the proposals to repair the water line, the quotes for the project, and the pros and cons of drilling a well for irrigation purposes in Riverside Park. Bill asked Kurt to prepare the best estimate for the project. Kurt spoke regarding issues with the Laurel Drain and the Italian Drain behind Fichtner Chevrolet. There was discussion. Mayor Olson stated that further investigation is needed to find the proper documents regarding ownership. Kurt asked that a small services contract with Rosebud Engineering be added to the January 27`h council workshop agenda. The contract is for software updates and a digital pressure gauge, which are needed prior to installation of the pump in the water project. Kurt mentioned that BN Railroad is demolishing the employee housing units on Main Street. There was discussion regarding whether to remove and abandon the water supply to those units. Service lines are owned by the property owner. Kurt recommends shutting off the curb box and leaving the service line available. Cif Attorney There was no discussion. Mayor Olson Mayor Olson asked regarding the spring community cleanup event. Kurt and Chris recently met with Vi Hills and informed her that it would be a citywide event only within the city limits. If volunteers are available to work outside the city limits, the garbage must be taken directly to the Billings landfill. Laurel's transfer site will only accept garbage collected within the city limits. The event will be scheduled in the middle of May. The City of Billings will schedule a hazardous waste cleanup event in June. Kurt stated that each person can take up to ten TV sets to the Billings landfill. There was discussion regarding hiring a summer intern for the Public Works Department, the data collected for the paver program, and the need for someone to input data. Kurt spoke regarding the man who recently complained about the condition of Railroad Street. Kurt said that the city spends the most time and money on maintenance of Railroad Street. The biggest problem is the water table and the lack of a storm drain. Railroad Street is an urban route. Chief Administrative Officer • Letter to Cenex regarding potable and fire flow water service improvement Bill is working on the letter. • Bids on removal of wall sections - Mayor's conference room 5 Department Head Meeting Minutes of January 20, 2009 Bill received two bids, but he is not sure if the wall sections will be removed. Other There was no further discussion. The meeting adjourned at 4:16 p.m. Respectfully submitted, &-?Cd,?J&OL Cindy Allen Council Secretary 6