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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 12.17.2019MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2019 A Council Workshop was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Tom Nelson at 6:30 p.m. on December 17, 2019. 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: Kurt Markegard, Public Works Superintendent Public Input: Evan Bruce, 105 E. Main Street, stated he is with the Historical Preservation Board of Yellowstone County; he is Laurel's representative in the board. They are waiting for the City to act on Riverside Park for its historic registration process. All the research is already done. There is money on the Historical Preservation Board to go towards the work needed to get registered on the State level. He questioned what is holding the City up, the City Planner had said he was going to have it done a couple of months ago and he keeps pushing it off every month. Requesting the City Council ask where it is at and get it moved forward and get it registered. There are a lot of grants that are on the table that the park can't apply for unless it is on the registry. There are a lot of different funding from a lot of different sources. The State Historic Preservation Office is waiting on the City to finish its application. It does know about the park. It is one of the biggest historical sites in the State by the State's Director's opinion. Most historical sites only have one historical event associated with them. Riverside Park has four which is unprecedented to anything that is on the registry. The Board is just waiting on the City to move forward. It was brought up as one of the main objectives for this coming year. General Items Reappointment of Mike Kirshenmann to the Police Commission for a 3 -year term ending 12/31/2022. It was stated that the Council never gets any minutes from the Police Commission. They do not have any contact with these people. It was questioned how they are to vote on this person if Council doesn't know what he's done or anything about him. It was clarified that the Police Commission only meets when it needs to, typically as a disciplinary function or the evaluation of Police Chief. They don't keep minutes because it is a personnel matter and is protected. The last time they met was the review of the one internal applicant for Police Chief. It was further stated that the Council does not know what this man looks like, what he has done, anything about his actions, what his theories or bases, etc. are. Mayor Nelson stated he would try to bring this gentleman into Council next week so Council can meet him prior to voting. It was stated it would be nice to know people's backgrounds when voting for Boards and Commissions. Council Member McGee stated that he knows Mike personally. He was a long time Reserve Officer, so long in fact he was one of the few people that gained status to patrol in one of the patrol cars while another officer was on duty. He provided countless number of free hours of policing within our community. He has done an exceptional job on the Police Commission and is highly qualified for it. Council Member McGee gave him a standing ovation (figuratively) for his past service and a high recommendation for his future service. Mayor Nelson stated that all members of the Police Commission are ex -police officers as it is a requirement. Council Member Mountsier has expressed interest in the Police Commission; perhaps in the fixture, there may be opportunities. He stated he would try to get Mr. Kirshenmann to attend next weeks meeting. If he is unavailable, the Mayor will have the Police Chief speak. Executive Review 2. Resolution: A Resolution Approving A Task Order Authorizing Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, Inc. For Services Relating To The City Of Laurel's 2020 Pavement Maintenance Project. Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated the Task Order for Pavement Maintenance is derived from the 2020 Pavement Management Plan and PASER study. The goal is to get caught up on pavement maintenance keeping minor repairs from becoming major repairs. This year the Mayor had requested he create a budget for pavement maintenance. He has spoken with the Clerk/Treasurer regarding funding. This year will focus on crack and chip sealing. The attached map is the proposed crack and chip sealing. The scope of work is balanced with the street maintenance assessment. Matt Smith, KLJ, stated the areas in red on the map are a six or higher on the PASER study. It is more economical to maintain than replace. The proposed project represents quite a bit of the City. Not all six streets are going to be done. Some of those are Urban Routes and have additional funding opportunities through the DOT. The Pavement Management Plan has been sent to the DOT and been approved. When funding is available, the City can submit a list of streets it would like updated. There are deformities on 1St Avenue due to the truck traffic. Asking the State to repair not the local citizens. Ward 1 only has a few streets getting chip or crack sealed. Hopefully, this will keep the 5's from moving into the 6 level. Will assess water and sewer replacement needs. The most prevalent is water. Most streets need reconstruction. Currently working on saving for a replacement project. In order to reconstruct those streets, the City needs to address the water issues which will come from the water fund. Every meeting with KLJ discussing and moving forward. The Southside scored the worst on the PASER study. Will need to repair S. 4th Street first before the other streets can be addressed. There needs to be a route in that will not destroy other roads. Water valves and water lines are a known issue in this neighborhood. There are valves that are underperforining and won't shut off — working on getting back up to a suitable level. The City can apply for a TSEP grant, which is available every two years. This could be used for a combined water line and water reservoir project. In reviewing what percentage of Laurel's streets are in good shape, it was found that 65% of Laurel's streets are in good shape. The newer neighborhood's still have good streets. Pavement lasts approximately 15 years without maintenance. There are some roads at 13 years. They will go in and crack and chip seal to extend the life of the street. They plan on doing 12 -inch -wide crack sealing; this helps reduce the amount of moisture that can get into the crack. They need to do crack sealing when it is still cold out so when the pavement expands in the heat it will create an even smaller gap. If the pavement is too warm when crack sealed when it gets cold, the pavement will constrict and be open to the elements. Last year they tried a different method of chip sealing. This added a black layer on top of the chips. It helps reduce the dust, retains more of the chips, and there were no complaints. Both of these techniques have additional costs but a greater benefit. The goal this year was to do crack and chip sealing in every neighborhood. The proposed project is well spread out throughout the City. A Council Member stated that with all the complaints about streets, this plan gives ways to answer when asked. Every block costs $300k to rebuild. It was further clarified that to fix all the streets would be approximately $60 million to repair/replace. The projects need to be reasonable, and this report helps quantify that. It was questioned why the same block of West Avenue was listed as both a 3 and a 2. It was clarified that West Avenue was chip sealed about five years ago, but that they would look into it and get back to them. It was clarified that this document is a living document and will change from year to year. It was stated that the total for 6 graded streets in the book is approximately $6 million. It was questioned how much the City was planning on spending as it was stated that the proposed project is $1.4 million. It was clarified that some of the grade 6 streets are designated urban routes and can be funded in other ways. These figures are just estimates; it will always be determined on how much is available and what the contractors bid. The other unknown is what is going to happen with the streets this winter; the scope may change. The goal is to start at grade 6 and work up the list. It has been approximately three years since the City has done a chip and crack sealing project. Those monies had gone to the E. 8th Street, E. 6th Street, and Cottonwood reconstruction projects. The goal is approximately $1 million in street maintenance this year. The question before Council is to approve KLJ to move forward on this project. If we have a mild winter and favorable bid, they may be able to add additional areas to this project. Crack sealing needs to be done before the asphalt heats up. When it's cold, the crack expands. They will be doing wide crack sealing (12 -inch width) like Billings is doing; it does a better job of keeping water from getting underneath the asphalt. The cracks hold Lip better. 3. Resolution: A Resolution Approving Amendment No. 2 To Task Order Authorizing Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, Inc. For Work Relating To The City's East Downtown Infrastructure Improvements Project Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated they have been working on the EDII project for over a year. There was talk about doing it in phases. Looking to have all the work completed by this fall. Would like to go out for bid in the Spring; this task order is for the bidding portion of the project. Matt Smith, KLJ, stated this amendment covers four things. First, the addition of four intersections that were not included in the original scope. These four intersections were discovered during the design of the project when dealing with stormwater. Second, is the bid negotiation and RPR during the construction of the roads? Third, is adding the prep of the DLA grant. The grant results will be available in January. Fourth, is subsurface exploration. Due to the depth of the project, there may be some gas, tv, and phone lines in the way. The utility companies won't move them until they are for sure in the way. Waiting for the contractor could cause significant delays in the project. The bid is expected to go out in mid-January and remain open until mid-February. There is a lot of work that needs to be done by this fall. In 2006 when the first few blocks of E. 1St Street were completed. There were issues with the gas lines and caused about a three-week delay. To be proactive and help reduce delay time, they held a utility conflict meeting. At this meeting, the proposed project was discussed, along with the potential conflicts. Looking to address private utilities in the design standards when they are under City streets. For example, if the City is replacing a road and there is a 40 -year-old gas line with a 50 -year life span. There would be a way to require replacement of that line. On Cottonwood, when crews removed the asphalt found multiple gas leaks. A Council Member stated that it is clear by the discussion this evening that the City does not have legislative laws that requires utility companies to replace their lines when replacing our infrastructure. While it's too late for this project, it does seem the City needs to look at this for future projects. Mayor Nelson stated that Public Works Director Markegard would be brought to a meeting sometime this winter to discuss what they are working on. There are progress meetings on these types of issues. Currently working on updating the design standards. The LMC will direct back to the design standards. The design standards will reflect new technologies. It was questioned if once those utilities are identified, that information will be documented so next time these lines are known and the City does not have to pay to identify them. If it was further questioned if in the subdivision regulations, growth plan, etc. if there are any thoughts on where roads are going to be and when a street is paved, the utility lines are replaced. It was clarified that that is the goal but that utility companies have to keep their bottom line in mind too. It was further stated that it is suspected that these lines are not deep enough; with the technology we have today, the City should not have to pay for potholing in the future. It was clarified that the City of Laurel wouldn't need to spend that money again. However, the contractors will have to do potholing before building for insurance reasons. Council President Eaton complimented the Public Works Director for his work on this. This has been an ongoing and long-standing project. Have discussed frequently with KLJ onboard and is bringing the City up to the 21 Century and giving a plan that is easy to read and is able to see what their street is and the category of that street. Kudos to all of those who have worked so hard on this project. Council Member Sparks stated in the past two years she has learned a lot. The Public Works Director is good at explaining things in layman's terms. KLJ has been good to work with. Council Member Wilke stated that he attended his first Public Works Committee meeting on Monday night. There was tons of information and he is excited about the plan that they are working on, and is excited to see it come forward. The Public Works Director reiterated if residents don't like something in their neighborhood to come and sit at a meeting, community members giving input is important. It's important to not only have a plan but do something with that plan and not let it sit on a shelf. Mayor Nelson stated that he is proud of all Staff. Kurt, Tim, and Matt have met with KLJ every two weeks. They have offered and asked some of the more difficult questions when presented task orders. The Public Works Director stated that the guys who show up every day who take care of the alleys, garbage, and streets. It is a tough job and could not do anything without those employees. They do a great job. 4. Resolution: Resolution Authorizing The Mayor To Execute An Agreement With Beartooth RC&D Economic Development District. Steven Simonson and Joel Bertolino, Beartooth RC&D, gave a brief overview of what they do. One of the big projects this year was the five-year plan for the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. That document is available on their website beartooth.org. They lend to businesses that are not able to get traditional financing. They currently have about $400k in Yellowstone County with three loans in Laurel. They are currently helping with the growth policy. They can help extend essential infrastructure out to the West Laurel Interchange if there is a link between jobs and infrastructure. There is a 406 -million -dollar wind farm going in down by Bridger. There are supply and housing needs of about 300 workers for this project. Area businesses may be impacted by this project. They have reached out to the Chamber regarding the influx of potential traffic. Laurel's representative has asked that they give a presentation to the Rotary Club to help get that information spread through the town. Stillwater Mine is purchasing 100 million dollars of materials locally; they are working on doubling that amount. Every dollar will circulate six or seven times before leaving a community. The last project is a regional law enforcement detentional facility. This will be an 80 to 100 -bed facility located in Carbon County. When Yellowstone had space, other counties were transporting their detained to Yellowstone's detentional facility. Now Carbon County is going as far as Broadwater County to transport detainees. Detainees from Stillwater and Sweet Grass County will also come to this facility. Joel Bertolino stated that he works with the food and ag economic development spectrum. Applied for a federal grant, a few years ago, for Miller Coors for a conservation measure for barley and sugar beet producers. The idea of the grant is to help offset any financial impact of those measures. They put in 500k for that grant over the next five years. Most changes are to the various types of irrigation. Looking to reapply for this grant soon. Asking for approval of MOU that they have had ongoing with our community and that Council recognizes the value that their organization has brought back to our community. It was stated that there was a card about LARC on Councils tables. It was questioned if a new structure would be going in on the west end of Laurel. The gym will go forward, first followed by the pool. Ken Gomer and Sue Taylor have taken the lead on that project. Infrastructure that way would be helpful. Beartooth's role in that project was to apply for a grant for a feasibility study. It was noted that Mary Carter is on their board. It was questioned how that appointment works. It was further stated that the Council doesn't get information about what Beartooth RC&D is working on until the MOU is due again. Is there a way to improve the communication between their organization and Council. It was clarified that typically the rep is the carrier for information. In smaller towns, that person is also on Council. It was further questioned if the Planner was attending these meeting. It was clarified that he attends these and Big Sky EDA. There is no term expiration for the board members for Beartooth RC&D. Mayor Nelson stated that he had met with the Planner for about an hour this morning and discussed the opportunity for grant money for extending infrastructure to the new interchange if it can be tied to employment. There are the LARC issues and also the process of creating a second TIF need to get the boundaries correct. Beartooth RC&D stated they would be happy to come back quarterly or semi-annually to give Council a report if needed. It was questioned how often they meet. It was clarified that they meet every other month. January will be in Billings. Council will be added to their email distribution list. It was questioned if Beartooth RC&D was involved with the complex that is going in on the South Side of Billings. It was further questioned how similar the LARC facility will be to that one. It was further questioned if they are building a new building or using the existing building that is down there. They will get an update on this project for Council. It requested that they give a brief overview of the proposed wind farms in our area. There are two projects in Stillwater County in the works. There could be more renewable energies coming down the pipeline. If they don't need to build a transmission line, it is a huge incentive to build north of Laurel. It was questioned what the difference between this year's fee and last year. The increase was approximately $20, which was split four ways. So not two much of an increase. It was stated that there is a value for this project. Council Issues There were none. Other Items 5. Rotary Blood Drive The Rotary is sponsoring a Blood drive on December 19th between 2:30 and 5:30 at Our Saviors Lutheran. Those interested in donating can call Vitalent at 406-248-9168. Review of Draft Council Agendas 6. Review of Draft Council Agenda for December 23, 2019. There were none. Attendance at Upcoming Council Meeting Council Member McGee will be absent from next week's Council meeting. Announcements Council was reminded next week's Budget/Finance Committee and City Council meetings are on Monday due to the holiday. A Council Member wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Public Works Committee met yesterday. It was very informative, with lots of helpful questions asked. Council Member Mountsier was encouraged to continue attending as a citizen. Council Member Sparks asked the Mayor for an update on Riverside Park and its Historic Board application. Mayor Nelson stated the update would be on January 7, 2020. The Census starts in 114 days. There needs to be education about the importance as this will affect funding. It was questioned when the City Projects tab and Online Payments would be functional. Council would like to see the website utilized to its full extent. The council workshop adjourned at 7:57 p.m. Respectfully 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. J MHOM d0 3dOOS Y, : 'm lw'-o8nrn 3m 5V C NV I, 3,NVN31NIVW 1lNo MAV., OZOZ ®❑