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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 02.11.2020FEBRUARY 11, 2020 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Tom Nelson at 6:33 p.m. on February 11, 2020. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: OTHER STAFF PRESENT: Emelie Eaton Scot Stokes Richard Klose Bruce McGee Heidi Sparks Richard Herr Iry Wilke Don Nelson Bethany Langve, Clerk/Treasurer Mayor Nelson led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Mayor Nelson asked the council to observe a moment of silence. MINUTES: Motion by Council Member Stokes to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 28, 2020, as presented, seconded by Council Member Eaton. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. CORRESPONDENCE: Laurel Airport Authority Minutes of November 26, 2019. COUNCIL DISCLOSURE OF EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS: None. PUBLIC HEARING: ® East Downtown Infrastructure Improvement Project Public Hearing Mayor Nelson stated this is the time and place set for the public hearing on the City of Laurel's East Downtown Infrastructure Improvement Project. Mayor Nelson opened the public hearing. Mayor Nelson opened the floor for public comment and asked that Staff present the item. Bethany Langve, Clerk/Treasurer, stated this is the preliminary resolution approving the Mayor and herself to send out fact sheets to the five banks in town. Those banks are Western Security Bank, Altana Federal Credit Union, First Interstate Bank, Yellowstone Bank, and SEG Federal Credit Union. Bid opening is scheduled for Thursday when they find out how much the bids will determine how much the bond needs to be. They will fill in the dates that we need the quotes back by and how much the bond is that we are going to sell it for. Then they will send it out to the five banks; they will get us back a quote. Those will be due back around the 28`x', then determine who is going to give the City the best interest and best terms. She will get it to the Mayor to get it to the Council to review and give the final approval. Mayor Nelson stated that the City would not award bids till a certain day period. Bethany clarified last she heard right around the middle of March. Council will probably see the bond sale and the bid award at the same meeting. She has spoken with two banks in two and will speak with the other three tomorrow, so they all know this is coming. Council Member Wilke questioned if the banks the Clerk/Treasurer had visited with seem to be interested. The Clerk/Treasurer stated this is a large bond that is a tax-exempt bond. Typically, they are SID bonds and are not this large. This makes it very favorable. Council Minutes of February 11, 2020 Mayor Nelson stated that copies of the rules governing the public hearing were posted in the council chambers. Mayor Nelson asked three times if there were any proponents. There were none. Mayor Nelson asked three times if there were any opponents. There were none. Mayor Nelson asked Staff to respond to any relevant questions. There were none. Mayor Nelson closed the public hearing. CONSENT ITEMS: * Claims for the month of January 2020 in the amount of $309,838.12. A complete listing of the claims and their amounts is on file in the Clerk/Treasurer's Office. 0 Clerk/Treasurer Financial Statements for the month of December 2019. 0 Approval of Payroll Register for PPE 1/26/2020, totaling $167,901.42. @ Approval of Workshop Minutes of January 21, 2020. The mayor asked if there was any separation of consent items. There was none. Motion by Council Member Eaton to approve the consent items as presented, seconded by Council Member Sparks. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. CEREMONIAL CALENDAR: None. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Budget/Finance Committee minutes of January 28, 2020, were presented. ® Cemetery Commission minutes of December 18, 2019, were presented. Public Works Committee minutes of January 22, 2020, were presented. Safety Committee minutes of January 28, 2020, were presented. ® Park Board minutes of January 2, 2020, were presented. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION (THREE-MINUTE LIMIT): None. SCHEDULED MATTERS: ® Appointment of Colton McCleary and Kently Kuntz to the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department. Motion by Council Member Nelson to approve the Mayor's appointment of Colton McCleary and Kently Kuntz to the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department, seconded by Council Member Sparks. There was no public comment. It was questioned if there were three names on last week's Workshop agenda for this appointment. It was clarified that was a different appointment; there were only two names listed on last week's Workshop agenda for this appointment. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. ® Resolution No. R20-05: A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing City Staff To Nominate Riverside Park For Inclusion On The National Registry Of Historic Places. Motion by Council Member Klose to approve Resolution No. R20-05, seconded by Council Member Wilke. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. 2 0 Council Minutes of February 11, 2020 Resolution No. R20-06: Resolution Approving Certain Public Infrastructure Improvements In The Laurel Urban Renewal District As An Urban Renewal Project; Making Findings With Respect Thereto And Approving The Issuance Of Tax Increment Urban Renewal Bonds To Pay Costs Thereof; Preliminarily Authorizing The Issuance And Private Negotiated Sale Of Bonds And Authorizing The Process For Selecting A Purchaser Thereof Motion by Council Member Sparks to approve Resolution No. R20-06, seconded by Council Member Klose. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. Resolution No. R20-07: A Resolution Authorizing The Mayor To Execute A Contract For The City's Prosecutor Duties Between The City Of Laurel And Lore Law Firm PLLC. Motion by Council Member Herr to approve Resolution No. R20-07, seconded by Council Member Klose. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA: None. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS (ONE -MINUTE LIMIT): None. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Public Works Committee's next meeting is moved to February 19, 2020, at 6 p.m. in the Council Conference Room due to the holiday. Council requested a follow-up discussion on the West Railroad Street project and the items that the Public Works Director had brought forth. The Park Board Chair stated that Thursday's meeting went well. The plans should be done soon and should be out to bid shortly, and that camping is coming soon. MAYOR UPDATES: Mayor Nelson stated he did not know why the Council meeting was not broadcasted on Facebook live by the Laurel Outlook this evening. He did tell them that our sound system is not working well with their system; it is causing them problems. The sound system has been purchased with public funds and should not be used for a private entity to connect to. They can provide their own microphone. They could have stayed and broadcasted the meeting and fully expected them to. The City is looking into broadcasting its own meetings as well. Bethany Langve, Clerk/Treasurer, stated there had been talks about changing the mics. They pick up paper ruffling and shuffling. Can look into clip -on mics, they would catch less of the background noise. We will look into a few options and bring forward options. UNSCHEDULED MATTERS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Council Member Wilke to adjourn the council meeting, seconded by Council Member Eaton. There was no public comment or council discussion. A vote was taken on the motion. All seven council members present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0. There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 6:54 p.m. Brittn'ey Moo an, Administrative Assistant Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 25th day of February 2020. Rt7V Council Minutes of February 11, 2020 Thomas C. elson, Mayor Attest: Bethany L ve, erk/Treasurer Y -O