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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 09.15.2020MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 A Council Workshop was held in Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Nelson at 6:30 p.m. on September 15, 2020. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: _x Emelie Eaton _x_ Heidi Sparks x Bruce McGee x Richard Herr Scot Stokes _x_ Iry Wilke Richard Klose Don Nelson OTHERS PRESENT: Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director Stan Langve, Police Chief Fran Schweigert, Union 316 President Levi Vandersloot, Interim Ambulance Director Morgan Eklund, EMT Public Input: There were none. General Items Executive Review 1. Appointment of Colton McCleary to the Laurel Volunteer Ambulance Service. Levi Vandersloot, Interim Ambulance Director, introduced Colton to Council. Colton was unable to attend tonight because he was called into work. He currently works for AMR and volunteers on the LVFD. 2. Appointment of Lyndy Gurchiek as Ambulance Director of the Laurel Ambulance Service. Lyndy Gurchiek took a moment to thank Council for this opportunity. She started her EMS career 30 years ago. She has worked for small services, hospitals, and AMR. She has taught various EMT classes and worked as a clinical coordinator at AMR. She has good communication skills. She stated she would love this opportunity. Mayor Nelson stated that she has excellent networking skills and will be a great asset to the team. 3. Resolution - A Resolution Of The City Council Approving A Three -Year Agreement Between The City Of Laurel And Local Union Local 316, American Federation Of State, County And Municipal Employees, AFSCME. Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated the Union 316 comprises Public Works employees and the Court Clerks. The negotiation team was able to meet twice before COVID hit. They then met via Zoom and hammered out a 1 -year wage agreement and a 3 -year contract. There was a 2% wage increase. With COVID, it was agreed on a one-year wage agreement and then go from there. There were many language changes, mostly language simplification. One significant change was regarding the boot allowance. They will only receive when needed. Some will need their boots replaced more frequently than others. There was a differential pay increase with afternoon and night shifts, primarily at the Water Plant. It was questioned if the Union had voted and approved this agreement. It was clarified that the Union had ratified. 4. Resolution - A Resolution Approving A Task Order Between The City Of Laurel And Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, INC. For The Lions Park Improvements Project. Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated this task order is for the Lions Park fishing pier. The fishing pier will be a structural dock. This task order is to prepare the documents to go to bid. The Lions have already done a fair amount of work on this and have sent that information to KLJ. Matt Smith, KLJ, stated that the pedestrian bridge needed to be engineered to ensure it is safe to walk on. There will also be an ADA trail to that pier. With the remaining funds will construct the trail around the outside of the pond. It was questioned how the trail around the pond would be improved. It was clarified that it would be blacktopped. This is a tight budget but will put out for bid at the most opportune time to try and get a good bid. This project will be paid for in a variety of ways. First, the Lions have gotten donations and a grant through Lions International. They collected over 30k in donations. Second, there is 62k coming from the Natural Resource Damage Program. This is approximately 180k to get this work completed. 5. Resolution - A Resolution Approving Task Order 4 Between The City Of Laurel And Montana's Department Of Justice Natural Resource Damage Program For Construction Of The Lions Park Improvements. Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated that he had sent this over a few months ago and coordinated with the previous agenda item. He needed to see how this would be paid for before moving forward. Council Issues 6. Emergency Services Community Survey Council was given a survey by Chief Peters. The Emergency Services Committee needs Council Members to fill out that survey. This may dovetail into an excellent Community survey and maybe revamped to gather community input. It was questioned if Emergency Services Committee would have the Administration's blessing to create a community survey. Mayor Nelson said Emergency Services has the Administration blessing. 7. Update on Ambulance Safety Levy This can be a challenging thing to organize. Right now, there is not much of an update. They are currently looking at a March date for the actual levy to be before voters. The survey could be an essential part of this process. The survey could help voters understand the why, what, how, etc., questions. The City had looked at getting this done this past year but waited to bring forward a better proposal. 8. Replacement and Depreciation Fund for Solid Waste Discussion Mayor Nelson stated that the Clerk/Treasurer and Public Works Director's discussion had not taken place yet. They will have a chance to meet before the next Workshop. Possibly looking at a replacement fund for parks as well, in the form of a percentage of revenues they generate. 9. Uncontrolled Intersections Discussion W. Main/5th Avenue Stan Langve, Police Chief, stated he had spoken with the Planning Director about a possible traffic study out at the new interchange. This is a process with the State. JMS Crane has done an excellent job keeping traffic disruptions to a minimum. There have been no complaints to dispatch. The hope is to make W. Main and 5th Avenue a controlled intersection. Council noted that E. Bch Street had a lot of unmarked T intersections. They also noted there is a lot of children walking in this area. Council would like a yield or stop sign in these locations. It was also noted that there are no sidewalks along E. Railroad, and there seems to be a lot of pedestrian traffic on this road. It was clarified there may be some funding opportunities with the new subdivision going in off of E. 81h to address some of the concerns in this area. Mayor Nelson read the attached questions from Dave Waggoner, 419 Maple Ave. It was clarified that the windmill parts are moved when the State -issued permit allows. Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated about a month ago, there was a water hammer event. There were issues with the water being cloudy. While crews were out flushing lines, six hydrants failed. Crews are in the process of fixing those hydrants. 10. American Legion - 1 Acre Parking Lot Richard Klose stated he is speaking as an American Legion member, not as a Council Member. There is limited parking at the Cemetery, and that is a safety concern. People choose to park on Buffalo Trail Road when attending a funeral. It would be a tragic event if someone were injured attending a ceremony. If there are ceremonies at both cemeteries simultaneously, parking becomes more of an issue; see attached handouts. Asking for the land to be deeded to the American Legion, so taxpayer dollars are not used. Ken Olsen, 1702 Groshelle Boulevard, encourages Council to consider this proposal as it has value to everyone. He has been up there doing ceremonies and have observed the amount of people who park on Buffalo Trail Road. It was questioned if people would be encouraged to use this parking lot. It was clarified that people could park there for internments. People will park in the Laurel parking and walk before parking on the highway. Council was concerned about pedestrian control. It was clarified that when there are ceremonies, the gates on the north are closed, so there is no through traffic. 11. Update on West Railroad Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated that he is doing the final walk-through on the EDII project then the City will make its final payment. Then can look at the possibility of filling the gap funding for the West Railroad project. There is a significant stormwater issue that needs to be addressed. Other Items Review of Draft Council Agendas Review Draft Council Agenda for September 22, 2020. No edits to next week's Council agenda. Attendance at Upcoming Council Meeting Council Member McGee and Council Member Sparks will not be in attendance at next week's meeting. Announcements There were none. The council workshop adjourned at 7:33 p.m. Respectful3� ub 'tted, Brittney IVIo Administrative Assistant NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. 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Brittney Moorman From: Laurel MT via Laurel MT <laurel-mt@municodeweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 5:39 PM To: Brittney Moorman Subject: Dave Waggoner Submitted on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - 5:39pm Submitted by anonymous user: 72.175.116.246 Submitted values a re: Name: Dave Waggoner Address: 419 Maple Ave Public Comment: #1- Why wasn't the wind farm required to move equipment at night so they wouldn't have blocking traffic so badly Email: traprdave@juno.com The results of this submission may be viewed at: https://Iinkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fcityoflaurelmontana.com%2fnode%2fl6092%2fsubmission%2f8 71&c=E,1,J-UgBLeKMsc9_NQWO8YiVYhWno0TLDO7oSRYU3f7iAt_ZkJ21KPdIRFRcNNtaNbjGubaug6FpsA- fvlvh44TjBhe13gH6NkNeb5aZ2DdiltymggJ&typo=l Brittney Moorman From: traprdave@juno.com Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 6:56 PM To: Brittney Moorman Subject: Re: FW: Dave Waggoner Hi Brittany, yeah #2 was why has the fire hydrant at 5th and Yellowstone been bagged out of service for better than a month and a half. It's right in front of a nursing home with the nearest hydrant at least two blocks away. Not very safe for the people in the home. Thanks Dave