HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 01.18.1977_ _ _ ft~ -
Minutes of the Cit Council of Laurel I~'~~
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January 18, 1977 I
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A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Mont.,
was held in the Council Chambers and called to order b Ma or Louis M Y
at 7:Od o'clock, P.M., on Tuesday, January 18, 1977. y ~ ovetzch, ~,I
i Upon taking roll call, the following aldermen answered present:
Tom Hard Gay Easton Chuck Rodgers Sue Carter Tom Kilpatrick
Ervin Metzger E.H. Ebersviller, Sr. Herman Michael
The minutes of the previous meeting of January 4th, were read. The Mayor asked that the following be inserted in ~o the minutes. That Herman's
statements about the city's finances made publicly was the conflict of interest ~I
and tahy he asked for his resignation. Also how many of those Easton's, Olson's ~I
and Herman's do I have to beat before they except me as mayor or know that they
have been beat. Motion was made by Kilpatrick and seconded by Hard that the
minutes be approved as corrected. Motion carried.
Certain reports of the City of Laurel, were presented for approval I~
as follows: City Clerk's Cash Report, City Clerk's Trial Balance and the City
Treasurer`s Financial Statement for the month of December. Motion was made by li
Metzger and seconded by Michael that these reports be approved. Motion carried. 'i
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Clerk read a resolution on S.I.D. No. 94 and 95 regarding the revolving fund. Motion was made by Michael and seconded by Hard that these Resolutions
be tabled until our attorney has a chance to study them. Motion carried. 'i
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This being the time and place advertised for. the opening of the bids II
on the renovation of the water plant, the clerk was asked to open and read all
bids which was done as follows: ~I
Spildie Construction Company $176,752.00 III
Cop Construction Company $156,954.0(3 ~
Stephen J. Kenney $166,852.79
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With Dave McCullough not being present, motion was made by Kilpatrick and ~i
seconded by Michael that these bids be referred to committee to report back at the next meeting. Motion carried. I,
The Mayor stated that he had several comments that he would like to
make ~t this time and read the following:
The Mayor is the Chief Exscutiv~'o€ficer of a municipality. He is the presiding officer of the Council but has no council vote. I dill
repeat - A Mayor-has no Council vote, except to break all tie votes. A
Mayor has the right of vita but must present the reason of his action, in
writing, at the next council meeting or his veto is invalid. A Mayor may
introduce, recommend or suggest legislation but has ~o vote on the passage of i
same. The Council, not the Mayor, sets city policy. All legislative powers are vested in the council. The Mayor can see that policy is enforced. Members
of the Council have no valid reason to be afraid of the Mayor. The Mayor has
no jurisdiction over the council, but the council can remove the Mayor for
neglect of office or other unusual behavior. One of the primary duties of a ~
Mayor is to present each session of council with a report on the state of affairs
of the city and any recommendations deemed proffer. Another important duty is ~
to present a financial statement of the city once every three months.
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The Mayor also reported on the financial condition of the city. He stated that
as of December 30th all the funds are in the black and the budget is balanced;
He also said they would be this way in April when his term expires. Louie stated ~
that in 1975 the city paid over $430,.000.00 in wages and in 1976 we paid over
$550,000.00. The Mayor suggested the possibility of cutting back some of the
employees. He also suggested having a disbursing officer to oversee everything j that is purchased. No one would spend a dime until it goes through this officer. ~
Carter stated that she would like to see the council as a whole be the ones to
oversee all expenditures. It was suggested that the finance committee take this
over. One member could give the authority on the small items with the bigger:: i
things to go the entire committee. Motion cvas made by Michael and seconded by
Carter that the finance committee take this over. After further discussion, Michel amended his motion to have one member from the finance committee in charge.
Seconded by Easton. Amendment carried with Ebersviller voting "NO". Main motion
carried unanimously. Motion was then made by Kilpatrick and seconded by Hard ~
that the personnel committee take a look into the possibility of .cutting the
payroll. Motion carried.
Kilpatrick reported ~~a~t Dave M,~Cullough was here naw and made a
motion to take the water plant bids off the table. Seconded by Hard. Motion
carried. McCullough and Beven took the bids to go over the figures and study
them and come back later with a recommendation..
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Minutes of the City Council of Laurel I'I
Allen Bond appeared before the council in regards to Middle Yellow-
stone Areawide Planning Organization (MYSPO}. He handed out some literature
to the Mayor and Council and stated that he would like to come back some other
time to sl~e~°«a mov e:a~d-~g ve a thorough explanation as to what is being. done. The Mayar thanked Al and told hi.m to let us know when he would like to come II
back. I
Michael asked permission to attend a solid waste school tomorrow
morning in Billings and to take two men with him. Motion was made by Kilpatrick i,
and seconded by Hard that Michael and twa men be allowed to attend. Motion ail
carried.
Michael stated that since Sohn McMartin was not here he would like to I~
table the matter of the Giblin -Pelican Platt. ~I
Hard reported on the right-to-work law. Hard made a motion that the ail
council go on record as being opposed to the right-to-work law when it comes ~I before the legislature. Seconded by EbersviZler. Motion carried.
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Dick Metzger asked permission to attend a seminar at Tractor & Equipment
for operation and repair of equipment. He would like to take 2 men with him.
Motion was made by Michael and seconded by Hard that Metzger and 2 men be allowed
to attend. Motion carried.
Carter reported on-t-h~ Seniar Citizens Center. She state that they
have set up new by-laws and a constitution and are currently in the process of
fixing up the old Gem Floral Building. She also suggested that the council
possibly consider some funding for the center at next budget time.
Kathleen Phillips appeared before the council in regards to the location of the new post office. She presented petitions from people objecting
to the location. The Mayor stated that he has been trying to find out whats
been going on but can't seem to get any information from the Billings office
or the Post Office here in town. xe stated that some people know what's going
on but the city administration has been shrouded in secrecy. Easton stated that
the people from the Post Office were here early in December and. talked to Montee regarding the water and sewer lines in this area. The Mayor stated that he
would like to see the council stop all action at this time until we get further
explanation and clarification on some o€ the issues. A Mr. Svarin read the
following letter:
To: The Laurel City Council I
We, Wayne and Linda Svaren, wish to go on record as being very much
opposed to the site chosen far the new post office (the six hundred block. of
].st Avenue directly across €rom Thompson Park).
We recently purchased a residence at 601 2nd Ave. which would be in
the same block as the new post office if it weze constructed on the currently chosen site. Although we will be directly affected by this construction, we
were ne=t~her contacted in regard to it; nor did we find it possible to gather
any information about what was happening in this area until very recently. We
feel that our rights have been totally ignored in this matter. We believed that
our home was protected by zoning laws. The zoning laws have been, to this point,
ccompletely ignored.
VUL ~7eL ~V 1cY1 LCCL~Vi15 YVL V~~VS ily .tic ~i.vNvocv Nvaa. v.~s~. a.c iVVG biVii
are: (1) increased traffic, (2) noise of early morning mail trucks, (3) decreased b property value, and (4) the decreased desirability of living in a commercialized.
area. Other reasons fog opposition are of interest to the entire community:
(1) An increased tra€fic hazard to small children in the area of the Fred Graff
School and Laurel's larc}est city park, including the swimming pool, (2) increased
potential for traffic accidents in the high school area, and (3j the inconvenience
of removing the post office from the logical downtown location which would be
most easily accessable to post office users. ~
I Approximately two years ago we purchased our home, located on a corner
lot close to the park, the grade school, the hight school, and the junior. high
~ school. We paid for the desirability of that location. We would never have j
t chosen a site which was near a post office. In twa brief years, the description
~ of our property could read, "directly behind the post office". This clearly means a reduction in property value and the probability of a large financial
loss. We purchased our home six blocks from downtown in a residentially zoned.
f district because we do not wish to 1~ve in a commercial area. Now we face loosing
our residential district without a change to {fight for it. We hope the elected
officials of Laurel will back us by insisting that this move be made in a legal
fashion and not be forced upon us by secrecy and power politics.
I Sincerely, ~I
(signed) Wayne ~.nd Linda Svaren
Motion was made by Kilpatrick and seconded by Hard to write a letter to our 'I
congressmen and the Postal Department asking them to stop all work until we
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Minutes of the City Council of Laurel
have further explanation as to what's gainq on and that we would like a
public hearing. Motion carried. I
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Easton reported on a letter from the B.~i. concerning the water ~ line along Roundhouse Raad. The water committee to meet with the B.N. during
the week of February 3rd, to study this matter. 'i
"bThe Mayor introduced our new attorney, Frank Richter. Motion was
made by Ebersviller and seconded by Hard to accept the Mayor's. appointment on
a temporary basis. Motion carried.. I
The Mayor stated that this was the time and place advertised for the I'~
Public Hearing on the Community Development Block Grant. There were no pro- I
testors present.
The Mayor reported that Mace with the Minimum
Standards of the Montana Platting and Subdivision Act in Block 2 and 3 MaLit Subdivision. Motion was made by Hard and seconded by Metzger to write a letter
to Mace asking him to comply with this act. Motion carried.
The Mayor read a letter from our attorney as follows: ~I
Hon. Mayor Louie M. Yovetich II City of Laurel
Laurel, Mont.- 59044
Dear Mayor Yovetich: ~
The planning consultant for the City of Laurel, John McMartin, has requested that I give him an opinion concerning a request far annexation
by one other than the City of Laurel. The following; therefore, will be my
opinion concerning the requirements for the resident freeholder and also the
obligations of the City of Laurel concerning a request for annexation by a
resident freeholder.
ANNEXATION BY REQUEST OF FREEHOLDERS
Section 11-517, R.C.M. 1947, as amended, requires that the:
(lj Real property must be contiguous to the city.
(2) The resident freeholders must file a petition bearing 51$ of the signatures of the resident
freeholders of the area sought to be annexed.
(3} The petition must request the municipality to
consider annexation.
(4} The municipality has sixty (60) days in which to act upon this petition.
Under the Montana cases of Penland vs. City of Missoula, 132 M.
591, 318 P. 2d 10$9 and Brodie vs. City of Missoula, 155 M. 18-5. 468 P.
2d 778, the city council has the discretion to determine whether or not it
is in the best interest of the city and its inhabitants that the new area be annexed.
Section 11-523, R._C.M., 194?, as amended, sets forth the right of court review when an area is not annexed. Basically, the city may reject annexation
for any one of the following reasons:
(1) If essential municipal services and facilities are not
available ~o the inhabitants of such territory.
(2) The municipality is physically or financially unable to
prouide municipal services to the area sought to be
annexed.
(3) If at least ane eighth of the aggregate external boundaries
of the territory sought to be annexed is not contiquaus to the boundaries of the municipality.
The question has also been raised as to the cost of annexation
specifically the cost of plans provided under section 11-518.. Section 11-51$,
provides that a municipality exercising authority undex the planned Community
Development Act of 1973 shall make plans for the extension of services to the
area preposed to be annexed. It is my opinion that if the city is without the necessary funds to do the planning as provided for in section 11-518, the city
may refuse annexation to the requesting freeholders. The reason is provided
under Section 11-523 subsection 2; in essence, if the city does not have the
I funds for said planning it does not have to proceed with the annexation and the
city council may in its discretion reject the request for annexation. I
~ If there are any further questions in this regard please do not
hesitate to centact me. .(signed) Frank C. Richter
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Minutes of the City Council of Laurel I''~
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The Mayor stated ,that he would like to appoint a safety committee.
Ken Beven, Carl. Manweiler and Ken Kerr. Motion was made by Hard and seconded
by Rodgers to accept the mayors appointment. Motion carried..
Dave McCullough r.e~orted on the bids and stated that they were all
substantially higher than he had hoped:. Matior~ was made by Kilpatrick and
seconded by Rodgers to hold off for awhile and call a committee meeting.. Motion
carried.
There being no further business to come before the council at this time, motion was made by Metzger and seconded by Ebersviller that the meeting ~i
be adjourned.. Motion carried.
S~iaron L. Herman De ut Cit Clerk ~ I
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Approved by the Mayor and pas d y t 'ty Council of the City ~I
of Laurel, Montana, this 1st day of Fe ua , 977. '~I
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ouis M. Y Mayor
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ATTEST: ~I
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Dorothy P. umdy, City Clerk i
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