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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Workshop Minutes 12.15.2020MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020 A Council Workshop was held via Zoom and called to order by Mayor Tom Nelson at 6:32 p.m. on December 15, 2020. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Emelie Eaton x_ Heidi Sparks Bruce McGee _x_ Richard Herr _ Scot Stokes Iry Wilke x Richard Klose x Don Nelson OTHERS PRESENT: Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director Stan Langve, Police Chief Brent Peters, Fire Chief Public Input: There were none. General Items 1. Appointment to Yellowstone Historic Preservation Board for a two-year terra ending December 31, 2022. Mayor Nelson stated the only person to submit a letter of interest for the Board opening was Evan Bruce. 2. Appointment to Park Board for a four-year term ending December 31, 2024. Mayor Nelson stated there are three vacancies. The City has received two letters of interest. One from Council Member Herr and the other from Phyllis Bromgard. Council Member Stokes is the Board Chair. He stated he will be reaching out to him to see if he is still interested in serving on this Board. It was questioned if Richard Herr was already on the Park Board. It was clarified he is asking to be reappointed. The opening is a Council Member opening currently filled by Council Member Stokes. 2. Appointment to the Laurel Urban Renewal Advisory Board for a four-year term ending December 31, 2024. Mayor Nelson stated there is one vacancy. The City received one letter of interest from Diane Lehm asking for reappointment to the Board. 3. Appointment to the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency for a four-year term ending December 31, 2024. (2 vacancies) Mayor Nelson stated there are two openings. The City received two letters of interest. One from Dan Klein is asking for reappointment to the Board. The second from Dennis Eaton asking to fill one of the vacancies. Executive Review 5. Resolution - A Resolution Of The City Council Authorizing The Mayor To Sign A Memorandum Of Understanding With The United States Marshals Service For Participation In The Fugitive Task Force Program. Stan Langve, Police Chief, stated this is a mutual aid agreement. There is no cost to the City, but it does add a layer of protection. Detective Brew fully supports this agreement. They are working the same scene with the same people; it makes sense to have a mutual aid agreement. It also allows our department to assist agencies outside of our jurisdiction as needed via the mutual aid agreement. It was questioned if this MOU has been in place in the past. It was clarified that it had come up in the past. This is a piece of housekeeping and adds an extra layer of protection for the City. Chief Langve has spoken with the resident agent in charge of the DEA Taskforce. The two agencies work the same scene with the same people. It could have been done in the past; it just had not been done yet. Mayor Nelson stated recently; there was a shooting that involved members of the Marshalls Service and the Billings Police Department who were working with them. Laurel PD could be in the same type of situation. 6. Resolution - Task Order - Yellowstone River Crossing Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated this is a task order replacing the waterline that goes to Riverside Park. The waterline froze in 2008 or 2009;- and that spring, it ruptured. At the time, it was costly to replace. Put in a $3200 pipe on the inside and had Ace Electric pull that pipe through with their cable truck. It is not a stable way to get water over there. This task order is to replace the line with an insulated pipe. It is a 4 -inch pipe; they did look at replacing a 6 -inch line to have fire flow. This task order will have KLJ design the project and then go out to bid. The money has been budgeted and is the match for the campground. We have been working on this for a few years to get water to Riverside Park. Mayor Nelson stated this is part of the Park Master Plan and part of the match to complete the campground. Council Issues 7. Update on West Railroad Kurt Markegard, Public Works Director, stated he, the Mayor, and the Clerk/Treasurer met with the DOT to review the Urban funds' balance. Currently, there are $4.1 million in the fund. The rate of inflation is exceeding the cost of the project. The DOT wants to know what commitment Laurel has to fund the gap. Staff and the Mayor expressed that West Railroad is still the number one priority for the Urban Route funds. Talked about stormwater and utilities. There is an additional funding source through a TA Grant. The TA Grant is due in February if the Federal budget is passed. Important for congress to act and get that funded. They let the DOT know that the Council has made it clear they do not want the project cut up. The project needs to be from lst to 8t". There was discussion about not doing curb, gutter, and sidewalk for the project's full length to reduce the cost of the project. If they do not do curb and gutter, they do not need to address the stormwater as the water would shed into the southside. Once the EDII project is complete, we can look at what funding is available through the TIF District. The first five blocks are part of the TIF District. The Mayor, Public Works Director, and Clerk/Treasurer will meet in January to discuss what funding options are available through the TIF District. Will meet with DOT in February. Everyone is still interested in moving this project forward. It was questioned how much the City would save if they do not do curb and gutter. It is not clear how much they would be saving. They were brainstorming ways to reduce the cost. One side of the street could suffice for the sidewalk. It may not need on both sides. There is some foot traffic on this stretch of road. Hope to discuss at Public Works Committee in January and look at what costs can be shaved off this project. KLJ is working on the storinwater on the southside. The goal is to get the streets, including infrastructure, done on the southside. Can't start addressing the streets down there until the stormwater has been addressed. They did talk about the Build Program if we could use Build dollars. The same as the Tiger Grant. The State is asking for $20 million for their projects. This is a possibility. Not sure how successful Laurel would be requesting a Build Grant. Dependent on the Federal budget passing. Other Items Brent Peters, Fire Chief, stated yesterday morning, Laurel Volunteer Fire Department responded to a single -vehicle rollover involving a semi located on the Interstate near S. 8"' Ave. Another semi hit Squad 5 on the scene. Squad 5 is a heavy rescue truck. It sustained quite a bit of damage. It ripped part of the tanker's trailer open as well. The other trucker received a failure to yield and reckless as well. A firefighter was on top of Squad 5 approximately 2 mins before being struck. This incident could have been far worse. The mechanic has looked at the vehicle and stated it is still drivable. It is back into operable condition and will still use going forward. The goal when purchasing this truck was that it could take a hit on the Interstate and protect the first responders on the scene. When it was purchased, we only needed to pay shipping which was approximately $8,900. A claim has been filled with MMIA. Mayor Nelson stated he heard this unfold over the scanner and is grateful no one was injured. About three weeks ago, another Highway Patrol Vehicle was hit. They had a near miss a few weeks ago where a firefighter was about 1.5 feet away from a trailer that was sliding. That was about 9 hours before the two tow truck drivers were struck and killed. Going to legislation next year asking for stricter penalties for not moving over for emergency vehicles. Currently, the fine is $80; in other states, it is as high as $2k. Review of Draft Council Agendas 8. Draft Council Agenda for December 22, 2020. There were no changes to the agenda. Attendance at Upcoming Council Meeting All present will be at next week's meeting Announcements Mayor Nelson announced the open vacancies. Vacancies include Police Commission, Public Works Committee, Cemetery Commission, Park Board, City/County Planning Board, and Tree Board. There is a Wreath's Across America ceremony this Friday at Noon. Due to the restrictions, they will be placing wreaths on headstones Saturday at 10 a.m. There are over 900 wreaths to be placed. The December Public Works Committee has been canceled. The next meeting will be on January 11, 2021. Council stated they were grateful no one was injured in the accident. Dianne Lehm stated she was on another meeting earlier on the agenda. She briefly introduced herself to Council. The council workshop adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Resp ctfiul 4�Afitted, Brittne norma f! t 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.