THE 1254th REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD ON APRIL 3, 2006 AT 7:00 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Mayor Berget called the regular meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll was called. Council members Bischoff, Bothman, Crismore, Leckrone, McElmurry and Roll, City Attorney Charles Evans and City Clerk Chris Erickson were present. Supervisor of City Services Dan Thede was absent.
Pastor Tim Jahn offered prayer.
Mr. McElmurry moved to accept the minutes from the March 6, 2006 regular meeting with one change and the March 20, 2006 special meeting as presented.
Ms. Leckrone seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
The City of Libby Planning Board requires one representative from the City Council. Bill Bischoff, the new council member, is currently serving as a board member, which would fulfill the city’s responsibility. Doug Roll had been appointed to be the representative for the City Council. As the City cannot have two representatives on the board, Mr. Bischoff decided to step down from his position on the Planning Board.
Mayor Berget reminded the council of the need to prioritize the list for the growth policy for the planning board and added it to the agenda for the April 10, 2006 special meeting.
City Attorney Chuck Evans presented a revised proposal from Fred Thompson. This item was tabled until the April 10, 2006 special meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Russ Thompson, Vice President of the American Legion Baseball, requested a grant of $9000 from the city to repair the existing bathroom facility at the ballpark. The money will be used for material only. Volunteers will donate all the labor. The organization has plans to host numerous baseball tournaments this year and in the future. In order to host specific events, a requirement is to have bathroom facilities in place. This large expense item was not budgeted in the city’s current year budget. If the request was granted, it was uncertain where any available funds could be found. This item was tabled for discussion until the April 10, 2006 special working committee meeting.
Terry Brooks, spokesman for the David Thompson Search and Rescue came before the city council requesting assistance in upgrading their new facility. Currently, the group has supplies and equipment in two different locations. They would like to move everything to their facility, that is located on city property, by summer of 2006 but the building has no utilities. He requested a waiver of building fees and water and sewer hookup fees. This item was tabled for discussion at the April 10, 2006 special working committee. A decision will be made at the May 1, 2006 regular meeting.
A request for destruction of certain city records was presented.
Mr. Crismore moved to approve destruction of specified city documents and records according to the Montana Local Government Retention and Destruction Schedule.
Mr. Bothman seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
Mr. Crismore asked for clarification of the responsibility of the city as to the procedure for payment of certain claims for special projects that were not budgeted for or had no agreement in place for reimbursement.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Cemetery/Parks – Gary Huntsberger, spokesperson for the Tree Committee shared information on the pruning seminar held in March.
City/County Liaison – Mr. McElmurry informed the council of the task force meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, 2006 to discuss a trust fund set up by W. R. Grace to assist asbestos victims in their health care costs.
Fire – Tom Wood, Fire Chief, presented the monthly fire report.
Building/Industrial Park – Ms. Leckrone reported on the EPA cleanup going on at the Old City Hall building.
Insurance – None.
Personnel – Ms. Leckrone said the city has advertised for the two seasonal employees for the street department.
Police – Officer Barnett presented the monthly police report.
Resolution/Ordinance – Mr. Crismore said he would like to change the ordinance requirements for the Tree Committee membership. Currently, the ordinance states the members must live within the city limits. He would like to allow at least two members to reside outside the city limits.
Water – There was vandalism done to some water hydrants in town with a loss of approximately 57,000 gallons of water.
Sewer/Lights – Mr. Roll reported the replacement of a short section of sewer line on Fifth Street.
Streets/Alleys – Mr. Roll reported on the water line construction currently being completed on First Street.
Sidewalks/curbs – Mr. Bothman emphasized the need to replace the sidewalk outside of the Old City Hall building as soon as EPA completes the cleanup.
Budget/Finance – Ms. Leckrone reminded the council of the first budget meeting for fiscal year 2006-07 scheduled for Monday, April 10, 2006 at 6:00 p.m.
Judicial – None.
Union Negotiations – None.
RC&D – Mr. Crismore said the next meeting is in Kalispell on April 10, 2006.
Mr. Roll moved to pay the claims as presented.
Ms. Leckrone seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
HEAR THE PUBLIC
Mr. Huntsberger encouraged the city council to consider assisting the American Legion to refurbish the bathroom facility possibly utilizing funds from the LADC account.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Anthony J. Berget, Mayor
Chris A. Erickson, City Clerk
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD ON APRIL 10, 2006 AT 6:00 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Mayor Anthony Berget called the special meeting to order at 6:02 and led the pledge of allegiance. Roll was called. Council members Bothman, Crismore, Leckrone, Bischoff, McElmurry and Roll, City Services Supervisor Dan Thede, and City Clerk Chris Erickson were present. City Attorney Charles Evans was absent.
OLD BUSINESS
The easement request by Fred Thompson was briefly discussed. It was decided individual easements would rectify the situation.
Mr. Roll moved to grant a 40-foot easement to Fred Thompson for the portion of land that a corner of the building currently sits on and Mr. Thompson would grant a 40-foot easement to the city to allow for snow removal.
Mr. McElmurry seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
The City of Libby Planning Board had submitted a list of priorities for the Growth Policy. The City Council designated the top two categories they wanted the Planning Board to focus on and was asked to prioritize the balance of the list. The list of priorities in order of importance was decided upon as follows:
Public Facilities, Economics, Land Uses, Local Services, Housing Needs, Natural Resources and Population.
NEW BUSINESS
Chief of Police Clay Coker has a couple of vehicles that had been abandoned and/or impounded for which he has received the title. The Safe Kid Program at the Libby Public Schools donates a car each year to a high school graduate that has been drug and alcohol free. He would like to donate the vehicles to that program. The vehicles could then be sold with the proceeds going toward the purchase of a newer model vehicle, which will be donated, to the recipient. This would be the donation from the City of Libby toward that program.
Mr. Roll moved to donate the two vehicles to the Safe Kids Program at the Libby Public Schools.
Mr. Crismore seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
Ron Carter asked that the City Council review the labor and material bids submitted with the Streetscape Plan proposal. He believed that local vendors and contractors could be more competitive with the costs.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:28 p.m.
____________________________________
Anthony J. Berget, Mayor
Chris A. Erickson, City Clerk
____________________________________
WORKING COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LIBBY APRIL 10, 2006 (immediately following the special meeting) WAS HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
The working committee meeting convened at 6:29 p.m.
The American Legion’s request for assistance for a bathroom addition to the park was discussed. The general consensus of the city council was that this project should be a joint effort between the city, the county and the parks district. Projects of this magnitude needed to be budgeted for, as no funds had been set-aside in the current budget. Mr. Crismore suggested funding the project through the LADC fund. It was agreed the council would table the decision until the regular meeting in May to allow time to verify if any excess funds could be found in the current year budget for assistance.
Mr. Roll inquired about the posting date for oil and gas bids. He would like it to be in conjunction with the County bids so the bidding for both entities would be fair to all local vendors.
David Thompson Search and Rescue had come before the city council at the April 3rd regular meeting requesting assistance in water and sewer hookups to the city facility they currently lease. Dan Thede stated there was probably enough six-inch water line left from the Johnston Acre project that could be used. The sewer line would have to be engineered, as the grade must be right for proper operation. Again the request for assistance falls outside the current budget. The city council requested an itemized cost estimate for the proposed work to be presented at the May 1, 2006 regular meeting.
The city council was in agreement that in the future, any projects that require the assistance of city funds should be outlined in writing so all parties know what costs will be incurred and what donations will be required. Verbal agreements will be no longer be acceptable.
Mr. Crismore requested that part 3, section 4 of the City Council Rules of Procedures be revisited by the council. He is not in agreement regarding the affirmative vote and would like input from the city attorney as to the correctness of the rule.
The insurance premiums from Montana Municipal Insurance Authority were reviewed. The medical benefits will increase from last year. The current health plan the City of Libby has will be obsolete in fiscal year 2006. A representative from MMIA will come during May 2006 to review the various plans offered and to assist the employees in choosing the best plan for health benefits for the coming year. The process of reporting workers’ compensation claims was reviewed. The worker’s compensation modification factor for the new fiscal year was discussed.
No public input was offered.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.