THE 1266th REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD ON APRIL 2, 2007 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, Supervisor of City Services Dan Thede and City Clerk Chris Erickson were present. City Attorney Charles Evans was absent.
Reverend Paul Alspaw of the Libby Christian Church offered prayer.
Mr. McElmurry moved to accept the minutes of the March 5, 2007 regular meeting and the Breakfast Meeting of March 28, 2007 as presented.
Ms. Leckrone seconded the motion.
Motion passed unanimously.
Resolution No. 1678 Accepting the Gift of Hamann Avenue from Lincoln County was read. This resolution was tabled to allow the public an opportunity to discuss and concerns.
The public was given a chance to speak about items listed on the agenda. No public asked to speak.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The finance committee presented a recommendation to adjust certain fees the City of Libby currently charges for rental of the Ponderosa room, cemetery opening and closings, business license fees and Fireman’s Park camping fees. City Attorney Charles Evans will incorporate the changes on a resolution.
There are currently two open volunteer positions for city representation on the Airport Board. Ron Denowh of 293 Frazie Road and John Dunham both expressed interest to serve.
Mr. Roll moved to accept the applications of Ron Denowh and John Dunham to serve on the Airport Board.
Mr. Crismore seconded the motion.
Motion passed unanimously.
Bill Buxton of Morrison-Maierle, Inc. presented an update of the Cabinet Heights Wastewater project. As he stated, no federal funding was earmarked for the 2006 budget. Therefore, he had to reapply in 2007 for funding for this project. There will be about 3-4 months of field work to perform in the spring prior to the actual start of the project. He said the funding mechanisms are starting to fall into place and he anticipates that USDA Rural Development will come through with either a grant or loan to assist with the project.
NEW BUSINESS
Debt service for the Rural Development loan/grant proposal was discussed. The city has two options to fund the project: an income survey can be conducted for the area of the proposed project; or, the project can be funded city-wide by all rate payers. An income survey was done in the past for a previous project and had very little response. If the project is funded by the rate payers city-wide, an amount of approximately $3.26 will be added to each sewer account monthly. This would not include revenue from the TIF funds or other funding mechanisms. This process would also eliminate a variety of different fee schedules that would be needed if the income survey process were chosen. Rural Development required the city council to agree to the debt service in order to move the application forward. This action would not determine which process would be put in place. The action would only give council approval that the City of Libby is committed to satisfy the debt and move the application through the process.
Mr. Crismore moved to approve the debt service for the Rural Development loan/grant application.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion passed unanimously.
D.C. Orr, 1117 Nevada Avenue, was in favor of the project but commented on clarity of issues presented to the public.
The Libby Volunteer Fire Department applied for a grant to fund the necessary equipment needed when becoming involved with fires and rescues at homes in the area that contain asbestos.
Joyce Vogel, 645 N. Central, operator of the Family Birth Center requested a variance to conduct business from a residence at 516 Louisiana Avenue. She stated there would be only a few births monthly and four to five prenatal exams monthly. The facility is close to the hospital in case of an emergency need. The council did request that she relocate the sign in front of the building.
Ms. Leckrone moved to accept the application for variance to remain as long as this business is conducted from the location.
Mr. Roll seconded the motion.
Motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Berget asked the council to create an ad hoc committee to adopt a cell phone use policy for city employees. Currently, most departments have individual cell phones but all are on the same policy with Alltel Communications. The mayor’s cell phone is on a separate plan with unlimited nationwide calling. The other phones have a plan with limited areas and specific monthly minutes are allowed. Currently, the city pays all the bills except any roaming charges that are incurred, which are billed individually. Mr. Crismore, Mr. Bothman and Mr. Bischoff will review the request and develop a policy for council approval.
Request for Qualifications for engineering services were submitted for the Cabinet Heights Wastewater project. Three engineering firms responded. According to Dan Thede, two firms met the qualification requirements. Interviews are scheduled for Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at which time a decision will be made and the firm will be notified.
COUNCIL ACTION/DISCUSSION
Mayor Berget announced the impending resignation of City Clerk Chris Erickson. He would like to interview and hire as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for training. He would also like to insure the new city clerk can attend the institute in Billings in May. The job opening will be announced in-house and then at the job service if no interest is expressed in-house.
Union negations are being scheduled. Mr. Crismore said he does not have time to serve on the committee. Mr. Bothman, Mr. Roll and Mr. Bischoff will participate.
Senator Baucus will be in Libby on Thursday, April 5, 2007 to conduct a public meeting.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
CEMETERY/PARKS – None.
CITY/COUNTY LIAISON – None.
FIRE – Mr. Roll expressed concern from the Lincoln County Rural Fire. Since annexation occurred in Cabinet Heights, some of their funding has been cut. Libby Volunteer Fire Department proposed to contract with them for use of one of the tenders for an amount of $2100 annually to be paid quarterly. The calculation is the number of homes affected which is 60 multiplied by the amount of revenue lost which was $35 per residence per year. City Attorney Charles Evans will prepare a contract.
BUILDING/INDUSTRIAL PARK – None.
INSURANCE – None.
PERSONNEL – None.
POLICE – Mayor Berget read the monthly report.
RESOLUTIONS/ORDINANCES – None.
WATER – None.
SEWER/LIGHTS – None.
STREETS/ALLEYS – None.
SIDEWALKS/CURBS – None.
BUDGET/FINANCE – None.
JUDICIAL – None.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS – None.
Ms. Leckrone moved to pay the claims as presented.
Mr. McElmurry seconded the motion.
Motion carried unanimously.
HEAR THE PUBLIC
None expressed interest.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m.
Anthony J. Berget, Mayor
Chris A. Erickson, City Clerk
SPECIAL MEETING OF LIBBY CITY COUNCIL COUNCIL CHAMBERS-CITY HALL APRIL 11, 2007 – 6 P.M.
Present: Mayor Tony Berget, Bill Bischoff, Doug Roll, Lee Bothman, Walt McElmurry, Stuart Crismore, Charlene Leckrone (midpoint) and Supervisor of City Services Dan Thede. Public: Peggy Williams.
The meeting was to interview engineering firms bidding on the Cabinet Heights Wastewater project.
Presentations were made by APEC Inc. represented by Ryan Jones at 6pm, followed by Morrison- Maierle at 7pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Peggy Williams, Guest
SPECIAL MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS-CITY HALL APRIL 16, 2007 – 7 P.M.
Mayor Berget called the special meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Roll was called. Council members Bothman, Crismore, Bischoff, Leckrone, McElmurry, Roll, City Attorney Charles Evans, City Services Supervisor Dan Thede and Deputy City Clerk Tanya Gehrke were present.
Mayor Berget read Resolution No. 1678 approving the receipt by gift of Hamann Avenue.
Mr. McElmurry moved to accept Resolution No. 1678 as read.
Ms. Leckrone seconded the motion.
Motion passed unanimously.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Mr. Roll made a motion to accept APEC Engineering’s proposal for the Cabinet Heights Wastewater Project.
Mr. McElmurry seconded the motion.
Several concerns were brought up. APEC Engineering has only a part time grant writer and a project of this size could take 60 to 100 hours of grant writing. Also mentioned was the fact that Morrison-Maierle has already done most of the planning so far.
Ms. Leckrone asked to be excused from voting because she was unable to attend the original meeting with APEC Engineering and Morrison-Maierle.
Motion failed with the following votes: Mr. Roll-aye, Mr. McElmurry-aye, Mr. Bothman-nay, Mr. Crismore-nay, Mr. Bischoff-nay and Ms. Leckrone-abstain.
Mr. Crismore moved to accept the proposal from Morrison-Maierle for the Cabinet Heights Wastewater Project.
Mr. Bothman seconded the motion.
Motion passed with the following votes: Mr. Roll-nay, Mr. McElmurry-nay, Mr. Bothman-aye, Mr. Crismore-aye, Mr. Bischoff-aye and Ms. Leckrone-abstain.
The discussion with the Downtown Streetscape committee was moved to a working committee to be held following this meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
The curb and gutter installation issue at 210 W. Balsam was discussed. Many questions arose mostly pertaining to the impact that this would have on neighboring property where there are no curbs and no storm drains. It was brought up to have Dan Thede look into this and whether it should be allowed and whether it will have a negative impact on neighboring property. It was then tabled to the Street committee.
HEAR THE PUBLIC:
Meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
______________________________
Anthony J. Berget, Mayor
Tanya R. Gehrke, Deputy City Clerk
THE REGULAR WEEKLY BREAKFAST MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD ON APRIL 18, 2007 AT 7 A.M. AT VENTURE MOTOR INN
Present were Bill Bischoff, Doug Roll, Lee Bothman, Charlene Leckrone,
Mayor Tony Berget and Supervisor of City Services Dan Thede. Absent were Stu Crismore and Walt McElmurry. Guest: Peggy Williams.
A wide range of discussion covered items of interest to the City of Libby and the council. Items discussed included, but not limited to were the school board meeting regarding the Historic High School, Northwest Power Planning council meeting downstairs, failure of Charles Vincent House Bill to refund LAMP, Montana as a safe (or not) state in which to live.
Meeting was discussion only, no decisions were made.
Respectfully submitted,
Peggy Williams, Guest