SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 3, 2011 @ 6:00PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS @ CITY HALL
The meeting was called to order at 6:02pm by Mayor Roll who led the pledge of allegiance. Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Desch, Mr. Orr and Mr. Bischoff were present. City Administrator, Jim Hammons and City Clerk-Treasurer, Glena Hook was also present.
Ryan Jones from Morrison-Maierle spoke to the council about the Flower Creek Dam. Mr. Jones stated that when the dam was up for relicensing in 2009 it was recommended from the visual inspection and demanded from DNRC that coring to the dam be done to evaluate concrete strength as a stipulation to relicensing. Mr. Jones stated that the coring was completed in September of 2010 and sent to the laboratory for subsequent analysis. The final report on the dam was submitted to DNRC. Mr. Jones stated that of the 17 cores that were taken from the dam, three cores remained intact for testing, the remaining cores were either taken along construction joints or just crumbed when they were taken out of compression. Mr. Jones went on to say that typically in concrete cores you will expect to see a strength in the order of 3 to 4K PSI’s and some of the cores tested in upwards of 6K SI which is good, intact core will range somewhere above 1K PSI so this is indicative that many areas of the dam have an effective strength of less than 1K PSI. Overall the concrete was variable throughout the dam, Mr. Jones said. In Mr. Jones opinion there were problems with the construction of the dam from the beginning. Because of the initial freezing damage over time the condition of the concrete has degraded added Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones stated they do not believe there is any emanate danger of the structure failing outside of an external event like a seismic event with a magnitude of 4.0 or greater. Mr. Jones said they do believe that in the future if the concrete continues to deteriorate within the next five years as we have seen in recent history and we believe we will we don’t believe the factor of safety will be acceptable. Mr. Jones said it would be highly unlikely that the city would be able to get the structure relicensed in five years. Mr. Jones indicated that if they were to start tomorrow on the dam it would take the better part of five years to complete.
The council was in agreement that Morrison-Maierle should start searching for funding for repairs or replacement of the dam.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:43pm.
_______________________ Attest; ________________________
Mayor Doug Roll Glena L. Hook, City Clerk-Treasurer
APPROVED
THE 1341ST REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 2011 @ 7:00 PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm, by Mayor Roll who led the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed the public. Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Orr, Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Desch and Mr. Bischoff were present. City Administrator Jim Hammons, City Attorney Jim Reintsma and City Clerk-Treasurer Glena L. Hook, were also present
Roy Yoder of the Libby Amish Church offered prayer.
Mr. Orr made a motion to approve the minutes from the Special Meeting, December 1, 2010, Regular Meeting, December 6, 2010, Special Meeting December 7, 2010 and two Special Meetings December 13, 2010.
Mrs. Lawrence seconded the motion.
Mr. Orr stated he asked for his motion to be on the November 18th 2010 minutes and it had not been put in the minutes.
Mayor Roll stated that Mr. Orr’s motion could be put on the minutes now because he had looked at the video that he had stated in the December 6, 2010 minutes that he wanted to check before Mr. Orr’s motion was added.
Mr. Orr took exception to the statement of Clerk Hook’s stating his motion on November 18th 2010 was dismissed and said it really stated that it was denied.
Mayor Roll agreed to change dismissed to denied.
Motion Passed
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor Roll announced that Eric of Montanore Mines wanted to come and talk to the council at the next meeting January 18, 2010.
Mayor Roll announced that Kristin Smith and Jim Hammons had been working on the RFP’s for the OU1 site and that it had been put in the paper.
Mayor Roll said Rebecca Thomas of the EPA wanted to have a conference call meeting during the week of January 3, 2011. The mayor stated he did not know what the council wanted to do. Council stated that they had not received the information they asked for from the EPA yet so a meeting was not needed at this time.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Cemetery/Parks; Mrs. Williams announced that the Park Committee was still an ongoing search for playground equipment to put in Fireman’s Park and the Cemetery agreement was still outstanding.
Fire; Mr. Orr stated he would have a Fire Committee meeting concerning the Water Fire Suppression within the next few weeks and wanted it put on the agenda for the next council meeting
Resolutions/Ordinances; None
Personnel; Mr. Bischoff stated that the Personnel Committee were starting interviews for the City Service Worker position this Thursday afternoon.
Building; None
Finance; Mrs. Hook stated that she was reconciled for the month of November 2010.
Water/Sewer; Mrs. Benson stated that there was no new business but wanted to ask Vicky Lawrence and Bill Bischoff if they could have a committee meeting on the 13th with Ryan from Morrison-Maierle.
Budget/Finance; None
Police; Chief Smith stated there were 293 case reports, 41 citations and 29 arrests in the month of December 2010. Chief Smith stated there were 4 deputies on for New Year’s Eve and there were two DUI’s. Chief Smith also reported that Officer Alice Sowa was at Academy and would be gone for three months. Mayor Roll brought up that the Firework’s Ordinance has not been amended to allow Fireworks during New Years Eve. City Attorney Jim Reintsma was asked to work on an amendment to the Fireworks Ordinance to allow Fireworks from 5pm to 1am on New Year’s Eve.
Lights/Streets/Sidewalks; None
City Administrators Report; City Administrator Jim Hammons said he had put his report in the council packets and asked if the council had any questions.
HEAR THE PUBLIC FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
There was no public comment
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
Kirby Maki, Superintendent of Schools introduced the School Board Chairman Tracy Como who spoke to the council about the 12 Million Dollar Bond for the Schools and wanted the council’s support. Tracey stated the 12 Million Dollar Bond would be used to upgrade the Middle School to provide space for Kindergarten through sixth grade and to upgrade the High School to provide for seventh grade through 12th grade. The School District is planning on closing Asawood School and moving the students to the middle and high schools.
Sherry Bushnell asked the council for a variance for the Lavender & Roses Birth & Mothering Center.
Mrs. Williams made a motion to allow the variance with the stipulation that the variance would not transfer if the business was sold or moved.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Decision to dedicate the IP Settlement Funds to Water Distribution; Mrs. Benson made motion to dedicate the IP Settlement Funds to Water Distribution.
Mrs. Lawrence seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Resolution # 1765, approval of Loan Resolution for the Waste Water Plant Project;
Mrs. Williams made a motion to approve Resolution # 1765.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
First Reading and approval of Ordinance # 1759 to adopt National Fire Codes;
Mr. Orr made a motion to approve Ordinance # 1759.
Mrs. Benson seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
First Reading and approval of Ordinance # 1766 to adopt National Building and Conservation Codes;
Mr. Orr made a motion to approve Ordinance # 1766.
Mrs. Williams seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Resolution # 1767 to continue Allan Payne’s representation concerning EPA;
Mrs. Lawrence made a motion to approve Resolution #1767.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Mrs. Williams made a correction to the resolution.
Mr. Orr stated that he took exception to the repeated use of continued representation because we have never had an agreement with Allan Payne before.
Mrs. Benson stated that on the second paragraph it stated continue to advise and she felt Allan Payne has advised the City pertaining to EPA.
Mr. Orr stated that he hasn’t officially advised the city and that was the issue.
Mrs. Benson stated she was in full support of the Resolution and stated that Allan Payne has advised the City in the past and so agrees that he is to continue to advise the City.
Barb Desch agreed that the continue should be in the Resolution because Allan Payne has advised the City and did not see any reason why it should be taken out.
Mr. Bischoff disagreed with Mr. Orr’s comments stating there has been an attorney/client relationship with Mr. Payne in the past and it has continued on and feels the language should remain intact in the Resolution.
Mr. Orr stated he had more information and that the city had email conversations with Mr. Payne about his representation when he entered into an agreement with the County as a Special Deputy Attorney and Mr. Orr stated he had asked Mr. Payne if he had a written agreement and Mr. Payne’s response was evasive and confusing.
Mr. Orr requested that the emails be added to the minutes of this meeting.
Mayor Roll stated that it was up to the council it was not up to the mayor.
Mr. Orr stated that no it was up to him.
Mr. Orr said he has requested that information be appended to the minutes.
Mayor Roll asked the council what they wanted to do.
Mr. Bischoff stated he did not care if they were put with the minutes.
Mrs. Williams said before she would want them to be put in she would have to see them and read them.
Mr. Bischoff stated if Mr. Orr wants to bring in his copies to the next meeting and ask that they be added to the minutes, that is fine but he would like a chance to go through Mr. Orr’s copies and compare them with his to make sure there is a complete record.
Mayor Roll stated that he thought the council should hold off adding the emails to the minutes until the next meeting to give the council a chance to look at the emails.
After further debate on the Allan Payne issue Mr. Bischoff made a motion to end the debate.
Mrs. Lawrence seconded the motion.
Motion Passed with Mr. Orr voting nay.
Mayor Roll went back to the main motion on approval of Resolution # 1767 and asked for a vote.
Motion Passed with Mr. Orr voting nay.
Emergency Resolution # 1768 allowing people with the sole source of heat through wood burning to be allowed to burn wood during bad air quality days; Kendra Lind, Air Quality controller for Lincoln County spoke to the council on the reason why she felt the City needed to approved the emergency resolution.
Mr. Orr made a motion to approve Resolution # 1768.
Mrs. Williams seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
COUNCIL ACTION/DISCUSSION
Approval of Claims and Payroll for December 2010.
Mrs. Williams made a motion to approve claims and payroll for December 2010.
Mrs. Benson seconded the motion.
Mr. Orr brought up an error on the spreadsheet used for paying advances to employees and wanted it to be corrected.
Clerk Hook agreed that it should be corrected but wanted council to know that there was no mistake in the actual amount of advances paid to the employees.
Motion Passed
Approval of Business Licenses received to date;
Mrs. Lawrence made a motion to approve Business Licenses received to date.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Mr. Orr stated that he had checked on the Counseling Clinic and Westmont and that they were businesses and he would recommend approving their Business Licenses with the others received to date.
City Attorney Jim Reintsma will look into the question of licenses needed for the Cross Cut Casino.
Mr. Orr also wanted to hold out Environmental Restoration’s Business License stating they were in violation of Federal law.
The council decided to leave Environmental Restoration’s Business License in for approval until proof was brought forward that they are in violation of Federal Law and stated at that time they could suspend the license if needed.
Motion Passed
Approval of Liquor, Wine and Beer Licenses for 2011;
Mrs. Williams made a motion to approve the Liquor, Wine and Beer Licenses for 2011.
Mrs. Desch seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC
None
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:07pm.
_________________________ Attest; ______________________________
Mayor Doug Roll City Clerk-Treasurer, Glena L. Hook
APPROVED
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 18, 2011 @ 3:30PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS @ CITY HALL
The Tele-conference meeting started at 3:30pm. Rebecca Thomas of EPA was on the other end of the conference call meeting. Council members present were, Peggy Williams, DC Orr, Robin Benson and Bill Bischoff. Others present were, Mayor Roll, City Clerk-Treasurer Glena Hook, Nick Raines of CDM and Mike Ciran of EPA.
The discussion on the OU1 Park site included the river embankment, drainage swale across the property, re-vegetation along the river embankment and the design fund. Some of the agreements by the council were as follows. The council does not want low levels of vermiculite left along the river embankment that could be accessed by the public. The city does not want a large swale across the property of the OU1 site. The city would like to see re-vegetation along the river embankment after vermiculite is removed and would like to see some options on like species vegetation from EPA. A site survey needs to be done first then the city would like to discuss options with the EPA. The city wants to keep the rail spur and the council wants to know what they had pertaining to the rail spur before clean up started. The council would like to see the site file from the EPA. The council had some concerns about the upward migration of soil at the site. Council was also concerned about the possible cross contamination of the Search and Rescue building and if it is a health risk to the search and rescue volunteers. The council asked what was in the remedial investigation report and what standard was used.
The EPA’s answers to some of these issues were as follows; The city can look at other options for re-vegetation along the riverbank that the EPA can supply. The EPA would like to see the city get together some site options for them to look at. The EPA does not think the swale drainage would be a large ditch, just a small decline making a linear drainage not a large swale. The EPA will check and see if they can find anything on the rail spur before clean-up started. The EPA would like to see the engineering plan for the OU1 Park site as soon as possible so they can begin work on the site. The EPA does not think they can increase the $15,000 for the design fund because of their restrictions. The EPA does not know what would keep burrowing animals and bees out of the OU1 site. The EPA said if the Search and Rescue building shows levels of vermiculite contamination it will be cleaned and would like to give it some thought. The EPA will look to see if they have any information on drainage pipes in the area of the OU1 site. EPA stated the Iris risk model was being used.
The following was agreed by all parties; Park engineering needs to be done before we move forward. We do not need another meeting with the EPA and council at this point.
The meeting ended at 4:40pm.
______________________ Attest; ________________________
Mayor Doug Roll Glena L. Hook, City Clerk-Treasurer
APPROVED
THE 1342nd REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011 @ 7:00 PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm, by Mayor Roll who led the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed the public. Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Orr, Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Desch and Mr. Bischoff were present. City Administrator Jim Hammons, City Attorney Jim Reintsma and City Clerk-Treasurer Glena L. Hook, were also present
Darwin Schofield of the Libby Baptist Church offered prayer.
Mrs. Williams made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Meeting December 14, 2010, Special Meeting January 3, 2011 and Regular Council Meeting January 3, 2011.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor Roll announced that the Wednesday morning breakfast meetings would change to the Libby Café starting January 26, 2011.
Mayor Roll wanted to thank all emergency personnel for their help during the flooding of Flower Creek.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Cemetery/Parks; Mrs. Williams stated that Mrs. Benson and Mrs. Lawrence are still working on the playground equipment for Fireman’s Park and there will be a meeting Friday during lunch to continue the discussion.
Fire; None
Resolutions/Ordinances; None
Personnel; None
Building; None
Finance; Clerk Hook stated that the MCA code updates, Ordinance # 1769 and the new Waste-Water rates for the WW Plant Project were given to the council for placement, approval and review.
Water/Sewer; Mrs. Benson reported that a meeting has been set-up with the Cabinet Heights homeowners that have Grinder Pumps for January 31st. Mrs. Benson stated this was a courtesy meeting to explain the decision made by the council and to let the homeowners know that the city would keep a grinder pump on hand should it be needed. Mrs. Benson also said they would listen to any concerns from the homeowners.
Budget/Finance; None
Police; None
Lights/Streets/Sidewalks; None
City Administrators Report; City Administrator Jim Hammons said Lad Barney from US Rural Development contacted him today to let him know that he had set-up a meeting with the State Director concerning USDA Rural Developments help with the dam issue.
HEAR THE PUBLIC FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
There was no public comment
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Steve Lauer of the Libby Volunteer Fire Department spoke to the council asking for approval to move the site for the Fireman’s Monument further to the west, remove 5 trees from the area and use some of the trees to build a cover for the monument.
Mrs. Williams made a motion to approve moving the monument site further to the west, removal of the 5 trees and permission to use the trees as needed to build a cover for the monument.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Second and final reading of Ordinance # 1759 adopting US Fire Codes;
Mr. Bischoff made a motion to adopt Ordinance # 1759.
Mrs. Benson seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Second and final reading of Ordinance # 1766 adopting International Building Codes and Energy Conservation Codes.
Mrs. Benson made a motion to adopt Ordinance # 1766.
Mrs. Desch seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
NEW BUSINESS
Eric Klepfer of the Montanore Mine updated the council on the development of the Montanore Mine Project. Eric stated that they hoped to get the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) completed in March of this year. Eric also said they are getting great support from the community and would like the City’s continued support. Eric would like to come back over the next couple of months report to the council on where the Montanore Mine Project is at.
Gordon Sullivan of Libby spoke to the council about getting their support in putting together a 5 person task force to study the issues of O & M costs and responsibilities of private property owners after EPA is done with the asbestos clean-up and leaves the area. Mayor Roll stated they would get with the county and discuss the idea of putting a group together.
Ordinance # 1769 Fireworks ordinance change;
Mr. Orr made a motion to approve the 1st reading of Ordinance # 1769.
Mrs. Williams seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Approval of Certificate of Corporate Resolution, concerning the City’s premium only plan and summary plan description for insurance purposes;
Mr. Orr made a motion to approve the Certificate of Corporate Resolution.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
COUNCIL ACTION/DISCUSSION
Montana Float Loan, Keith Kinden; Keith Kinden came before the council and asked for time to get his loan payments in. Mayor Roll stated it would be up to the council and it would be put on the next agenda.
HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC
Alvin Benitz spoke to the council saying that there is a committee in support of the Montanore Mine Project called the Positive Action Committee.
Charlotte Woods 216 Snowy View Dr. Libby, spoke for the Positive Action Committee stating they were in support of the Montanore Mine and asked everyone for their support.
Patrick Pezelle, director of FVCC, spoke to the council asking them to consider selecting a council member to be a liaison for Positive Action Committee. Mr. Pezelle also stated that Libby needs to project a positive image.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm.