SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2011 @ 6:00PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS @ CITY HALL
The meeting was called to order at 6:04pm by Mayor Roll. Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Orr, Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Desch, and Mr. Bischoff were present. City Administrator Jim Hammons and City Clerk were also present. Also present was Dave Cosgriff of Arrowhead Engineering, contractor for International Paper, Attorney Alan Payne, Tom Richards of International Paper, Andrew Schmidt of EPA, Kathy Hernandez of EPA, Lisa Dewitt of St of Montana and Larry Scusa of St. of Montana.
Dave Cosgriff gave a presentation on how and where International Paper put in wells to monitor the ground water and handed out results of the water samples taken. Dave stated they would be taking more samples this summer. Also they will start the NAPL phase. NAPL(non-aqueous, phase liquid) is a term used for the liquid wood treating fluid (creosote and PCP) present in portions of the aquifers. The primary objective of the NAPL investigation will be to support a focused feasibility study to evaluate potential remedial actions to address NAPL in the groundwater. At the conclusion of the NAPL investigation field work, a formal report will be submitted to the EPA.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:45pm.
______________________ Attest; ________________________
Mayor Doug Roll Glena L. Hook, City Clerk-Treasurer
APPROVED
THE 1351st REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2011 @ 7:00PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm, by Mayor Roll who led the pledge of Allegiance and welcomed the public. 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. Mrs. Williams was absent.
Prayer was offered by Kevin Lindgren of the Assembly of God Church.
Mrs. Lawrence made motion to approve the minutes from the Special Meeting May 10, 2011, Reconvened Special Meeting May 11, 2011, Regular Meeting May 16, 2011 and Special Meeting May 19, 2011.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Mr. Orr made a motion to approve the minutes with the changing of his,” threatening to sue” to, “challenge in court” in the May 11, 2011 minutes.
Motion died from lack of second.
Mr. Orr made a motion to remove the May 11, 2011 minutes from approval until the City could get an opinion from the City Attorney.
Motion died from lack of second.
Motion for the approval of the minutes passed.
Mr. Orr voted against the motion to approve the minutes.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor Roll wanted to thank Mrs. Lawrence and Mrs. Williams who took their time and took some fertilizer and a little grass seed and went down and fertilized the River Front Park and the Boulevard. Mayor Roll stated the city bought the fertilizer and the ladies did the work.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Cemetery/Parks; None
Fire; Fire Chief Wood reported 6 calls for May. Chief Wood wanted to remind everyone that July 9th is the celebration for the 100th anniversary of the Fire Dept. Chief Wood reported that the Rural Fire paid for a new heating & cooling system to be put in at the fire hall.
Resolutions/Ordinances; None
Personnel; None
Building; None
Water/Sewer; Robin Benson reported that Phil Schad from Waste Water called and gave her an update on the Waste Water Plant Project and everything is running smoothly.
Budget/Finance;
Police; Chief Smith reported they had sent out several warning letters for high weeds and next week they are going to start citing for high weeds. For the month of May there were 181 calls for service, arrests 17 and citations 30.
Lights/Streets/Sidewalks; Mrs. Desch reported they were proceeding on the alley project between 3rdand 4th Street and going to start working on replacing about 1350ft of sidewalks in the area by the Care Center and Senior Center down to Mineral Avenue.
City Administrators Report; Mr. Hammons state they have been getting a lot of calls on if we are going to give relief on water bills this summer. Mayor Roll stated it would be put on the next agenda for the council to make a decision on whether they want to give relief on the water bills.
Finance; City Clerk Glena Hook stated she was reconciled for April 2011 and also went through GABS 54 a new law changing the way Fund Balance is reported and stated she would have a resolution ready for the next meeting for the council to commit the IP Fund and interest from the ED fund.
HEAR THE PUBLIC FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
Marlene Nelson of 905 Commerce Way spoke to the council about her sister and brother in laws graves. Marlene stated they went to their graves on Memorial Day and dirt from a grave that had been dug beside their graves was on their stones and they had to clean them off. Marlene also complained to the council that there is no lawn there and it is covered with gravel and backhoe tracks were across their graves. Marlene stated this was very disrespectful and that grass should be planted by now. Mayor Roll apologized and stated they would take care of it for her.
Mike Noble, 6669 Farm to Market Road stated they met with the water/sewer committee and was asked to be at the meeting tonight. Mike Noble was concerned about the possible settlement concerning the card clinic water bill. Mrs. Lawrence stated the council has a copy of the committee’s recommendations concerning the Card Clinic and stated they realize they had never discussed with Mr. Noble what his plans were concerning the building and stated that is why she had called him. Mrs. Lawrence stated it was new information that they have a buyer for the building. Mrs. Lawrence asked Mr. Noble if there were any questions for the council that they might have. Mr. Noble stated the building has been sold. Mr. Noble was confused about what the water bill had to do with the selling of the building. Mr. Bischoff stated it was a lien on the building taxes. Mr. Noble state the Card Clinic is a non-profit organization that has donated back to the community. Kimberly Rowse the Card Clinic Coordinator stated they inherited the fire suppression water bill and had been working on trying to get it resolved for some time. Rowse stated they were not asking to be absolved from the Card Clinics responsibility for their part of the water bill, but they inherited a large water bill when the building was gifted to them. Mrs. Lawrence stated that she researched the water bills and they were going to make the recommendation that the Card Clinic only be responsible for the water suppression while they were in the building.
Mrs. Lawrence made a motion to forgive all but $2,796.88 of the Card Clinic fire suppression water bill.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Port Authority water bill;
Mrs. Lawrence made a motion accept the recommendation of the Water/Sewer Committee to forgive all but $3,500 of the fire suppression water bill for the Port Authority.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Mr. Orr asked how much the bill was originally.
Mrs. Benson stated the total water was $5,180.
Mrs. Lawrence stated the total fire suppression was $14,000 and some and there were leaks in the pipes and so there was about $5000 in water and $39,000 in penalties and interest.
Mr. Orr said that is about $59,000-$60,000.
Mr. Orr asked if the Port Authority was a county agency.
Mr. Bischoff answered no.
Mr. Orr asked if anyone had talked to Lee Bothman, a former council member that had worked on the Port Authority water bill.
Mrs. Benson answered yes she had talked to Lee.
Mr. Orr stated he had talked to Lee Bothman and stated that Lee thought he had a pretty good agreement to get some property out of the” County”.
Mrs. Benson stated Lee Bothman told her he talked to Dan Larson about it but nothing ever came of it.
Mr. Orr asked if any of them tried to negotiate for some property.
Mrs. Lawrence stated she had not.
Mrs. Benson stated if there was new information that they could research it.
Mr. Bischoff stated he thought when property was negotiated for in the past that the Port Authority did not want to do it.
Mrs. Benson stated she would be willing to research it further.
Mrs. Lawrence rescinded the motion.
It will be put on the next agenda.
NEW BUSINESS
Municipal Election mail ballot;
Mr. Bischoff made a motion allowing the Election Office of Lincoln County to hold a mail ballot election for the November 8, 2011 Municipal Election.
Mrs. Desch seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Health Insurance vote on committee recommendations; Mr. Bischoff stated the health insurance went up 10% and stated the recommendation was to increase the city’s portion $24 a month per employee.
Mr. Bischoff made a motion to approve the recommendation of the committee.
Mr. Orr seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Street closure, Mineral Avenue and 6th for 100th yr Fire Department Celebration; Tom Wood explained the street closure was from 10:00am to about 1:00pm. Tom Wood also would like to have a parade from the Fireman’s Park to the Fire Hall. Bischoff made a motion to approve the street closure and parade. Mrs. Benson seconded the motion. Motion Passed
Libby Logger Days Street closure June 25, 2011; Kathy Stern of 573 Dome Mountain Ave. a Board Member of Libby Logger Days spoke to the council asking for a street closure from Mineral Avenue to 2nd Street and Lincoln Blvd. for the Libby Logger Days Parade and Fun Run.
Mrs. Benson made a motion to approve the street closure.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed.
Street closure, Pastime Bar; Sandy Doubek owner of the Pastime Bar asked permission for a street closure from 6pm until 2am for Street Dances on June 24 & 25, July 29th & 30th, September 9th & 10th and from 10pm until 2pm Friday August 19th on the second block of Mineral. The music would be over at midnight. The council decided to approve one date at a time and see how it went with trash being left on the streets.
Mrs. Lawrence made a motion to approve the street closure for June 24 & 25.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Sandy will come back on the first meeting in July (July 5th) for further approval on the other dates.
Motion Passed.
Resolution #1776; budget amendment to pay for Flower Creek Dam Engineering, Morrison-Maierle.
Mrs. Benson made a motion to approve Resolution #1776.
Mrs. Lawrence seconded the motion.
Motion Passed.
Resolution #1778; agree to pledge cash carryover if needed to pay Cabinet Heights sewer bond and waste Water Plant Improvements Sewer Bond.
Mrs. Lawrence made a motion to approve Resolution #1778.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Resolution #1779; Sewer Plant Improvement Revenue Bond;
Mr. Bischoff made a motion to approve Resolution #1779.
Mrs. Lawrence seconded the motion.
Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Orr, Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Desch and Mr. Bischoff voted aye.
Mrs. Williams was absent.
Motion Passed
COUNCIL ACTION/DISCUSSION
Golf Course Loan; City Attorney Jim Reintsma suggested bringing in the golf course people and talking over the options. Mr. Reintsma stated there was enough to claim a default. Attorney Jim Reintsma will put something in writing to the golf course stating the Golf Course is now in default and need to meet with council.
Mr. Orr made a motion that Attorney Jim Reintsma would notify the golf course that they are in default and need to contact the city.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
Approval of Payroll and Claims for May 2011.
Mrs. Benson made a motion to approve Payroll and Claims for May 2011.
Mr. Bischoff seconded the motion.
Mr. Orr had some questions about the purchase of trees and flower baskets and where they were paid out of. The trees were paid out of the Tree Board budget and the Flower Baskets for the Mineral Avenue Streetscape was paid out of streets. Mr. Orr wanted to know if the Street Supervisor had approved the payment out of the street budget.
Clerk Hook answered that he had been informed.
Mayor Roll stated it is the same amount and budget that it was paid out of last year.
Motion Passed.
Mr. Orr voted against the motion.
Approval of Business Licensees received to date.
Mrs. Lawrence made a motion to pay Business Licenses received to date.
Mr. Orr seconded the motion.
Motion passed
Approval of pay request for the Waste Water Plant Improvement Project;
Mrs. Benson made a motion to approve the pay request for the Waste Water Plant Improvement Project.
Mrs. Lawrence seconded the motion.
Motion Passed.
HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC
None
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.
_________________________ Attest; ______________________________
Mayor Doug Roll City Clerk-Treasurer, Glena L. Hook
APPROVED
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2011 @ 6:00PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS @ CITY HALL
Mayor Roll called the meeting to order:
In attendance were Council members, Mr. Orr, Mr. Bischoff, Mrs. Desch, Mrs. Benson, and Mrs. Lawrence. EPA representatives present were Mike Cirian and Nick Raines. City Administrator Jim Hammons was also present. On the phone was Rebecca Thomas from EPA, Allan Payne attorney from Helena, Melissa Matassa-Stone of the WGM Group, and Carol Rutland from the State of Montana.
Rebecca Thomas talked about the final restoration and sent a draft to the City of the quantities. Melissa from WGM Group said that the EPA’s figures were very similar to her numbers for the structural fill and top soil.
Mayor Roll asked each council member to express their thoughts on the restoration work. There was a lot of discussion from council members on the time frame to finish the project this year and would the city and county crews be able to accomplish this. They also spoke about the issue of the city not being able to finish before winter and the possibility of erosion to the site. There was a lot of discussion on where the city would get the material for the restoration and the cost. The time frame was brought up again and it was asked, would the city be held to a time restraint to finish the project. Mr. Cirian said that there is usually a 1 year period to finish the project.
The issue of health and safety to the citizens using the park in the future was brought up. Mr. Orr stated that the EPA said they would sever all pathways of exposure at the site. Mr. Orr also said that we (The City) should have EPA sign and indemnification clause with the city. More discussion followed on the future testing and the type of testing of the site.
It was brought up again about the City vs. the EPA on the cleanup and what would be the best direction to go. There was concern that if EPA did all the work the city would not get the funding to replace and pave the road. Mr. Cirian said that the city would still receive some credit towards the park.
Nick Raines talked about utility corridors, and how the city wanted to proceed with them. They could put the corridors in and the city could come in and place the pipe in the future, or they could lay the pipe when the EPA has the trench open. There was also discussion on the rail spur and how to move forward with it. Mr. Orr stated that he had filed a theft report on the spur to several law enforcement agencies. The EPA said they have no record of who or when the spur was removed. Mayor Roll said he talked with Bryan Reilly, Economic Development Manager for BNSF about the spur. They explained to the Mayor, that if there were customers at the site they would be happy to put the spur back in place. Also he said that there were costs in maintaining the spur and that the customer would have to pay the cost.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:02 pm.
There were no decisions made.
______________________ Attest; ________________________
Mayor Doug Roll Glena L. Hook, City Clerk-Treasurer
APPROVED
THE 1352nd REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2011 @ 7:00PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm, 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.
Prayer was offered by Robert Mast of the Eagle Valley Community Church.
Mr. Orr made motion to approve the minutes from the Regular Meeting June 6, 2011and Special meeting June 6, 2011.
Mrs. Lawrence seconded the motion.
Motion Passed
ANNOUNCEMENTS
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Cemetery/Parks; Mrs. Benson stated the City crews were going to start work on Fireman’s Park to get it ready for the new Playground equipment that will be arriving at anytime. The Montana Kiwanis Foundation, Kootenai Kiwanis of Libby and the Libby Elks Lodge is going to be holding a Fireman’s Park Playground fundraiser. It will be a spaghetti dinner this Friday at the Elks Lodge. Mrs. Williams stated she talked to Tony Berget about the Splash Pad and he is currently looking for someone to do the plumbing.
Fire; None
Resolutions/Ordinances; None
Personnel; Mr. Bischoff stated the personnel committee interviewed candidates for the city opening and has made a recommendation.
Building; None
Water/Sewer; None
Budget/Finance; None
Police; None
Lights/Streets/Sidewalks; None
City Administrators Report; Jim Hammons spoke to the council stating he received a call from Tim Thennis of FEMA who stated that our emergency from back in January the City of Libby has been approved for approximately $68,000. Jim stated one of the things that was put in for was for the street repair on Idaho where it flooded. Jim stated he has received 3 bids on the project. One that was for $14,000 is the one that was approved by FEMA. Mr. Hammons stated we are on a timeline to get this done. Jim has been in contact with Kootenai Paving on the work needed on Idaho. Mr. Niemi of Kootenai paving asked to have a portion of his loan forgiven in return for some of the work on Idaho. Mr. Orr asked if Jim got 3 bids on Idaho. Jim stated that he got 3 estimates on doing different parts of the road.
Finance; Glena Hook stated she was reconciled for the month of May 2011 and that Budget Reports and Cash Reports were ran and put in the council packets. Mrs. Hook stated there will be budget adjustments needed for the end of the year and she would prepare a Resolution for them after the end of July when all accruals were done. She stated that she had done some calculations on the 1% step increase for the employees and found that most of the funds would be able to handle the increase with little to no increase in budget. The police department will need an increase due to the part time officer which they had a Grant for but it ended earlier this fiscal year, also the budget for our City Attorney needs to be increased. Mrs. Hook stated she would like the mayor to look at the Building Inspector budget and decide how to proceed for next year’s budget. Mrs. Hook also stated she would like to start putting the business licenses on both agendas for each month to expedite the licenses going out to businesses.
HEAR THE PUBLIC FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Port Authority Water bill; Mrs. Benson stated that she would like to acknowledge the “conflict of interest” comment from Councilman Orr during the regular council meeting on June 6th. 1) The Lincoln County Port Authority is not a county department. 2) Mrs. Benson has no financial or monetary gain from the Port Authority. 3) The Port Authority could cease to exist and it would have no bearing on Mrs. Benson’s employment with the county. 4) Mrs. Benson asked if there were any other council members who felt that she has a conflict of interest before she proceeds. There was no comment from the council.
Mrs. Benson stated she talked to Paul Rumelhart regarding any discussion of a land swap or land negotiations. Mr. Rumelhart did remember the proposal being discussed where the Port Authority would trade the parking lot adjacent to the city property in exchange for the water bill. The Port Authority operates under the laws of the State of Montana. Any disposal of property has to be appraised to determine the fair market value of the property. Then the property has to be offered for sale to the public. Any individual or firm must also disclose what they intend to do with the property. The Port Authority decided that it was not in the best interest of the community since no definite plan for use of the property was put forth in writing. Additionally, the Port believed then as it does now that the meter charge and interest charges were inappropriate. The actual water value of less than $4000 is far below the value of the property.
Mrs. Benson stated she had talked to Lee Bothman a previous council member regarding any discussion of a land swap or land negotiations. Mr. Bothman told Mrs. Benson there was discussion with Dan Larson about the land swap for the Port Authority but he did not keep his notes from back then. The Port Authority water bill goes back to 2004. Mrs. Benson broke down the Port Authority water bill as follows. 1) Total Fire Suppression — $14,165 2) Total Water Usage — $5,180. 3) Total Penalties and Interest — $39,910. Mrs. Benson stated this issue dates back 6 + years and there is no documentation. She stated there were too many people & hands involved to pick up where the council left off years ago. She also stated the old system had a lot of leaks and none of the water was used for domestic use, it was all fire suppression.
Mrs. Benson stated it is the recommendation of the Water/Sewer Committee to forgive all but $3,500 of the bill which is a charge for real water usage.
Mrs. Lawrence made a motion to approve the Water/Sewer Committee recommendation.
Mrs. Williams seconded the motion.
Mr. Orr asked why if Mrs. Benson’s data shows the total water usage was $5,180 why are we lowering this to $3,500.
Mrs. Benson stated because there was an issue with vandalism at the time and a portion of it was leaked and we can’t go back now and figure out what was leaked and what was actual water use.
There were several more comments between council.
Motion Passed.
Mr. Orr voted against the motion.
NEW BUSINESS
Summer Watering relief, Council decision; Put into water/sewer committee to be put on next agenda.
Resolution # 1780, to commit funds per GASB 54;
Mrs. Williams made a motion to approved Resolution # 1780.
Mrs. Desch seconded the motion.
Motion Passed.
Resolution # 1781, to adopt spending policy per GASB 54;
Mr. Bischoff made a motion to approve Resolution # 1781.
Mr. Orr seconded the motion.
Motion Passed.
Phil Alspaw to address the council concerning volunteers to clean-up needed areas in the city; Mr. Alspaw spoke to the council about sending out the congregation from their church to the community to work on projects for the city on July 24th 2011. They are hoping to send about 500 people from the congregation out into the community for 3 hours and asked for help with what projects the city felt needed to be done. Jim Hammons will call Mr. Alspaw when the city gets some projects.
COUNCIL ACTION/DISCUSSION
None
HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC
Dr. Laura Tindall, who lives across from the Memorial Center and has the Rositas building stated that when the pipes broke between Louisiana and Utah where she runs businesses she couldn’t wait for the repairs to be done by the city so she paid for them herself. Dr. Tindall stated she didn’t know who gets these free bills for leaks but stated whatever leaked out she had to pay for. She stated when she had a leak last year she came to the water department and said she was told that she was responsible so she hasn’t seen any forgiveness. She also stated that she understood there was a reduction on the summer water bills and so went to City Hall and stated she thought there was suppose to be some kind of reduction but her bill went up and she is appalled by the water bills.
Asphalt Paving; John Gorman of Asphalt Contracting spoke to the council with concerns about his business license and that he has not been allowed to work without one and asked the council if they would approve it. Mayor Roll stated he would check with Jim Smith and get back to them. Mayor Roll asked if they had a State Contractors License. Mr. Gorman answered yes it was with his application for a business license at City Hall.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 7:42pm
_________________________ Attest; ______________________________
Mayor Doug Roll City Clerk-Treasurer, Glena L. Hook
APPROVED
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2011 @ 6:00PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS @ CITY HALL
Mayor Roll called the meeting to order:
In attendance were Council members, Mr. Orr, Mr. Bischoff, Mrs. Desch, Mrs. Benson, and Mrs. Lawrence. EPA representatives present were Mike Cirian and Nick Raines. City Administrator Jim Hammons was also present. On the phone was Rebecca Thomas from EPA, Allan Payne attorney from Helena, Melissa Matassa-Stone of the WGM Group, and Carol Rutland from the State of Montana.
Rebecca Thomas talked about the final restoration and sent a draft to the City of the quantities. Melissa from WGM Group said that the EPA’s figures were very similar to her numbers for the structural fill and top soil.
Mayor Roll asked each council member to express their thoughts on the restoration work. There was a lot of discussion from council members on the time frame to finish the project this year and would the city and county crews be able to accomplish this. They also spoke about the issue of the city not being able to finish before winter and the possibility of erosion to the site. There was a lot of discussion on where the city would get the material for the restoration and the cost. The time frame was brought up again and it was asked, would the city be held to a time restraint to finish the project. Mr. Cirian said that there is usually a 1 year period to finish the project.
The issue of health and safety to the citizens using the park in the future was brought up. Mr. Orr stated that the EPA said they would sever all pathways of exposure at the site. Mr. Orr also said that we (The City) should have EPA sign and indemnification clause with the city. More discussion followed on the future testing and the type of testing of the site.
It was brought up again about the City vs. the EPA on the cleanup and what would be the best direction to go. There was concern that if EPA did all the work the city would not get the funding to replace and pave the road. Mr. Cirian said that the city would still receive some credit towards the park.
Nick Raines talked about utility corridors, and how the city wanted to proceed with them. They could put the corridors in and the city could come in and place the pipe in the future, or they could lay the pipe when the EPA has the trench open. There was also discussion on the rail spur and how to move forward with it. Mr. Orr stated that he had filed a theft report on the spur to several law enforcement agencies. The EPA said they have no record of who or when the spur was removed. Mayor Roll said he talked with Bryan Reilly, Economic Development Manager for BNSF about the spur. They explained to the Mayor, that if there were customers at the site they would be happy to put the spur back in place. Also he said that there were costs in maintaining the spur and that the customer would have to pay the cost.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:02 pm.
There were no decisions made.