City Council Meetings

CITY OF GREEN RIVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS August 13, 2013 The Governing Body of the City of Green River met in workshop session at 6:30 pm in the City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Castillon called the meeting to order. The following Council Members were present: Mark Peterson, Tom McCullough, Brett Stokes, Gary Killpack, and Lisa Maes. The following were present representing the City: City Administrator Marty Black, Director of Public Works Mike Nelson, City Engineer/Utility Manager Mark Westenskow, Utility Superintendant Jason Palmer, Director of Finance Jeff Nieters, Chief of Police Chris Steffen, Municipal Court Judge Jason Petri, Clerk of Court Lynn Birch, City Prosecutor Lisa Botham, and Parks and Recreation Director Allan Wilson. Castle Rock Medical District Interim CEO of Castle Rock Hospital District John Ferry asked the council for funding assistance for the ambulance services in the amount of $50,000. The ambulance provides services when the Police Department is on a call and they are not sure if the patient needs to go to jail or the hospital. Council Member McCullough asked if they have asked the School Board for assistance. Mr. Ferry said no. Council Member McCullough said the school district might be able to provide some assistance. Mr. Ferry said the ambulance service is committed to certain events for the school district but in the future it can be looked in to, too see if they can only commit to the events that a required. The Mayor asked if $50,000 is what is needed. Mr. Ferry said yes. He said no matter what, if the ambulance gets called they will be there. Council Member Killpack said he is not in favor of a blanket $50,000. He would like a breakdown of exactly what services the $50,000 will provide. He would be in favor of paying on a per case basis. Mr. Ferry said he can provide a breakdown of the costs per case. Council Member Stokes asked what would happen if the ambulance does not receive this money from the city. Mr. Ferry said he does not know. Council Member Maes asked him to look back and see how many calls they assisted the city on, and how much they were per call. Mr. Ferry said the numbers he has provided are from last year. Council Member McCullough asked what the residents are paying for through the mill levy. Mr. Ferry said including all the facilities in the district, there are three mills. The district is maxed out since the Villa was built. He said ambulance services have changed drastically over the years, the costs are going up. Council Member McCullough asked why they purchased new ambulances if they are in need of funds. Mr. Ferry said they were provided by the 6th Penny funding. The current ambulances are running high in miles and maintenance costs, so there will be a savings when the new ones come in. City Council Workshop Proceedings August 13, 2013 Page 1 of 5 The Mayor asked him to provide a cost per call/service and to include the costs of the employees, vehicle, and anything else. Mr. Black said the council needs to be aware that this is a mutual partnership between the officers, the fire department staff, and the ambulance members. In most of the other jurisdictions that provide emergency services, we have mutual aide agreements that basically say we will respond and provide assistance and won’t charge each other for the services. If we go down this route, it will be changing that model from the emergency response purposes. Airport Task Force Airport Task Force member Barry Tippy said a lot of people think the airport has been closed but that is not the case. It has always been open. Recently, there was an emergency with a government aircraft that lost all of its oil pressure and the pilot needed to find an airport he could land on. He found the Green River Intergalactic Spaceport and as he turned to come in to land he saw all of the debris on the runway. He made the choice to land on the dirt despite all of the debris. After the incident it was decided that something needed to be done with the airport so no one has an accident while landing on the runway and the city is liable. Members of the Airport Task Force have done research on how other airports in Wyoming are currently running to see which direction would be best for everyone. The Green River airport would not be competing with the Rock Springs airport. It would not be a commercial airport. The airport in Rock Springs’ total output is $33 million a year with 265 employment positions (which are jobs that are impacted by the airport being there). Ft. Bridger has 28 employee positions total and brings in almost $3 million to the community a year. The military and other business owners have shown interest in using the airport. Tourism will grow if marketed right and the community would benefit by having the airport. Western Wyoming Community College has expressed interest in having aviation education here which is not offered anywhere in the state. Benefits in having the airport where: it is close to town but not too close to cause issues, and there is a main road to develop industry close by the airport. He said they are planning to develop the airport in phases, and are conducting a required wind. Council members thanked the Airport Task Force members for all of their hard work. Rocky Mountain Power Potential Energy Savings Project Mr. Palmer said, in February 2013, staff met with Rocky Mountain Power, and in June, an energy analysis report was developed and reviewed. There are energy efficient measures that will be considered during the master plan phase and incorporated during the design phase of the new wastewater treatment plant. He discussed energy savings possibilities for:  Grit chamber upgrade (Headworks Facility)  Primary cells  High speed turbo blower upgrade  Secondary treatment lagoons dissolved oxygen controls  Lighting upgrades Proposed time table for the new wastewater treatment facility is:  Fall of 2013 - request for proposals for a wastewater treatment plant master plan  Spring/Summer of 2014 – complete master plan and begin design for a new headworks facility and primary cells  Late 2014/Early 2015 – begin construction of headworks facility and primary cells  June 30, 2016 – current permit expires City Council Workshop Proceedings August 13, 2013 Page 2 of 5 Council Member McCullough asked when the city will have to build a new facility. Mr. Westenskow said beginning with the master planning process it will help identify what the permitting requirements are and what the trends will be in the future. Staff will be working with DEQ and the EPA from the beginning and that will help when it is time for the new facilities. As far as funding, the master plan will allow us to identify what kind of funding will be necessary for different phases and funding sources are available. Mr. Black said the permits run around a five-year term. So effectively, between 2016 and the five-year window the permit will require the transition to a new facility. That is why they are starting now so by 2016 they will have a plan to present. Council Member Peterson thanked them for their hard work. Council Member Stokes said the upgrades will run directly into the facilities. Mr. Palmer said they are not proceeding with upgrades now, but they will go into the master plan for the new facilities. Council Member McCullough asked where the new facilities will be located. Mr. Palmer said with the mechanical plant the footprint shrinks so it will get smaller. Mr. Westenskow said they would expect to stay in the current area because to go anywhere else will require pumping. Automated Meter Reading Mr. Palmer said in January 2014 they can no longer use the current meters on new installations and replacements due to the materials used in the construction of the meters. (EPA mandate) Typically, they change out sixty meters per year, current residential meters have been in use for fifteen plus years, and the life expectancy of the existing meters is fifteen to seventeen years. There are 4300 meters in the system, 4000 of which are residential and 300 are commercial. The options are: keep the current read system with touch pads and change the meters out, or for a similar cost we can upgrade to an automated meter reading system. How the automated system works: the base station sends a signal out to the home, the meter responds back with a signal to that base, the base sends a signal to the utility billing system, and the utility billing system then produces a utility bill. Advantages of the system are:  Increased productivity and reduced meter reading costs  Provides a safe work environment for utility personnel  Provides efficiencies in billing which allow for improved customer service  Increases revenues with more accurate and timely billing and metering  Minimizes the need for anyone to regularly access your property to read your meter. Cost comparison: regular meter versus the automated meter reading is roughly $150 to $180. The first year costs of $10,000 for data collectors and host software so that both systems will work during the transition. Staff is proposing to replace 615 meters per year for seven years at an estimated cost per year of $140,000 and a total cost for the seven years of $980,000. Changing them over a seven year period will allow it to take place with the current staff. A more aggressive plan would require additional staffing. Council Member McCullough asked how much more a month everyone will have to pay on their water bill to cover the costs of this replacement. City Council Workshop Proceedings August 13, 2013 Page 3 of 5 Mr. Palmer said people will only be paying for the water as they use it. The citizens will not pay for the meter replacement. Mr. Westenskow said over time, as existing meters wear out inside they let more water through than calculated. So, people may see an increase in their water bill because the new meters will be more efficient. Mr. Black said the rate does not have to go up to pay for the improvements. The Mayor asked if the current meters will work through the seven year replacement. Mr. Palmer said the current meters are still functioning, so they should make it through the transition. Council Member Maes said she agrees with moving forward with the seven year replacement. It will save money through the process. Update from Municipal Court and Prosecutor’s Office on the DUI/DWI Enforcements Judge Petri said during the period of July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 the Municipal Court fees totaled as follows:  Attorney fees collected $4,854.74  Administrative fees $3,251.14  Jail book-in fees collected $300.00  Jail fund collected $660.00  Contempt of court $5,604.10  Court costs $2,812.06  Teen court participation fee $270.00  Victim’s restitution $8,774.80  Crime victim’s fund $5,559.00 (state required) Total number of citations: 1,316 which is 348 more than last year. The total amount assessed for all charges filed is $261,294.87. Total monies collected $176,807.03. The amount collected is different than the amount assessed because offenders can make payment arrangements to pay fees over time. He tries to work with them to make sure the fees are collected. Breakdown of citations:  80 driving while under the influence  51 driving while under suspension  1 youthful offender He may have underestimated the time it would take to process these offenses, but it seems to be working ok. The number of cases has increased but it fluctuates all the time. Ultimately, he would like to see the number of offenses go down to zero. Ms. Botham reported on the customer service side of this. The victims know that the restitution will be collected from them through the court, so they do not have to deal with the offenders directly. As far as the defendants, staff is able to make contact, meet with, and even conclude the case within fourteen days. If cases go on longer it is due to the defendant’s lawyers and not the court. The sentencing options have been refined to help individuals who have problems with alcohol. The court can require the defendant receive some kind of alcohol counseling. They are able to pay fine with a credit card and that helps them take care of fines immediately. The judge has given them the right to pay over time, but if they need nine months to pay, they can do so by coming in and paying the court once a month. This is beneficial in getting the fines paid in full by the defendants. City Council Workshop Proceedings August 13, 2013 Page 4 of 5 Deferred sentencing is only offered to certain people with clean records. Deferred sentencing gives them a time period to show the court it was a onetime incident, and after a certain amount of time, it will not be on their record. She said the court works with the police officers by working around their schedules. The officers like having the ability to discuss any issues directly with the court. Council Member McCullough asked if the Court, Police Department, and the City Prosecutor are happy with the way this is going. All three of them said they are happy. Council Member Peterson thanked them for all of their hard work. City Administrator’s Report Mr. Black had nothing to report. Mayor and Council Reports Council Members Peterson, McCullough, and Stokes had nothing to report. Council Member Maes reminded everyone about the River Festival on Friday and Saturday. Council Member Killpack asked about exempting part-time and seasonal employees from the personnel manual and if nepotism applies to part-time and seasonal employees. Mr. Black said they are not exempted from the manual but there is a separate section in the manual dealing with the part-time and seasonal employees. On the nepotism policy, he would have to check in the manual so he would not inform him incorrectly. The Mayor said he visited the Pinedale and Big Piney airports and he was impressed with their facilities. He congratulated the new Circuit Court Judge on his appointment. The governor attended the Lunch and Learn on Monday along with some of the Girls State debate team. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:23 pm. ______________________________ H. Castillon, Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Jeffrey V. Nieters, City Clerk City Council Workshop Proceedings August 13, 2013 Page 5 of 5