City Council Meetings

CITY OF GREEN RIVER CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS January 21, 2014 The Governing Body of the City of Green River met in regular session at 7 pm in the City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Castillon called the meeting to order. The following Council Members were present: Gary Killpack, Mark Peterson, Adam Coppolo, Tom McCullough, and Brett Stokes. The following were present representing the City: City Administrator Marty Black, Grants Specialist Misty Springer, City Engineer/Utility Manager Mark Westenskow, Sanitation Supervisor Linda Roosa, Director of Finance Jeff Nieters, Director of Community Development Laura Leigh, Chief of Police Chris Steffen, Fire Chief/Emergency Services Mike Kennedy, Parks and Recreation Director Allan Wilson, Recreation Supervisor Katie Duncombe, and City Attorney Galen West. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Council Member McCullough moved to move the City Administrator’s Report after the Board and Committee Appointments. Council Member Coppolo seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) Council Member Killpack moved to approve the agenda as amended. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) BOARD AND COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS Re-appointment to the Combined Communications Joint Powers Board Council Member Coppolo moved to confirm the Mayor’s re-appointment of Tom Jarvie for a three year term. Council Member Stokes seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT Mr. Black said staff has been monitoring the sales tax revenues and noticed they are coming in lower than anticipated. If the revenue projection continues declining the city will end this budget year with a $400,000 deficit. Due to the revenues being low, he implemented a soft hiring freeze, and travel and training requests are being limited to those required for continuing education and certification maintenance. If the sales tax revenues continue to decline, and there is a need to implement layoffs, they will not affect the Enterprise Funds (Solid Waste, Wastewater, and Water) because these funds are independent of the general fund sales tax revenue impacts. He proposes no layoffs be implemented for the Police Department or Fire Department because these departments provide a service that is critical to public health and safety. He is minimizing part-time and seasonal staff by authorizing only positions essential to maintain direct service to the community for public health or for safety reasons. There are 117 full-time employees, 120 part-time, with 95 part-time associated with the Recreation Center, 11 seasonal positions, and 23 volunteer fire fighters. He has met with Ms. Koehn and Mr. West to develop procedures in the event a layoff becomes necessary. They have one position in Finance that will not be filled. If any other positions become open they will review options for meeting the responsibilities associated with each position before they proceed with filling the position or confirming the position, will become frozen. This will reduce the potential extent of layoffs that may become necessary. Before any layoff is implemented, they will meet with individual employees to advise them their positions are being considered for layoff, and their individual options should the layoff become necessary. He will meet with department directors and division managers to finalize decisions City Council Proceedings January 21, 2014 Page 1 of 6 and affected employees will be notified and provided summary information regarding the layoffs and organization changes. It is important that all employees are aware that the city is facing these conditions. The community needs to understand that the sales tax revenues are declining. There is $75,000 set aside for asphalt crushing. However, the city has a limited amount of crushed asphalt saved so they can postpone this project. There are some projects that he does not recommend postponing such as the slurry seal on the streets. If layoffs are needed, the initial targeted savings for the remainder of this fiscal year will be in the range of $80,000 to $125,000. The hiring freeze and travel and training expenditures will help reduce the magnitude of savings from the layoffs that are necessary to begin to reduce expenditures levels in line with the projected sales tax revenue collection deficit identified by Finance. He estimates less than 5% of the workforce would be impacted, since department directors and staff are cooperating. The city policy 20.5.191 says within each affected job class, all seasonal, part-time, and probationary employees shall be laid off before any career employees. The selection of positions to be considered for layoff will be based on the ability to meet the targeted expenditure reduction, availability of remaining staff to complete necessary responsibilities of the position proposed for layoff to minimize the number of potentially impacted employees. If there is more than one employee within the job classification, a combined rating of individual employee seniority and performance within each position classification will be considered. Pursuant to existing city policy, employees who may be assigned additional duties as a result of the layoffs, will be eligible for a temporary compensation adjustment if the responsibilities are not included within their existing job classification. He will continue to watch the sales tax revenues and expenditures through the remaining fiscal year in the hope there will not be a need for layoffs. Council Member McCullough said the city needs to look at everything before they implement layoffs. Mr. Black is just giving a caution statement. It does not mean the city will be laying employees off for sure. Council Member Killpack said he is not happy that there is discussion of layoffs. He asked if the city enters into a contract, can they back out of it. Mr. West said it depends on the contract. Council Member Killpack said there are some capital projects that are ready but do not need to be done. The depot, the airport, the vehicle replacement program, and aerial mapping are four projects that could be postponed. The depot can be delayed for six to twelve months so the revenues would be looked at for a longer amount of time. The project has to be done by June 30, 2018 and the construction has to be done by June 30, 2015 but the city can ask for an extension. Mr. Black said at this point, the city has not contracted for more than the asbestos abatement design work for the depot. There is a grant pending for the cleanup but no contract entered into for the construction on the depot. Under the grant terms with the state the city has to match the funds with $2 million. They knew they could not come up with that in a year so they planned to set aside $500,000 per year until the match could be met. Delaying it for any amount of time would increase the amount needed to be set aside for the next few years, and that is risky. The city can write a letter to the state asking for an extension if they choose to, but he does not recommend giving the $1 million grant back to them. The city has not used any funds regarding the airport, but the city received $25,000 from the Wyoming Business Council which cannot be used for anything else. The aerial mapping has been completed and the project came in under budget, and the remaining dollars were allocated to the Police Department. The vehicle replacement program is a multi-year program and if the city chooses not to move forward it ends up causing issues in the following years. They would have to replace more vehicles at one time rather than a couple at a time. City Council Proceedings January 21, 2014 Page 2 of 6 Council Member Killpack said he does not want to enter into a contract on the depot and not be able to honor it. It is not a good idea to lay off employees and still complete the depot. Mr. Black said they have not been expensing the water litigation fund as much as anticipated so it can be decreased in the future. Council Member Stokes said the last thing they want to do is lay employees off, but it is a good thing to inform the employees of the possibility. Council Member Coppolo said no one wants to lay employees off. The Parks and Recreation department shows the average usage is around 640 people. The current recovery rate is $990 per person that the city is spending for them to use the recreation center. The city needs to look into this and change the amount that is subsidized to the Recreation Center. Council Member Peterson said the city employees provide service to the citizens of the city and this is an opportunity for them to give ideas on how to save money. The Mayor said the governing body is challenged with preserving jobs within the city even before the budget. The census reduced the amount of revenues that the city receives and that is what is costing the city. Mr. Nieters said the 2000 census numbers gave the city 31.34% of the sales tax revenue collected, and the 2010 census gave 28.56%, a 3% decrease, which amounts to $30,000 a month that is lost in sales tax revenue. The revenue went from $1.5 million a month in revenue to $1 million. The Mayor said the projections continuing to be low is concerning. The governor is trying to get more money for the cities and towns in Wyoming, but no one knows what is going to happen. If the city takes the $500,000 from the depot now it will have to be made up later. He asked Mr. Black if they take the money from the depot now, will that help them for this current budget year or for next year’s budget. Mr. Black said all that is being looked at is the current budget year. The departments are looking at ways to save money for the next budget year, and will budget with the lower sales tax revenues. The Mayor said they need to look at every opportunity to get revenue and not put the city in to any other predicament. The last resort is to lay off employees. Mr. Black said there are other revenue streams, such as rentals and leases that can be looked into to help increase revenues. Staff is not just looking at the expenditures to save money. The design portion of the depot is all that they have out for bid. He would suggest they move forward with the design phase, keeping in mind, if council does not want to move forward after that they don’t have to sign the contract. CITIZEN REQUESTS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS Jeff Morgan from the Green Team (City of Green River Recycling Committee) gave an update on the upcoming events they will be hosting:  The 2nd Public Forum on Wednesday, January 29, 2014, at the Golden Hour Senior Center, from 8 am to 9 am, 11 am to 2 pm, and 5 pm to 7 pm.  During the Crystal Classic Winter Festival on February 15, 2014, they will host a Dr. Pepper/Snapple Parks Bin Grant Promotion  In March they will have promotions for composting and wood chips that are available at the landfill  April 25, 2014 they will host the 2014 Earth Day Fair. City Council Proceedings January 21, 2014 Page 3 of 6   Starting on November 15, 2014, America Recycles Day, through April 25, 2014 they will have a Recycling Star Contest where students can be nominated by their teachers for living their life in an environmentally responsible way. Selected winners will be announced at the Earth Day Fair on April 25, 2014, at the Island Pavilion, from 1 to 7 pm.  The school district librarians will be conducting a reading program, and with every book a student reads they will receive a coupon they can bring to the Earth Day Fair and redeem for a seed. The student will make a seed strip out of old newspapers to plant in the spring. The Mayor said the recycling program has made a lot of headway and he thanked the Green Team for their hard work. Erica Hansen thanked the council members for backing the employees. She said the council needs to look at stopping or delaying the grants to the Spaceport and the Depot instead of cutting jobs or capital projects. Just because the city can get grants doesn’t mean they should, because the matching funds have to come from somewhere. PUBLIC HEARINGS Donation of the Model X26 Tasers to the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Department Mayor Castillon opened the hearing at 8:00 pm. Chief Steffen said the tasers are the ones the city replaced and no longer use. These items were surplus and could be used by the county. Council Member Stokes said this would help the county at the jail and will help them get new tasers down the road. The Mayor closed the hearing at 8:05 pm. EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant Mayor Castillon opened the hearing at 8:05 pm. There were no comments or concerns presented. The Mayor closed the hearing at 8:06 pm. RESOLUTIONS Budget Modification for the PacifiCorp Commuter Parking Lot Lease R14-06: A resolution of the governing body of the City of Green River, Wyoming, to approve a modification in the Capital Projects Fund for the payment increase of the west end Commuter Parking Lot Lease in the amount of $600 Council Member Coppolo moved to approve the resolution for a modification in the Capital Projects Fund for the payment increase of the west end Commuter Parking Lot Lease in the amount of $600. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) Approving the Hitching Post Land Sale Development Agreement and Deed R14-07: A resolution authorizing and directing the governing body of the City of Green River, Wyoming, a Municipal Corporation, to enter into a Development Agreement and Land Sale with Palmer Construction, Inc. Council Member Peterson moved to approve the resolution authorizing and directing the governing body of the City of Green River, Wyoming, to enter into a land sale with Palmer Construction, Inc., and to authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign, execute and deliver the Development Agreement and Warranty Deed. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion City Council Proceedings January 21, 2014 Page 4 of 6 carried. (6-0) Establishing and Officially Designating Bank Depositories for the City of Green River R14-08: A resolution establishing and officially designating bank depositories for the purpose of earning a secured rate of return for the City of Green River. Council Member Coppolo moved to approve the resolution establishing and officially designating bank depositories for the purpose of earning a secured rate of return for the City of Green River. Council Member Killpack seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS Safax Training for Part-time Fitness Staff on March 28th and 29th, 2014 Council Member Killpack moved to approve the Host Site Confirmation with Safax Fitness Training for water and land aerobics staff training on March 28th and 29th, 2014. Council Member Stokes seconded. Ms. Schumacher said this gives the instructors the opportunity to continue their training. The employees pay for their registration and the city pays their hourly rate for the time they are in the training. Motion carried. (6-0) Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Lander Police Department Council Member Stokes moved to authorize the Mayor to sign the MOU between the City of Green River Police Department and the City of Lander Police Department for upcoming assistance to their agency. Council Member Peterson seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) Accept a Bid for Two Police SUV Patrol Vehicles Council Member Coppolo moved to accept the bid from Spradley Barr Motors of Cheyenne, Wyoming for the purchase of two SUV patrol vehicles in the amount of $55,488. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) CONSENT AGENDA Council Member Coppolo moved to approve the following consent agenda items. Council Member Stokes seconded. Motion carried. (6-0)  Donation of model X26 tasers to the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Department  Horse corral lease agreement with Gerald and Katelyn Befus for corral #80  Catering permit to China Gardens Inc. to cater alcoholic beverages for the Green River Chapter of Ducks Unlimited Banquet and Auction, on Saturday, February 1, 2014, at the Island Pavilion, from 4:30 pm to 11 pm  Mansface Land Lease with Uintah Basin Electronic Telecommunications for the UBET Wireless Tower in the amount of $1,400 per month  Release of pledged collateral from ANB Bank for the Child Development Center Project  Approval of the Minutes for: January 7, 2014 Council  Financial Reports and Payment of Bills: Prepaid Invoices = $178,853.39 Outstanding Invoices = $251,954.82 Payroll Expenditures = $310,800.13 Pre-authorization Payments = $1,068,200.00 Cash & Investment Balances Report CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT Mr. West had nothing to report. MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS City Council Proceedings January 21, 2014 Page 5 of 6 Council Members Stokes, Killpack, Coppolo, and McCullough had nothing to report. Council Member Peterson asked council if they would agree to schedule a workshop to go over the water and sewer insurance program that is offered in the city. Council Member McCullough said the insurance that is offered is between the residents who choose to take part in it and the private company. The city does not have anything to do with it. Council Member Peterson said he wants to discuss how it’s set up as far as the lines. The City of Rock Springs set their program up as the residents are responsible from the house to the property line. He wants to ask questions on infrastructure issues. Council agreed to have a workshop. ADJOURNMENT Council Member Coppolo moved to adjourn at 8:22 pm. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) ______________________________ H. Castillon, Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Jeffrey V. Nieters, City Clerk City Council Proceedings January 21, 2014 Page 6 of 6