City Council Meetings

CITY OF GREEN RIVER CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS April 15, 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, Director of Public Works Mike Nelson, City Engineer/Utility Manager Mark Westenskow, 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, Grants Specialist Misty Springer, and Attorney Tammy Harris. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA The Mayor noted the removal of Consent Agenda Item E: Award the bid for the Sale of Mixed Paper to Rocky Mountain Recycling of Colorado at the current market value per ton. Council Member McCullough moved to approve the agenda as amended. Council Member Stokes seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) PRESENTATIONS Community Funding Requests Council Member Killpack moved to approve the community funding requests as recommended by the City Administrator. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) Mr. Black explained the following recommendations. He said the city is looking at receiving $580,000 less in sales tax revenue for the upcoming budget year. Requested Recommended  RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) $1,000 $1,000  Green River Food Bank $20,000 $20,000  Golden Hour Senior Center $19,000 $13,100  Green River Youth Home $8,000 $8,000  Historic Preservation Commission $2,500 $2,500  Sweetwater Family Resource Center $5,500 $5,500  Flaming Gorge Days, Inc. $24,000 $18,000  Chamber of Commerce $85,500 $85,500  Drug Treatment Court $8,000 $8,000  Star Transit $22,520 $22,520  SW-WRAP BNEA Kids Program $10,000 $10,000  Life RU Ready? Sweetwater County $5,000 $0 Internal Components:  Water Diversion $25,000 $10,000  Council special projects $50,000 $30,000 Flaming Gorge Days, Inc. Council Member Killpack said he recommended that the city fund the Flaming Gorge Days at the original amount of $24,000. If the city would not have given them the $24,000 last year, they would only have a profit of $3,000. They have to have seed money to get the performers. This event is the biggest the city has and they should support it. City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 1 of 9 Deli Frantzen, Chairperson of Flaming Gorge Days, Inc. said the profit is not a true profit because they received funding earlier than normal last year. What is stated on the financial statement it is not a true depiction. They did not profit $27,000. The Mayor asked what their profit and loss was as of today. Ms. Frantzen said $3,426 profit. This is due to one of the acts not showing up, so they did not have to pay them the full amount. Council Member McCullough said he would support the recommendation. Council Member Peterson said he would also support the recommendation. He thanked them for their hard work. Council Member Killpack moved to fund Flaming Gorge Days, Inc. in the amount of $24,000. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) Senior Citizen’s Center Council Member Killpack asked why the Senior Citizen’s Center requested more this year. Beth Whitman, Director of the Golden Hour Senior Center, said they asked for the increase in funding due to the cost of food going up. They are serving more seniors, providing more activities, and the senior citizen population is the fastest growing population in the nation as well as the county. Council Member Killpack asked if they charge for the meals they provide. Ms. Whitman said yes they do. Council Member Stokes said he would support their request. Council Member Peterson said the programs are well worth it, so he will support the requested amount. Council Member McCullough moved to approve the Golden Hour Senior Center requested amount of $19,000. Council Member Stokes seconded. (6-0) Drug Treatment Court Council Member Coppolo asked the Drug Treatment Court if they are requesting a proportionate amount based on population. Sandi Henderson said the Drug Court is doing the best it has ever done. Everyone donates their time except for her. They never know who will come from Green River on a day to day basis. In March, they had seven out of seventeen clients from Green River. Council Member Coppolo asked if they receive the same amount in funding from Rock Springs and the county. Ms. Henderson said yes. Council Member Stokes said this is a great program and it works. Green River Youth Home Council Member Coppolo asked if they base their requested funding by population. David Thorn, Executive Director of the Youth Home said the Youth Home is one agency with homes in both communities. They are licensed for twenty beds by the county, six are crisis placement beds. He said the majority of the funding comes from the state and both Rock Springs and Green River fund the same amount. City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 2 of 9 Life RU Ready? Sweetwater County Dr. Gene Station said Sweetwater County was ranked 23rd out of 23 counties in healthy behaviors, and quality of life was ranked 23rd. The project teaches teens about consequences. Their goal is to include all of the 7th and 8th grade students in the county in a preventative work program in October. They were hoping to get $24,000 and they already have $11,000. Tom Jarvie said both police departments, the county, and both school districts will be working together on this program. The Mayor asked how the school districts would be participating. Ms. Station said by in in-kind services. They will be busing the students to the event complex and teachers and staff will be there. Council Member Coppolo said the school district should be participating with funds along with in-kind services. Council Member Killpack said if this funding helps it could save the city a lot of money later. The Mayor suggested taking the funds from the council special projects. Council Member Killpack moved to fund the Life RU Ready program in the amount of $5,000 by taking it out of the council special projects. Council Member Coppolo seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) Council Member Killpack called for the question on all three of the amendments. Council Member McCullough moved to approve the amended community service requests. Council Member Stokes seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) Mr. Black clarified the governing body approved community service requests as follows: Approved  RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) $1,000  Green River Food Bank $20,000  Golden Hour Senior Center $19,000  Green River Youth Home $8,000  Historic Preservation Commission $2,500  Sweetwater Family Resource Center $5,500  Flaming Gorge Days $24,000  Chamber of Commerce $85,500  Drug Treatment Court $8,000  Star Transit $22,520  SW-WRAP BNEA Kids Program $10,000  Life RU Ready? Sweetwater County $5,000 Total: $211,020 Internal Components:  Fireworks Display $20,000  JABG (Juvenile Accountability Block Grant) $182  Property Leases $9,800  Water Diversion Litigation $10,000  Council Special Projects $25,000 Total: $276,002 BOARD AND COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS Appointments to the College Park Business Center Architectural Review Committee City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 3 of 9 Council Member McCullough moved to confirm the Mayor’s appointment of Jim Steiss, Councilman Brett Stokes, and James Zimmerman to the College Park Business Center Architectural Review Committee. Council Member Killpack seconded. Ms. Leigh said the governing body approved putting the three lots in the College Park Business Center out for bid. When preparing the bid documents she reviewed the covenants that are recorded for the development. Everything is regulated and reviewed by an architectural review committee and that is why they are appointing the committee. Motion carried. (6-0) CITIZEN REQUESTS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS Resident Patsy Sorenson said she is concerned with the rate increase in water, wastewater, and trash collection. She works with elderly people and the fact that their trash collection rates could go up by 44% is a huge amount. This is the difference between them paying their bill or going to the doctor. She wants to know why this is all of a sudden an emergency when it has been known the changes will have to be made for a long time. She said it is an ordinance that the trash has to be collected every week, and they cannot share a can with their neighbor. This leaves the residents stuck with no options. Council Member Coppolo said he understands her feelings and the council could look into the ordinance to see what the options are. The solid waste department has been working on this for a long time and they are trying to keep the costs down. Ms. Sorenson said she is concerned with people dumping out in the desert. Council Member McCullough said he will not support an increase of 44%. The transfer station will not change how people dump their items. Ms. Sorenson asked if there will be a charge to dump at the transfer station. Council Member McCullough said no. He said residents need to keep approaching council on these issues to express their feelings. Mr. Black said the Joint Powers Water Board will not be increasing the rate this year. The solid waste amount was originally set to increase by 85%, but staff worked on reducing the amount to 41% which is around $9.00 per month for a residential customer. The increase is driven by the costs of services provided. Recycling does not make money, it costs money. The city has to look at this option because the State Legislature made Green River ineligible to receive state assistance. If the funds were received from the state the city would not be looking at this. There are other options and council will be having a workshop on solid waste on May 22, 2014, at 6:30 pm. PUBLIC HEARINGS Re-submission of the State Revolving Fund Loan Application for the Sewer Lift Station Replacement Project Mayor Castillon opened the hearing at 8:00 pm. Mr. Westenskow said staff brought forward a $550,000 funding package in January to replace two lift stations that are at the end of their useful life. The plan is to fund 50% with a mineral royalties grant and the remaining 50% with a state revolving fund loan. The grant application has been submitted and will be reviewed in the next few months. When the loan application was submitted they found out the loan terms the city wanted were no longer available, so staff withdrew the loan application. Staff decided to re-submit the loan application at the beginning of the budget year, because they believe the city will be eligible for a 25% principle reduction along with a 0% interest rate instead of the normal 2%. Staff will re- City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 4 of 9 submit the loan application in May to get the better terms. The application will be reviewed in August. Council Member Coppolo asked if they have the depreciation accounts to help. Mr. Westenskow said yes, the city does have capital reserves to help, and they are looking at ways to be more proactive. Mr. Black said they are looking at ways to maximize the capital reserves. The city could cover the costs through the existing reserves, but it will make it more difficult to pay for the wastewater plant improvements that will have to be completed in the next five to seven years. They would like to use the program to conserve the money set aside for the wastewater treatment plant improvements. Council Member Killpack asked what will happen if the city does not get the grant. Mr. Westenskow said they would have to look into paying for it out of the fund balances. The Mayor closed the hearing at 8:05 pm. RESOLUTIONS Budget Modification and Approval of the Enhanced Air Service Cooperative Agreement R14-18: A resolution of the governing body of the City of Green River, Wyoming, to authorize the Mayor to sign an agreement with the Sweetwater County Commissioners in the amount of $56,628.88 and to approve a modification in the Capital Projects Fund and General Fund for the Rock Springs/County Airport Subsidy in the amount of $23,900. Council Member Stokes moved to approve the resolution approving the Enhanced Air Service Cooperative Agreement in the amount of $56,628.88 and the budget modification in the amount of $23,900. Council Member McCullough seconded. Mr. Black said this item is for the partnership with the Sweetwater County and Rock Springs to fund the subsidy air services to Salt Lake City. This is a six month component, and then it will move to an annual component that will start in July. County Commissioner John Kolb said they will be moving it to an annual basis to help entities address it during their budget process. Mr. Kolb said both flights are up. There was more funding given to the aeronautic commission during the legislature so that will help. The Mayor asked how things will work in the future. Mr. Kolb said if the funding increase did not come through it would make it very difficult for the communities involved to continue subsidizing because the costs would be too high. It looks like it will be sustainable in the near future. They have asked SkyWest to increase the seats in the summer. SkyWest has continued working with the commission. Council Member Killpack asked how much subsidy the county and the City of Rock Springs give the airport. Mr. Kolb said the county gives $247,000 and Rock Springs gives $134,000 annually. The county pays the bulk of the subsidy. Council Member Peterson said they still have not received a letter of support from the Rock Springs Airport. He does not like the idea of the subsidy. It is like they are holding us hostage. Mr. Kolb said there have been problems in the past with equipment but they are working on rectifying the issues. SkyWest is not holding anyone hostage. It is the reality of business. The airport gets better service with SkyWest than any other provider right now. City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 5 of 9 Council Member Stokes called for the question. Motion carried. (6-0) Budget Modification and Change Order #1 for the Southside Water System Improvement Project Phase ll R14-19: A resolution of the governing body of the City of Green River, Wyoming, to accept a Change Order from Lewis & Lewis, Inc. for the SIP 2015 Project in the amount of $329,935 and to approve an increase in the Capital Projects Fund in the amount of $350,000. Council Member Coppolo moved to approve the resolution for the budget modification resolution and Change Order #1 to the Southside Water System Improvement Project Phase II in the amount of $329,935 to Lewis & Lewis, Inc. Council Member Stokes seconded. Mr. Westenskow said the city currently has a contract with Lewis & Lewis for the Southside Water Improvements which will replace the water line from Indian Hills to Grand View. The surface restoration is included in the 6th Penny Project for next year, but they would like to do this part at the same time since they are doing work on this road now. They determined it would be better to do all the work at one time to reduce the amount of inconvenience to the residents in the area. The original cost estimate for this work was $470,000 and the change order is for $330,000. Mr. Black said the engineering staff completed a lot of design work in house to make sure this was ready in advanced. Mr. Westenskow said the money for this project will be paid from the collected 6th Penny monies. Motion carried. (6-0) Amendment to the City’s Classification Plan R14-20: A resolution amending the City’s Classification Plan Council Member Peterson moved to approve the resolution to amend the City’s Classification Plan to update the Clerk of Court position. Council Member Coppolo seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS Re-Submission of Loan Application to the State Revolving Fund Council Member McCullough moved to approve the re-submission of a loan application to the State Revolving Fund in the amount of $273,775 for the Sewer Lift Station Replacement Project. Council Member Killpack seconded. Council Member Killpack asked if this is approved, will it require the 1.9% increase to the rates. Mr. Black said council had already approved the increase back in January when the loan was first applied for. Staff is anticipating a total increase of 5% to the wastewater rates. The 1.9% rate increase will only take place if the loan is received. Motion carried. (6-0) Joint Agreement for the Simplot Phosphates, LLC, Rock Springs Ammonia Facility Project Impact Assistance Payments City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 6 of 9 Council Member Stokes moved to approve the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners and the Cities of Green River and Rock Springs agreement for the distribution of the impact assistance payments in the ratio amount of Sweetwater County 40%, City of Rock Springs 40%, and City of Green River 20%. Council Member Peterson seconded. Council Member McCullough said he feels the City of Rock Springs will get more impact than anyone else so they should get the largest amount. Council Member Killpack asked what the dollar amount would be. Mr. Black said they do not know. He feels the number is fair because the workforce impact will be 20% in Green River. Council Member Stokes said the split is fair. Mr. Kolb said the impact to the county is very large, and it is hard to decide who it will impact more. The Mayor said it will be up to the City of Rock Springs to decide if they agree with the distribution or not. The distribution was never discussed. 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)  Landfill removal requests from Jessica Morrison for garage door panels and Jennifer Holden for a large train  Bid Award and Concession Agreement with Green River Jr. Babe Ruth for Stratton Myers Park in the amount of $250  Donation of Halloween decorations to Shoshoni Recreation District #24  Acceptance and authorization for the Mayor to sign the fiscal year 2014 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Grant Agreement in the amount of $85,007  Lagoon Ticket Program Agreement for the City employees  Catering Permit to Santa Fe Southwest Grill to cater alcoholic beverages for the May 3, 2014 Painting with a Twist event, at the Pavilion, from 5:30 pm to 9 pm, pending approval by the governing body of the City of Rock Springs  Minutes for: April 1, 2014 Council  Financial Reports and Payment of Bills: Prepaid Invoices = $182,052.08 Outstanding Invoices = $511,358.82 Payroll Expenditures = $303,297.72 Pre-authorization Payments = $1,065,000.00 Cash & Investment Balances Report CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT Mr. Black handed out the budget workshop schedule. The draft budget books will be distributed later this week. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT Ms. Harris had nothing to report. MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS Council Members Stokes and Coppolo had nothing to report. Council Member Killpack thanked all of the volunteers. City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 7 of 9 Council Member McCullough thanked the Radio Network for hosting the Easter Egg Hunt. He asked council if they would approve inserting a questionnaire, in the billing statements, on the solid waste issues to get some feedback from citizens. Council Member Coppolo said historically, surveys aren’t returned so it will not be sufficient enough. It should be put on the ballot to get a better response. Council Member McCullough said if people know a questionnaire is being distributed about solid waste issues they will fill it out. Council Member Killpack said if we ask people about a rate increase they will turn it down. He is not in favor of the ballot. Council Member McCullough said there only needs to be a few questions. Council Member Coppolo said the ballot would have something to do with the recycling options and if people wanted to pay for them. The tax-payers should make the final decision. Council Member Peterson said they toured some wastewater facilities to see how they can keep costs down. The garbage issues are unclear, the rates are not a set thing yet, so it would be hard to decide. He suggested the questionnaire. The Mayor said a 60 percent return will make it a valid survey and he does not see that happening. Council Member McCullough said the survey will give the city an idea of what people want or don’t want. Council Member Coppolo asked Mr. Nelson how many surveys they sent out last time and how many came back. Mr. Nelson said they sent out around 4,000 surveys and they received 1,200. Council Member McCullough said that is not a bad amount. If they state on the top that it is important, they might get a better response. The questions should include recycling and the rate increases. Mr. Black said the cost of adding the questions on to the ballot would be around $2,000 or so and there is a limit of how many words can be put on the ballot. The survey is a less expensive component and you can ask more questions. Council Member Killpack said the ballot would only go to people who vote and the surveys would give everyone an opportunity to give an opinion. Council Member Coppolo suggested advertising the survey ahead of time so people can be aware. The Mayor asked what council would like to do, survey or ballot. Council agreed to do a survey. The Mayor wished everyone a Happy Easter and reminded everyone to go to the Easter Egg Hunt event that the Radio Network was hosting. ADJOURNMENT Council Member Coppolo moved to adjourn at 8:59 pm. Council Member McCullough seconded. Motion carried. (6-0) City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 8 of 9  ______________________________ H. Castillon, Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Jeffrey V. Nieters, City Clerk City Council Proceedings April 15, 2014 Page 9 of 9