City Council Meetings

CITY OF GREEN RIVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS October 13, 2015 The Governing Body of the City of Green River met in workshop session at 6:30 pm in the City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Rust called the meeting to order. The following Council Members were present: Mark Peterson, Ted Barney, Allan Wilson, Brett Stokes, and Gary Killpack. The following were present representing the City: City Administrator Reed Clevenger, Director of Human Resources Cari Kragovich, Director of Public Works Mike Nelson, City Engineer/ Utility Manager Mark Westenskow, Director of Finance Chris Meats, Chief of Police Chris Steffen, and Parks and Recreation Director Brad Raney. Discussion on Northside Lift Station Mr. Westenskow said there are some items that will be going before council for approval in the next couple of weeks so he wanted to clarify some of them tonight. Recently, there was an evaluation completed on the Northside Lift Station and it was recommended to pursue funding to replace it and get started on a new design for the facility. The Community Rediness Grant application will be before council next week. It will be for the construction of the facility 1.3 million. The match is $194,550 there has been $150,000 budgeted and can be used for the match. They will need to do a budget amendment for an estimated $44,000 in order to complete the entire match needed for the project. They have a design contract with an engineer for $156,000 that would come out of the match funds. They have already spent $35,000 that counts towards the match. The area the project will affect is everything north of the river. Council Member Killpack said the bottom line is the city has to come up with the $44,000. Mr. Westenskow said the funds will have to be transferred from the Wastewater Fund. Mr. Clevenger said this project is totally separate from the Collier and the Hutton Heights Lift Station projects. The Mayor asked if the wastewater fund can handle the $44,000 being taken out. Mr. Westenskow said there was a surplus in the Wastewater Fund and is running around $2.4 million so there is plenty. Council Member Peterson asked if the gentleman that complained from the Hutton Heights trailer park is satisfied with that lift station project now. Mr. Westenskow said they are in contact with him and are working the details out. The gentleman has expressed that he would like to get the project underway. Mr. Clevenger said the bids are being looked at because of the cost. The amounts were much higher than budgeted. Council Member Barney asked if the lift station would be compatible to handle the new development in the area. Mr. Westenskow said yes. Discussion on the Landfill Scale Mr. Meats said the Department of Agriculture came in to certify our scale at the landfill which is required in order to use it for commerce and it was found to be out of compliance. The first weight he put on was drastically off so he did not go any further. Fairbanks was called to look at the scale to see what can be done to comply. They have adjusted the scale beyond its means and will require major repairs to be in compliance at a cost of $40,000 or $50,000. Staff has looked in to bringing a portable scale which would be a short term fix for around $4,000 or more every month. They are looking at short term because the city will be going to a transfer station. Staff would like to convert how we are billing residents for disposing at the landfill. When the transfer station is put in, the commercial resident customers will not be able to dump in the landfill and City Council Workshop Proceedings October 13, 2015 Page 1 of 4 they would like to start billing on volume base. It will be a reasonable estimate but would help since the cost of the scale repairs are so high and not cost effective at this time. Staff would like council’s approval to draft a letter and send it to all of the commercial customers that will be affected. Staff will convert the price per tonnage to an estimated cubic yard per tonnage using the EPA estimates of 650 to 800 pounds per cubic yard. The Mayor asked who it would affect the most. Mr. Meats said Waste Management, Little America, United Site Services and Western Relief. They are all commercial waste haulers. Council Member Peterson said he does not see a problem with drafting a letter. Council Member Wilson asked if he has spoken with the Rock Springs landfill to let them know that the city will be diverting people to them. Mr. Meats said yes. Council Member Wilson suggested having a meeting with the company reps as well as sending a letter. Mr. Meats said they were planning to call them, send letters, and host meetings if needed. The Mayor asked council if they agreed to have staff draft a letter. Mr. Meats said they will bring a new fee schedule before council on the first meeting in November. Discussion on the Police Department Shooting Range Chief Steffen said the shooting range was incorporated in to the plans for the new Police building but due to funds it was removed. They have explored many different ways of funding, as far as grants, but for the most part they wanted the range to be available to the public and that is not the plan. The space is there and the HVAC is run to the area and will need to be finished. The overall cost was higher due to the acoustic concerns on the ceiling. The administration offices are above the range and they will not be able to hear anything if there isn’t some form of sound dampening put in. The project went out for bid and all of them came in very high. Council Member Wilson asked how much is the shortfall for the project. Chief Steffen said the lowest bid received was $515,000 so approximately $190,000. Council Member Peterson asked what the costs of the sound dampening are. Chief Steffen said he is not sure what the total would be for the sound dampening part of the project. He doesn’t think it was broke down so specifically. Council Member Peterson said he was disappointed that the project is so close to be accomplished and now it stalled again. He wants to see it completed. Chief Steffen said this is a want and not a need but it would be used by the department and possible trainings. Council Member Killpack said it might come down to a point where the city has to decide which project is the one that needs to be done. The Depot can sit and wait so maybe we can take funds from the Depot and put it towards the shooting range. Council Member Stokes said he thinks the range needs to be finished and there is a way that the funds can be moved around to do so. Council Member Barney asked why they can’t test fire some rounds in the room to see what the noise level is. City Council Workshop Proceedings October 13, 2015 Page 2 of 4 Chief Steffen said they can test it out. He is curious on what will be needed or not needed. Council Member Peterson asked how long it would take to rebid the project. Chief Steffen said it would depend on how much the specs are changed and the contractor. Council Member Killpack said if the city is going to do the project it needs to be done correctly. The Mayor said the noise issue is pure speculation no one knows what might need to be done. Mr. Clevenger said everyone wants to get it done but it needs to be decided how and when. Questions that need to be asked are:  What is the purpose of the shooting range  What kind of funding is available  Should the project be held until next budget year  What needs to be included in the range  Should it be available for use to other law enforcement agencies Council Member Wilson said he does not think it is a good idea that the city goes in with a private shooting range. There is too much liability. The project needs to be completed and if funds have to be moved from the Depot then that is fine. It needs to be done correctly. Council Member Stokes said the private part makes him nervous and agrees with Council Member Wilson. Whatever needs to be done needs to be done correctly, should be done. The Mayor asked Council Member Stokes if the Sherriff’s office would be interested in helping fund the project. If the city could get other law enforcement entities involved maybe they would use the range. Council Member Stokes said there is a need for a range and it is worth having a discussion with the commissioners. Council Member Killpack agrees with council members. If there is a partnership with any other entities then the city loses control. He thinks it will be better to keep it under the city and offer it for use to the law enforcement agencies. Council Member Barney does not like the private partnership either. He wants to know how much funds are needed so when it is put out for bid everything is there. Council Member Peterson asked if the funds can be taken from the Emergency Management Fund. Mr. Clevenger said the funds are not there it only has $870,000. Council Member Wilson said everything is there in the room where the shooting range will be so it won’t be that hard. Council Member Killpack said all the funds in the budget are tied up so the funds might have to be pulled from other projects that don’t have to be completed right away. Mr. Clevenger said based on the bids that were received the city could make sure the contractor will honor the bid and if so the funds can be moved to the project and the bid can be awarded. Council Member Wilson said the city needs to contact all of the companies to see if they will honor the bids and then the city can move forward. The Mayor said the consensus is: no private partnerships, no public partnerships, utilize use fees if available, no public use and are the bids still good or not. City Administrator’s Report City Council Workshop Proceedings October 13, 2015 Page 3 of 4 Mr. Clevenger had nothing to report. Mayor and Council Reports Council Members Stokes and Peterson had nothing to report. Council Member Killpack asked for this bid award to be put back on the agenda for approval. Council Member Barney said advertising the special items we have in Green River will bring people here to stay here and spend money. Council Member Wilson said there will be advertisements in the Travel and Tourism magazines so the word of Green River is getting out. The Trunk or Treat was a great event. He congratulated the volunteers and URA/Main Street for a job well done. The Mayor said $200 million is being budgeted in Colorado for their bike system and they are right next door so we can use the same promotions to bring people here. Laramie and Rawlins are very enthusiastic about their community and the citizens are very proud. The Trunk or Treat was a huge success. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:49 pm. ______________________________ Pete Rust, Mayor ATTEST: ________________________________ Chris Meats, City Clerk City Council Workshop Proceedings October 13, 2015 Page 4 of 4