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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMinutes_2005_09_29 461 Brookings City Council September 29,2005 The Brookings City Council held a meeting on Thursday, September 29, 2005 at 5:00 p.m., at City Hall with the following members present: Mayor Scott Munsterman, Council Members Tom Bezdichek; Tim Reed, Michael Bartley, Julie Whaley, Ginger Thomson, and Michael Reitz. City Manager Alan Lanning, City Attorney Steve Britzman, and City Clerk Shari Thornes were also present. Canvassin�Ballot. The City Council canvassed the September 27, 2005 ballot results and signed the Ballot Canvass Form. Resolution No. 79-05. A motion was made by Reitz, seconded by Whaley,to approve Resolution No. 79 O5, canvassing the September 27, 2005 Municipal Election. All present voted yes; motion carried. RESOLUTION NO. 79-OS CANVASSING THE SEPTEMBER 27,2005 MUNICIPAL ELECTION WHEREAS, on the 27th day of September 2005,there was held in the City of Brookings, South Dakota, an election on referred Resolution 61-OS and Ordinance 22-05; and WHEREAS, the judges and clerks of said election have returned to the City Council of the City of Brookings the official results for the purpose of the official canvass; and WHEREAS, the City Council, on September 29, 2005, canvassed the results for the purpose of determining the official election outcome; and NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED By the City Council of the City of Brookings, South Dakota that the official vote at the City Election held September 27, 2005 was as follows: Ordinance For Against Under Over Total TOTAL No. 22-OS Votes Votes Ballots Votes Cast Cast Precinct 1 85 77 2 0 164 162 Precinct 2 267 245 6 2 520 512 Precinct 3 254 244 5 1 504 498 Precinct 4 559 551 13 2 1125 1110 Precinct 5 688 546 6 1 1241 1234 Precinct 6 436 363 4 1 804 799 TOTAL 2289 2026 36 7 4358 4315 Resolution For Against Under Over Total TOTAL � No. 61-OS Votes Vote Ballots Votes s Cast Cast Precinct 1 84 80 0 0 164 164 Precinct 2 264 255 1 0 520 519 - Precinct 3 234 265 5 0 504 499 Precinct 4 534 584 6 1 1125 1118 Precinct 5 664 567 10 0 1241 1231 Precinct 6 432 367 5 0 804 799 TOTAL 2212 2118 27 1 4358 4330 Bids. A motion was made by Bartley, seconded by Reed,to approve the following snow removal bids from the September 13, 2005 bid letting: Four(4) Blades with wings: Bowes Construction was awarded bids one and two with vehicle number 140G, with chains$103,no chains $92. Bowes Construction was awarded bids three and four with vehicle number 140H @ $103/hr and with no chains at$92/hr; Two (2) 3-to 6- 4sz Yard Loaders One (1) Loader w/Reversible Blade: Bowes Construction was awarded to bid one with vehicle number 980G, 6 cubic yards at $103/hr and bid two with vehicle number 966E, 5 cubic yards at$93/hr and Prunty Construction was awarded the bid with vehicle number 624 H in the amount of$130/hr. (Bids were also received from but not accepted from Bowes vehicle number 965F@$95, 960F@$90, 950E@$88, and 950G@$90); 14 End-Dump trucks: Prussman Contracting was awarded the bid for 4 vehicles, # 20 @ 20.81 CY for$60/hr, #21 @ 20.63 CY for$60/hr, #13 @ 20.10 CY for $60/hr, #7 @ 18 CY for$60/hr; Bowes Construction was awarded bid for 4 vehicles, #T7 @ 16.4 CY at$55/hr, #T8 @ 16.4 CY at$55/hr, #T23 @ 16.4 CY at$55/hr and#T24 @16.4 CY at$55/hr; B &B Concrete was awarded the bid for 2 vehicles, #19 @ 21.4 CY@$75/hr, #27 @ 21.4 CY @ $75/hr; and Prunty Construction was �awarded bid for 3 vehicles, #28 @ 15 CY @$55/hr, #29 @ 15 CY @ $55/hr and#24 @ 15 CY at$65/hr. No other bids were received. Airport Snow Removal: Bids were awarded the following: Bowes Construction—CAT 966E loader—5 cubic yards at$93/hr, CAT 140G Grader w/wing at $92/hr, CAT 950F One-way plow at$103.00 per hour, and T23 truck— 16.4 cubic yards at$55/hr. No other bids were received. Liquor Store Snow Removal: Bowes Construction—CAT 938F Loader—3.5 cubic yards at $88.00 per hour and T24 truck— 16.4 cubic yards at$55.00 per hour. No other bids were received. . All present voted yes; motion carried. Brookin�s Municival Airport Master Plan and Feasibilitv Site Selection Studv. City Manager Alan Lanning, Mayor Scott Munsterman, and Airport Manager Patrick Dame traveled to Washington, D.C. on September 22°d to meet with Senator Thune, FAA officials, and Senator Johnson's representative to discuss Brookings airport master plan issues, concerns,and potential solutions. Lanning said the Brookings delegation made significant progress on this issue. The next step will be to send a letter to the FAA that specifies a formal course of action for the Brookings Airport. DM&E Agreement. The Council held a public hearing on a proposed Community Partnership Agreement between the City of Brookings, SD, and Da.kota., Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E)on September 20`f'. Mayor Munsterman said since then the City Council and City Manager have had time to review the issue and document and have decided that there won't be any action taken at this meeting. The Council may direct the City Manager to do more research on the agreement. Lanning requested additional time to review a11 the material on this issue before the Council takes any action. During that time he would like to speak with a number of individuals that ha.ve been involved in the issue and did not specify an amount of time necessary to do this. Dorothy Butler expressed concern over the document noting that an"agreement"is an understanding among parties and the city doesn't seem to have a say in this document. She suggested it was a bullying tactic by DM&E. She suggested the city turn down the agreement because the railroad won't get final approval until January 2006. Dwight Adams has been involved in the issue for several years and offered to provide the Council with an overview. After DM&E submitted their original application,the Surface Transportation Board(STB) followed their regulations by conducting an Environmental Impact Study(EIS). Several public input meetings were held in a 2 to 3 year period. During this time a by-pass around Brookings was pursued. The STB's procedure was to review all input and publish a draft"EIS"and circulate to all people of record. In that draft there was an acknowledgement that environmentally a bypass was preferred. The STB held another comment period on the draft EIS and then published a final EIS. During that time opposition to the bypass developed. Another comment period was held after the final EIS was published. Without any explanation or opportunity to make comments, the STB changed their previous statement and said going through town was environmentally preferred. The proposed bypass would have used state highway college land, crossed 8 to 10 private properties, with no homes within 1500 yards of that proposed line. There was never any real discussion about how the final decision was made. Then the Brookings City Council took action to commit$4 million for an overpass,which was referred and lost. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the final documents back to 463 the STB on environmental and other issues and is still in the process of being handled. The STB is working on the final stages of a supplemental Final EIS. In his opinion,the value of Brookings signing this agreement is one of public relations and influence to the�STB. There won't.be a final document issued by the STB until January 2006. After that he anticipates appeals from other communities and organizations. Eugene T. Butler, Jr. expressed concern about potential coal dust from the project and offered to provide information to the City Council and City Manager. Harry Jacobson questioned the disclaimer in the agreement and why the railroad hadn't already signed it. Dorothy Butler noted that she had met with STB officials in D.C. twice and Senators Daschle and Johnson on this issue. Fred Seymour said he served on the city's Railroad Ad Hoc Committee created by Mayor Herriott. He felt railway law was archaic and recommended the city get good legal advice on this issue. � A1 Heuton, BEDC Director, asked if the EIS has a completed economic analysis that described the positive or negative impacts of coming to Brookings. Yes,the EIS has an economic impact as an area that they evaluated. He noted that he lived in a community for 14 years with coal trains in his backyard. Bob Burns said one the arguments for accepting this agreement is that Brookings owes this to the rest of the state and should not stand in the way of the raikoad bringing economic development � opportunities to the state. It has been suggested that nur farm producers would greatly benefit from a modern, updated railroad system. However,the bottom line of DM&E's business proposal was generated entirely from moving coal. It is true that if there is room and time on track, DM&E would move agricultural goods. But, if it reaches a cash flow point,the railroad will move coal only and would not benefit South Dakota farmers. Ginger Thomson thought the city was beating a"dead horse"because the trains are coming through regardless. The City Council is now discussing a partnership agreement with the railroad. If the City won't sign it,the railroad won't do anything else beyond the STB mandated requirements for safety mitigation. In that case the city would have to pay for a11 other safety improvements. She felt there was no risk in signing and if the City doesn't, all the expenses would be the City's. The City has already stated its formal support for the project in writing. It doesn't do any good to rehash whether coal trains are a good idea or not. She noted that the city has the option to pass on the agreement. Munsterman expressed concern with the mechanisms of the document,particularly the disclaimer. It might be helpful to visit with the former city manager. Reed agreed with the Mayor and advised the Council be more serious about document and make sure it does protect the City. He also requested that the community members remove the personalities and people out of the discussion. Reed asked for clarification on DM&E's level of financial participation and at what point that occurs. There needs to be a better understanding what DM&E is committing to with this document. Reitz noted that in the draft EIS document the STB encouraged privately negotiated agreements between the railroad and communities as these would be more effective and more far reaching than what the STB could impose. Adams clarified that that opportunity for private agreements ended at the end of the EIS comment period. Bob Burns agreed that the STB is more inclined to accept negotiated agreements and this may not be a"done dea1." There is no final agreement from STB. The DM&E expansion proposal started in 1997 and it still is not approved a.nd may never be approved. Until approved, the City is not under any obligation to enter into any agreement. He suggested that DM&E wants this agreement as leverage to raise funds with their investors. There is no wrong in negotiating and � s4 ultimately compromising, but it is wrong to not negotiate. Signing at this time would forfeit any opportunity to negotiate for better terms. Bartley said the Council and City Manager are new and questioned the timing of this agreement. He was not comfortable with the DM&E deadline,particularly since the City Manager has requested additional time to review the issue. MOTION: A motion was made by Bartley, seconded by Whaley,to table until the City Council has a recommendation from the City Manager a future date. All present voted yes; except Thomson voted no; motion carried to TABLE. Adiourn. A motion was made by Reed, seconded by Whaley,to adjourn. All present voted yes; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. i of � c�ry unsterman,Mayor o� , �� � �s s N� o� T ` es,City Clerk s , .� �GrN DAK��P