MINUTES OF WELLS CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 27, 2018

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF WELLS CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 27, 2018 CALL TO ORDER Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 Time: 7:00 P.M. Place: Council Chambers, Wells City Hall 525 Sixth Street Wells, Nevada Type of Meeting: Regular Meeting of City of Wells Board of Councilmen Presiding Officer: Layla M. Walz, Mayor ROLL CALL Present: Absent: Quorum: Staff Present: Layla M. Walz, Mayor Yvonne Stuart, Vice Mayor Laura Moore-DelRio, Councilwoman Tamrah Jackson, Councilwoman Michael Pace, Councilman None Yes Sherry Justus, Deputy Clerk Jason Pengelly, Public Works Director Jolene M. Supp, City Manager/Clerk Patti Zander, Deputy Clerk PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilman Pace led the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS Stuart made a motion to approve meeting minutes of November 13, DelRio seconded the motion and motion passed with Pace abstaining. CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL Paul Bottari wanted to bring to the Boards attention an issue regarding the Humboldt River water. Bottari would like to see a resolution on a future agenda for action. The Elko County Association of Realtors has passed a resolution involving the Humboldt River water. Currently, anyone within a mile of the Humboldt River who applies for an 1

2 underground water permit will be denied. The Lovelock water users sued the State of Nevada saying the pumping of water in the vicinity of the Humboldt River or in a tributary of the Humboldt River will keep them from getting water in their dam that is used for irrigation. Bottari continued that the Humboldt River is a snow melt river and is not comparable to a lot of the mid-west rivers where studies have been done. The whole region around the Humboldt River Basin, other than Lovelock, is being held back from future growth. Walz would like this item brought back to a future meeting for discussion on whether to adopt our own resolution. Walz continued that this definitely impacts the City of Wells and wonders what gives Lovelock more right to the water in the ground here that may or may not end up in the Humboldt River. Bottari added that the Elko County Association of Realtors has committed $5,000 to get this started and are very serious about it. KATHY JONES FROM ELKO COUNTY PUBLIC GUARDIAN TO ADDRESS BOARD OF COUNCIL. DISCUSSION REGARDING CLEANUP COST FOR MIKE CICHY S FRONTIER APARTMENT FIRE AT 1673 LAKE AVENUE Kathy Jones stated she is a public guardian for Elko County as well as the court ordered guardian for Mr. Cichy. Cichy is in a nursing home and has no funds to contribute towards clean-up. Cichy owns two parcels at 1673 Lake Avenue of which one has the debris pile from the fire and is fenced off. The property is also titled in Cichy s son s name and he is not able to offer funds for clean-up and has been advised of the situation. Cichy s son is willing to do what is needed to dispose of the property. The property has been offered to the City of Wells in exchange for cleanup. The estimate from a local contractor for cleanup is $50,000. Jones will get the property appraised as bare ground but the appraisal will not take place until the end of December. Jones talked to Cash Minor from Elko County. The County does not have any equipment to help with cleanup. Jones will get the back taxes paid on the property and could possibly pay dump fees. Walz stated that one of the concerns for the City is where to take the debris as Wells does not have a landfill. Jones added that the City of Elko has a landfill that could be used. Walz thought if both parties could contribute to the cleanup, it could get done. Jones will have to petition the court to approve the transfer of property. Supp stated that Pengelly has looked into the cost to haul the debris to Elko and figured it would be $2,000 a truck a day. Pengelly is looking at renting an excavator to be used for this job at a cost of $3,000 a week or $5,000 a month. If rented for a month, there are other jobs the excavator could be used for. It could cost the City of Wells, $10,000 to $15,000 for cleanup. Pengelly is also looking at the cost to purchase a used excavator. Jones stated she could file an ex parte order which could hurry up the process but the appraisal is needed before a decision can be made. Jackson would like more information and to see some more numbers before making a decision. Jones stated she could come back once the appraisal is done. Supp added that Pacific Steel will bring over a bin for all metal. Stuart asked if any grants would be available for cleanup. Supp stated the 2

3 building would be eligible for a Brownfields Grant but it could take a year and a half to get the grant. Jones is willing to work with the City on getting this property cleaned up. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE OR DENY SPECIAL LIQUOR LICENSE FOR WELLS FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE FESTIVAL OF TREES ON NOVEMBER 30, 2018 Walz wanted to declare that her mother is on the Board of Directors of the Wells Family Resource Center. Walz added that a wine tasting is done annually at the Tree Festival and there have never been any issues. DelRio made a motion to approve the special liquor license for the Wells Family Resource Center for the Festival of Trees on November 30, Stuart seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously. JIM KIKUMOTO FROM H & K GROWERS TO ADDRESS BOARD OF COUNCIL INTRODUCING NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM FOR H & K MARIJUANA CULTIVATION Kikumoto was not able to attend as he was ill. REVIEW OF REVERSION TO ACREAGE MAP LOTS 1 AND 2, BLOCK E OF THE AMENDED PLOT OF RAILROAD ADDITION NO. 2, ROBERT W. AND JEAN M. SUPP. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE REVERSION ACREAGE MAP. Supp declared that this is her brother and sister-in-law but has no fiduciary connection to this activity. Walz added that this is on the corner of Baker and Starr and when the property was originally sold, it included the property that was to be the alley and was changed to include more property on the west end but was never combined into one. Supps would like to build a garage but cannot get a permit because it is two lots. Stuart made a motion to approve the reversion of acreage for Lots 1 and 2 of Block E of the amended plot of Railroad Addition No. 2. Jackson seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously. SECOND AND FINAL READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 231, AN ORDINANCE CHANGING TITLE 4, CHAPTER 1, SECTION 1 OF THE WELLS CITY CODE ENTITLED GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS AND REPLACING IT WITH A NEW SECTION 1 OF THE WELLS CITY CODE, RE-ADOPTING THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE, INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE, UNIFORM MECHANICAL AND PLUMBING CODES, INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE, NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE AND ADDING INTERNATIONAL EXISTING BUILDING CODE. ACTION TO APPROVE ORDINANCE NO

4 Paul Bottari asked how this would affect new construction or fixing older buildings in town. Supp stated the 2012 International Existing Building Code will not have any effect on new construction as new construction would be under the International Building Code which is already adopted. Supp continued that the International Existing Building code would allow the building official to assess a building based on safety requirements and the code it was originally built under, not the current code. Fire Chief Keven Hall asked if this was the most current code and Supp replied no it was not, but will be matching the 2012 current codes. Walz added that this gives flexibility to avoid killing a project before it even starts. Supp added that the job position for the apprentice building inspector has been posted and so far, there are two people interested. Stuart made a motion to approve this resolution. Jackson seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO CANCEL SECOND COUNCIL MEETING ON DECEMBER 25, 2018 Supp stated the meeting could be postponed or rescheduled. Walz asked if there is anything pertinent that needs action taken. Supp said normally the CDBG grants need action but won t be due until March. DelRio made a motion to cancel the second council meeting on December 25, Motion was seconded by Pace and motion passed unanimously. ACTION TO CLOSE OPERATIONS ON DECEMBER 24, 2018 FOR CHRISTMAS WEEKEND. ALL EMPLOYEES WILL BE EXPECTED TO USE VACATION, FLOATING HOLIDAY OR PERSONAL DAY Jackson made a motion to close City operations on December 24, 2018 for Christmas weekend with the employees being expected to use vacation, floating holiday or personal day. DelRio seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION REGARDING H.E.A.R.T. NOTE RECEIVABLE WITH THE CITY OF WELLS. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO ADJUST INTEREST ON LOAN Supp declared a conflict of interest and has a fiduciary interest in this corporation and could leave the meeting if the Board desired. Mike Eriksen, Vice-President of the corporation was supposed to be here but was unable to attend. Walz thought it would be beneficial for Supp to stay to answer questions. Walz declared that her father is also on the board but Walz has no fiduciary gain. Walz gave some background on H.E.A.R.T. for the benefit of new members on the board. The local people that invested in H.E.A.R.T. have been working on paying off the different loans but have been unable to pay on the property and have only been paying on the interest. Walz feels this group of people went above and beyond to bring industry to the community and would like these people to continue to invest in the community. Walz 4

5 thinks forgiving the interest is one way to help that happen but this is a big decision. Walz stated there was a letter in the packet as well as copies of minutes from previous meetings. The total amount owed is $414,000 with $236,000 being principal and $178,000 in interest. Walz stated the property taxes are current and the Board pays them out of their own pocket. Walz added that every year during the audit, Walz is asked if the City thinks the interest can be collected. Last year a motion was made to defer the interest and book the allowance. Walz does not think it will hurt the City to forgive the interest. The request is to forgive the $178,000 in interest but the City will still be paid the $236,000 for the property with $74,000 already paid. Paul Bottari added he had a small investment in this business and it was a community effort to try to get industry in this community. Bottari would support waiving some or all of the interest. There was $25,000 down on the original sale. The value, based on the appraisal of the H & K property, $205,000, a bare land appraisal. The NSB loan has been paid off. The loan would continue to accrue interest at 5% going forward but the Board could adjust the interest on the loan. The interest rate was originally at 8%. DelRio is concerned that if the City forgives this, who is to say someone else doesn t come and ask the same. Walz added that something to consider is that the City does not carry the note so this situation doesn t occur again. Pengelly asked how long it would take to pay off the property if the interest was forgiven and was told twenty years. Pengelly, speaking as a citizen, suggested 75% of the interest be forgiven and defer the other 25% to be paid off when the property is sold and stop the interest all together. Supp stated that was not a good deal for the City. Supp asked that everyone look at Article 1, number 3 which states the balance of $236,000, interest rate of 5% and twenty annual payments of principal and interest in the amount of $18, would be $378, Supp added that would be more money than what was suggested by Pengelly. Supp thinks with the NSB loan being paid off, that could be managed and the City would get more money. This would basically be the same deal and just resetting the clock. Jackson was not comfortable undoing what a previous board had done and was okay with that deal. Jackson made a motion to forgive the accrued interest to date and reset Article 1, section three to today s date with the same terms. DelRio seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO ACCEPT BID FOR THE EL RANCHO HOTEL BRICK PROJECT AND ENTER INTO CONTRACT WITH ABSTRACT MASONRY Supp stated that one bid was received for $123,664 which is within budget. The contract has been included and the bid and contract will both have to be approved. The contract has a project completion date of 180 days. Supp expects to have a change order but will still be within budget. As the tarp on top is pulled off, there are more issues being discovered. Supp has around $30,000 left on the CDBG grant and has the State Historic grant that was increased by another $6,000. Supp will bring the change orders back to the 5

6 Board when received. Walz added she had a tour the other day and thinks Public Works has done an amazing job and saved the City a lot of money. DelRio moved to accept the bid for the El Rancho brick project and enter into a contract with Abstract Masonry with a project completion of 180 days. Jackson seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously. CLAIMS COMMITTEE REPORT; ACTION TO APPROVE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DelRio made a motion to approve Warrant Register dated November 14, 2018 to November 27, 2018 in the amount of 89, Stuart provided the second and motion passed unanimously. DelRio again motioned to approve check register dated October 1, 2018 to October 31, 2018 in the amount of $28, Stuart provided the second and motion passed unanimously. COUNCILMEN S REPORTS Stuart reported that things went well with the group that stopped by on November 17, 2018 with the Nevada Commission of Tourism. Stuart also announced Decadent Desserts will be Wednesday, November 26, 2018 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the pool. Walz mentioned the tree festival was also going on this week with different groups sponsoring the meals. There will be a NNRDA meeting tomorrow. The WREC Classic is Thursday through Saturday with twenty two games scheduled. STAFF REPORTS A meeting with the BLM was held last week and information was provided to the Board on the number of landings at the airport for the last few years and gallons of water pumped. This lease will include billing for water used, it has been given to them before. The lease will be approximately $1,200 a month. If the BLM has a twenty year lease in place, their policy allows infrastructure money to be put into that airport. BLM may be able to assist with the FAA runway upgrade. Supp has a copy of an ambulance agreement for ground and air ambulance and has asked Lauren Landa to review this agreement. The Department of Taxation will be notifying the City of Wells on December 5, 2018 if one of the applicants receives approval for a dispensary license. This will then come back to the Board as a dispensary or ordinance has not been approved by the Board. LNP is purchasing a very large vacant building in Wells and will be in town on Thursday. The purchase was contingent on them getting a dispensary license. 6

7 Pengelly has been working with A-1 Builders on the roof at the golf course. Most of it is done with one problem. A-1 cut through the cathedral ceiling to put a vent there. A-1 will be fixing that and has re-decked the whole roof. Rooms have been inspected at the Hampton and signed off on 24 of the 80 plus rooms. The other rooms had deficiencies and a dry wall crew is working on that now. Progress is being made. Final inspections will also be done on two houses soon. Lundahl will be submitting plans for HVAC, electric and heating for the Boys & Girls Club. The City still has not received plans for H & K and Supp may send those plans to Chris Williams for review. The audit will be on the agenda for the next meeting. The Senior Citizen fund and sanitation fund were overspent but revenues were higher than budgeted. The Senior Center is holding a giftwrapping fundraiser in December. CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL There were none. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:31 p.m. LAYLA M. WALZ, Mayor ATTEST: JOLENE M. SUPP, City Manager/Clerk 7